Extreme (band)

Extreme is an American rock band formed in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1985, that reached the height of their popularity in the late 1980s and early 1990s. They have released six studio albums, two EPs (in Japan) and two compilation albums since their formation. The band was one of the most successful rock acts of the early 1990s, selling over 10 million albums worldwide.

Extreme achieved its greatest success with their second album Pornograffitti (1990), which peaked at number 10 on the Billboard 200, and was certified gold in May 1991 and double platinum in October 1992. The album featured the acoustic ballad single "More Than Words", which reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States.

While Extreme is primarily a hard rock band, their music has combined influences and elements of such genres as glam metal,

History

1985–1989: Formation and debut album

Extreme was formed in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1985. Vocalist Gary Cherone and drummer Paul Geary were in a band together called "Adrenalin" in 1979. Then they were also members of a band called The Dream, in 1980. CBS Television bought the rights to the name, "The Dream" for a short lived television series called, "Dreams." So, they had to rename the band. Guitarist Nuno Bettencourt was in a band called Sinful, and bassist Pat Badger was playing with a Berklee College-based act called In The Pink. Bettencourt joined Cherone and Geary in a new group in 1985, followed by Badger in 1986. The four chose the name "Extreme" as it sounded like "ex-Dream," a reference to Geary and Cherone's past band, "The Dream." Gary and Nuno crossed paths numerous times as Gary's brother Mark and Nuno's brother Paulo were in a well known local Boston band together called, "Flesh."

Cherone and Bettencourt began writing songs together and the band performed continuously in the New England area. Extreme grew a large regional following and were named "Outstanding Hard Rock/Heavy Metal Act" at the Boston Music Awards in 1986 and 1987.

The band had accumulated several original songs by the time A&R director Bryan Huttenhower signed them to A&M Records in 1987 (which was soon sold to PolyGram in 1988). The band recorded their self-titled debut album which was issued in March 1989.

III Sides to Every Story was released on September 22, 1992.

1994–1996: Lineup change and Waiting for the Punchline

Prior to the band's appearance at Donington's Monsters of Rock festival in the summer of 1994, Geary left the band to pursue a career in artist management. Mike Mangini succeeded him on drums. In 1998, the Cherone-fronted Van Halen released Van Halen III.

Van Halen III reached No. 4 on Billboards top 200 album charts, and sold over 500,000 copies in the U.S. alone; however, by Van Halen's standards, it was a failure. All 12 of their previous albums had all sold over two million copies in the U.S. alone, with two selling over ten million in the U.S. alone—and the previous five studio albums had all reached No. 1 on the Billboard 200 album charts. Van Halen's tour was successful; however, not as successful as in previous years.

In late 1999, after Van Halen's second album with Cherone was "sent back" by Warner Bros. Records, Cherone left the band. He later formed Tribe of Judah, which released an album called Exit Elvis in 2002. In 2005, Cherone released a four-song sampler CD, entitled Need I Say More.

In 1997, Nuno Bettencourt released his first solo album titled Schizophonic. In 1998 he formed a group called Mourning Widows who released a self-titled album that year and a follow-up album, Furnished Souls for Rent, in 2000. Following the breakup of that band, he released another solo album under the project name of Population 1 in 2002. Acquiring new members for the tour, he decided to keep the name Population 1 and the first release as a band was a five-song EP entitled Sessions from Room 4 in 2004. They then changed the band's name to DramaGods and created a follow-up CD entitled Love in 2005. Nuno, along with bandmates Kevin Figueiredo and Steve Ferlazzo, then went on to collaborate with Perry Farrell's project Satellite Party.

The Best of Extreme: An Accidental Collocation of Atoms?, a 13-track Extreme "best-of" collection featuring tracks from the first three studio albums, was released in 1998. Extreme – The Collection, a later collection including 15-tracks from the first four studio albums, was released in 2002.

2004–2010: Reformation and Saudades de Rock

thumb|Bassist [[Pat Badger and guitarist Nuno Bettencourt performing live in 2008. Bettencourt is one of the two constant members of Extreme.]]

Extreme reformed for a short tour in 2004 playing in the Azores (August), in their hometown of Boston at the WAAF anniversary (September 19) as well as a few concerts in Japan (January 2005). After a hiatus during 2005, the band returned in 2006 with the "classic" Pornograffitti lineup (including Paul Geary) to do a small, three-show reunion tour through New England.

In July 2007, Bettencourt quit Satellite Party for another Extreme reunion with Cherone and Pat Badger. On November 26, 2007, the band announced plans for a world tour in the summer of 2008 with King's X as well as a release date for their new album, Saudades de Rock, produced by Bettencourt. Kevin Figueiredo, who played with Bettencourt in DramaGods and Satellite Party, took over drum duties for the band. Original drummer Paul Geary would still remain involved with the band, albeit in a management position. Singles from the album were made available on MySpace including "Star". The album was released on July 28, 2008, in France, August 4, 2008, in Europe, and August 12, 2008, in the United States.

