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Extreme
Extreme on the cover of their 1989 self-titled debut album. (pictured are Nuno Bettencourt, Paul Geary, Gary Cherone and Pat Badger.)
Background information
Origin	Boston, Massachusetts
Genre(s)	Hard rock, Funk metal, Glam metal
Years active	1985 - 1996 (Partial reunions: 2004, 2006) 2007 - present
Label(s)	A&M Records
Associated acts	Mourning Widows DramaGods Tribe of Judah Satellite Party Van Halen Super TransAtlantic
Members
Gary Cherone Nuno Bettencourt Pat Badger Kevin Figueiredo
Former members
Paul Geary Mike Mangini

Extreme is an American rock band that achieved popularity in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

Some of Extreme's influences, Queen and Van Halen (the latter of which Gary Cherone would eventually join), are easily apparent from their music's multi-part vocal harmonies and electric guitar tone and virtuoso techniques. The band lends the listener a sound that blends the genre of glam metal with the shredding guitar work from thrash metal. Being asked about their style, Extreme categorized their music as 'Funky Metal'.

Contents 1 Biography 1.1 Early years (1985-1989) 1.2 Popular success (1990-1993) 1.3 Final years and break up (1994-2003) 1.4 Reunion(s) (2004-present) 2 Line-ups 3 Discography 4 UK Singles 5 Trivia 6 External links

Extreme was formed in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1985. Vocalist Gary Cherone was in a band with drummer Paul Geary, whilst guitarist Nuno Bettencourt was in a band with bassist Pat Badger. Following an altercation between the rival groups over communal dressing rooms Cherone, Geary, Bettencourt, and Badger decided to form a new band.

Cherone and Bettencourt began writing songs together and played numerous shows in the Boston area. The band gradually developed a strong local following, and was named "Outstanding Hard Rock/Heavy Metal Act" at the Boston Music Awards in 1986 and 1987.

The band had accumulated approximately 55 songs by the time A&R director Bryan Huttenhower signed them to A&M Records in 1988. The band then recorded their self-titled debut which was issued in 1989. The first single was "Kid Ego," a song that Cherone would later admit made him cringe. The final track on the album, "Play With Me," was used as the "mall chase" song in Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure.

Moderate sales of Extreme's first record were sufficient to support a second release. Michael Wagener, who had previously worked with Dokken and White Lion, was engaged to produce Extreme II: Pornograffiti (1990).

The record, which showcased Bettencourt's extraordinary guitar-playing prowess, was an ambitious and complex mixture of funk, pop and Glam metal sounds. It revolved around a loose concept, following the path of young boy Francis as he wandered through a decadent, degraded and corrupt society. "Decadence Dance" and "Get the Funk Out" were released as singles. "Get The Funk Out" reached number 19 in the UK charts in June 1991. Neither single was successful in the United States, however, and the album had fallen off the charts when A&M sent the third single to a number of radio stations in Arizona.

The acoustic ballad "More Than Words" entered the Hot 100 on March 23, 1991, at Number 81. It later became a huge smash, hitting Number 1 on Billboard's Hot 100 in the United States. The subsequent single, "Hole Hearted," another acoustic and sweetly-sung tune, was also successful, rising to Number 4 on the same popular music chart.

The band began recording of their third album in 1992. Their appearance at the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert in April 1992 interrupted the recording sessions, but it gave the band considerable exposure beyond the heavy metal fraternity.

III Sides to Every Story, a complex, eclectic and ambitious concept album, was released on September 22, 1992. Sales were disappointing despite the record receiving critical acclaim from some quarters. The video for the first single, "Rest in Peace," was inspired by a film short by the National Film Board of Canada called Neighbours.The band was sued, but they quickly settled out of court, later releasing a new version of the film clip. The album contained noticeable Christian themes, presumably put there by Cherone, who noted in interviews being interested in evangelical preachers and thought.

Prior to the band's appearance at the Donington's Monsters of Rock festival in the summer of 1994, Michael Mangini (ex-Annihilator) replaced Geary on drums.

The subsequent record Waiting for the Punchline, released on February 7, 1995, containing the singles "Hip Today," "Unconditionally," and "Cynical," was less successful than III Sides to Every Story. Extreme disbanded in 1996. Finally, in 1997, Gary Cherone joined with Van Halen for their album called Van Halen 3, issued in 1998, and he left Van Halen in 1999 and formed Tribe of Judah who released an album called Exit Elvis in 2002. He recently was working on solo material to follow up to his 2005 EP released under his own name.