The band then embarked on the Take Us Alive World Tour, supported by King's X in the US and Hot Leg in the UK, with various other dates in Europe and Asia, through all of 2008. In 2009, the band continued to tour, co-headlining the East Meets West Tour with Ratt. The final date of this tour, in their hometown of Boston, Massachusetts, was recorded for the release of the band's first live DVD called Take Us Alive.

2010–2015: Hiatus, Hurtsmile, and other projects

According to a December 2010 interview with Cherone, Extreme had been writing new material for a new album, which they planned - at the time - to release in 2011. Asked in the same interview if the band will produce the new album by themselves or get an outside producer, Cherone replied, "There's talk of a few people. It would be great to get an A-list name. I don't know if that happens. My dream producer would probably be Rick Rubin. Here's a guy that's done Johnny Cash, the Chili Peppers, and, you know, Neil Diamond." But due to conflicting schedules with Bettencourt supporting Rihanna on her tour during 2011, plans to go into the studio were postponed to 2012.

Also in 2010 rumors started about possible commemorative shows for Extreme II: Pornograffitti, given the 20th anniversary of the record. Finally, in 2012, initially a small string of such shows in Japan had been confirmed, marking the full return of the band's activities after a hiatus when Bettencourt was on tour with Rihanna, as well as other side projects by other members, most notably Cherone's Hurtsmile. Extreme were to tour Australia in April 2013, with Richie Kotzen as support act, but the shows were cancelled due to scheduling conflicts with Rihanna's 2013 North American tour. They then did their first show in Singapore.

2015–present: Six

In a May 2015 interview with Eddie Trunk, vocalist Gary Cherone said that Extreme had been writing and demoing new material for their follow-up to Saudades de Rock, and would enter the studio in the fall to begin recording.

In a September 2016 interview, guitarist Nuno Bettencourt revealed that Extreme had been working on approximately 17 songs for their new album, and added, "We're about 17 songs into it. We're just wrapping them up. We've got to do vocals, some guitar. Slowly but surely." He also stated that the album was expected to be released in early 2017; however, this did not come to fruition and there had been no updates on the album until mid-2022, when Cherone reiterated the album's slow progress in an interview with Eddie Trunk, and described the songs as "some of the best stuff Nuno and [he] have written."

thumb|Extreme performing in 2015

In 2016, the band released Pornograffitti Live 25: Metal Meltdown, an audio/video presentation of its 2015 concert at Las Vegas' Hard Rock Casino.

During the 2017 Kiss Kruise, the band invited original drummer Paul Geary to join them on stage to play "Hole Hearted".

In June 2018, Extreme toured Australia with Mr. Big, which marked the latter's first tour of Australia and Extreme's first tour of the continent since 1993. After their Australian tour, they went on to tour Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Bangkok and Taipei.

Extreme headlined Shirock 2019 alongside Scottish hard rock band Nazareth. On October 19, 2019, the band performed in India in front of over 30,000 fans in Ukhrul.

On February 17, 2023, the band began to release a different teaser each day, to end on February 28. On March 1, 2023, Extreme released the single "Rise" and announced that Six would be released on June 9 of the same year. On April 19, 2023, Extreme released the official videos for "Banshee" and "#Rebel" on their YouTube channel.

In March 2026, Bettencourt confirmed on The Mistress Carrie Podcast that the band had completed working on the follow-up to Six.

Band members

Current

Gary Cherone – lead vocals (1985–1996, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007–present)
Nuno Bettencourt – guitars, keyboards, piano, backing and lead vocals, brass and orchestration arrangements (1985–1996, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007–present)
Pat Badger – bass, backing vocals (1985–1996, 2006, 2007–present)
Kevin Figueiredo – drums, percussion (2007–present)

Former

Paul Geary – drums, percussion, occasional backing vocals (1985–1994, 2004, 2005–2006; special guest 2017)
Mike Mangini – drums, percussion (1994–1996, 2004; special guest for three shows in 2006)
Carl Restivo – bass, backing vocals (2004)
Steve Ferlazzo – keyboards (2004)
Laurent Duval – bass, backing vocals (2005)

Timeline

Discography

Extreme (1989)
Extreme II: Pornograffitti (1990)
III Sides to Every Story (1992)
Waiting for the Punchline (1995)
Saudades de Rock (2008)
Six (2023)

Concert tours

Extreme Tour
Pornograffitti Tour
III Sides to Every Story Tour
Waiting for the Punchline Tour
2004 Mini-Reunion Tour (Azores, Portugal)
2005 Reunion Tour (Japan)
2006 Reunion Mini-Tour (New England area, US)
Take Us Alive World Tour 2008
East Meets West Tour '09
Pornograffitti Live Tour 2014
Pornograffitti 25th Anniversary Tour 2015
2016 Tour
2017 Tour
2018 Australian Tour with Mr. Big
2019 Tour
Thicker Than Blood 2023 with Living Colour

References

15.^ https://blabbermouth.net/news/extreme-completes-work-on-seventh-studio-lp-its-the-greatest-album-weve-ever-done. March 11th, 2026. Retrieved March 11, 2026.