Nuno Bettencourt went on to release a solo album titled Schizophonic in 1996. Then formed a group called Mourning Widows and released a self titled album in 1998 and then the follow up album Furnished Souls For Rent in 2000. His group called The Dramagods (aka Population 1) have had two albums released, the first being a self titled album Population 1 in 2002 before a name change to Dramagods saw them create their follow up Love in 2005.

A 13-track Extreme "best-of" collection, The Best of Extreme - An Accidental Collocation Of Atoms?, was released in 1998. A re-packaged collection with a different tracklisting was also released in 2002 and was simply titled Extreme - The Collection Mr. Peter Wright was a back up singer for the group in many of their hit songs.

The band reformed for a short tour in 2004, playing in their hometown Boston at the WAAF anniversary and a few concerts in Japan. After no activity at all in most of 2005, they returned in 2006 to do a small three-show reunion tour in New England.

On November 26, 2007, the band announced their plans for a world tour in Spring 2008 as well as a release date and label for the as yet untitled album, which is being produced by Bettencourt.

(1985)	Gary Cherone - lead vocals Nuno Bettencourt - guitar Hal Lebeaux - guitar Paul Mangone - bass Paul Geary - drums
(1986)	Gary Cherone - lead vocals Nuno Bettencourt - guitar Peter Hunt - guitar Paul Mangone - bass Paul Geary - drums
(1986-1994) The "classic" line-up	Gary Cherone - lead vocals Nuno Bettencourt - guitar Pat Badger - bass Paul Geary - drums
(1994-1996)	Gary Cherone - lead vocals Nuno Bettencourt - guitar Pat Badger - bass Michael Mangini - drums
(1996-2004)	SPLIT
(2004)	Gary Cherone - lead vocals Nuno Bettencourt - guitar Carl Restivo - bass Paul Geary - drums
(2004-2006)	(Extreme on hiatus)
(2006)	Gary Cherone - lead vocals Nuno Bettencourt - guitar
(2006-2007)	(Extreme on hiatus)
(2007-present)	Gary Cherone - lead vocals Nuno Bettencourt - guitar Pat Badger - bass Kevin Figueiredo - drums

Date of Release	Title	Label	Chart positions	Certification
1989	Extreme	A&M Records	#80
1990	Extreme II: Pornograffitti	A&M Records	#10	2xPlatinum
1992	III Sides To Every Story	A&M Records	#10	Gold
1995	Waiting For The Punchline	A&M Records	#40
1998	The Best of Extreme - An Accidental Collication of Atoms?	A&M Records	NC
1990	Extragraffitti	Japanese Release EP	NC	???
1995	Running Gag	Japanese Release EP	NC	???
2002	Extreme - The Collection	Spectrum Records	NC	???
2008	as yet untitled

• 8 June 1991 - Get The Funk Out #19
• 27 July 1991 - More Than Words #2
• 12 October 1991 - Decandence Dance #36
• 23 November 1991 - Hole Hearted #12
• 2 May 1992 - Song for Love #12
• 5 September 1992 - Rest in Peace #13
• 14 November 1992 - Stop The World #22
• 6 February 1993 - Tragic Comic #15
• 11 March 1995 - Hip Today #44

Trivia sections are discouraged under Wikipedia guidelines. The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones.

• Extreme is mentioned on the video Nirvana, Live! Tonight! Sold Out! where Dave Grohl, Kurt Cobain, and Krist Novoselic are criticizing the band. Novoselic refers to their music "Shlock Rock."

• The Extreme song "Play With Me" is a playable track in the video game Guitar Hero Encore: Rocks the 80s. It is featured as the final encore of the game, and is as such argued to be one of the most difficult to play.

• Extreme's career on A&M Records with gallery, international discography

v • d • e Extreme
Gary Cherone • Nuno Bettencourt • Pat Badger • Kevin Figueiredo Paul Geary • Michael Mangini
Studio albums	Extreme (1989) • Pornograffitti (1990) • III Sides to Every Story (1992) • Waiting for the Punchline (1995) • TBA (2008)
EPs	Extragraffitti (1990) • Running Gag (1995)
Compilation albums	The Best of Extreme - An Accidental Collication of Atoms? (1998) • Extreme - The Collection (2002)
Singles	"Get the Funk Out" • "More Than Words" • "Decandence Dance" • "Hole Hearted" • "Song for Love" • "Rest in Peace" • "Stop the World" • "Tragic Comic" • "Hip Today"
Side projects	DramaGods • Mourning Widows • Satellite Party • Super TransAtlantic • Tribe of Judah • Van Halen
Related articles	A&M Records • Funk metal • Michael Wagener