Editing Barenaked Ladies (section)

===Origins (1988–1991)===
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|alt1=A smiling, bespectacled Steven Page
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|footer=Co-founders Steven Page ''(left)'' and Ed Robertson in 2005
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Barenaked Ladies began as a duo of Ed Robertson and Steven Page.<ref name="MMMBio" /><ref name="Leahey" /> Both attended [[Churchill Heights Public School]] and met after a [[Peter Gabriel]] concert; they were counsellors at Interprovincial Music Camp in [[McKellar, Ontario]].<ref name="Barenaked Truth bonus">{{Cite AV media |title=The Barenaked Truth (bonus interviews) |date=2004 |medium=DVD |publisher=Take 3 Productions/Casablanca Media Television |people=[[Jim Creeggan]], [[Kevin Hearn]], [[Steven Page]], [[Ed Robertson]], [[Tyler Stewart]]}}</ref> Page was impressed by Robertson's harmonizing when they began playing songs together.<ref name="Barenaked Truth">{{Cite AV media | people = [[Jim Creeggan]], [[Kevin Hearn]], [[Steven Page]], [[Ed Robertson]], [[Tyler Stewart]] | title = The Barenaked Truth | medium = Television documentary/DVD | publisher = Take 3 Productions/Casablanca Media Television | date = 2004 }}
</ref> While attending a [[Bob Dylan]] concert at [[Exhibition Stadium]], they decided on the name "Barenaked Ladies."<ref name="Talk to the Hand">{{Cite AV media |title=[[Talk to the Hand]] ("behind the scenes" feature) |date=2007 |medium=DVD |publisher=Morningstar Entertainment/Desperation Records |people=[[Jim Creeggan]], [[Kevin Hearn]], [[Steven Page]], [[Ed Robertson]], [[Tyler Stewart]]}}</ref><ref name="Distinguished Artists">{{Cite AV media | people = [[Ed Robertson|Robertson, Ed]] & Frohman, Lorne (Interviewer/Host) | title = Distinguished Artists | medium = TV-series | publisher = Humber College School of Media Studies | location = Toronto, Ontario, Canada | date = 2005 }}</ref>

They first performed a largely-improvised set during a [[battle of the bands]] at [[Nathan Phillips Square]] for the [[Second Harvest Toronto|Second Harvest]] [[food bank]] on 1 October 1988.<ref name="Star89">{{cite news | title=We finally get date with Barenaked Ladies | last = Potter | first = Mitch | newspaper = [[Toronto Star]] | date= November 24, 1989}} "But they finally managed a first-ever rehearsal the morning of Oct. 1, 1988, about ''five hours'' before making a stage debut at a Nathan Phillips Square benefit concert."</ref> The duo opened for [[the Razorbacks]] and others, developing their improvised set to include comedy, songs, and audience interactions.<ref name="Behind the Music" /><ref name="Talk to the Hand" /><ref name="Distinguished Artists" />

Page and Robertson continued performing, and began writing songs together. Their first tape, ''[[Barenaked Ladies demo tapes#Buck Naked|Buck Naked]]'' (1989), was made with a four-track recorder<ref name="Barenaked Truth" /> in basements and bedrooms. They became followers of the comedy group [[Corky and the Juice Pigs]], whom they credited with exposing them to a comedic stage presence. Page and Robertson presented the group with their tape, and were invited to open for the Juice Pigs on their national tour.<ref name="Distinguished Artists" /> Page and Robertson invited two friends from music camp, brothers [[Andy Creeggan]] (percussion) and [[Jim Creeggan]] (bass),<ref name="Barenaked Truth bonus" /> to play with them at a 1989 Toronto Christmas show. With the Creeggan brothers, [[Barenaked Ladies demo tapes#Barenaked Lunch|''Barenaked Lunch'' (also known as ''The Pink Tape'')]] was released in 1990.<ref name="Barenaked Truth bonus" />

[[File:JimCreeggan1.JPG|right|thumb|upright=0.7|alt=Jim Creeggan playing an upright bass onstage|Jim Creeggan in 2008]]
Andy Creeggan left for a student-exchange trip to South America six months later, leaving the band without a percussionist. They met drummer [[Tyler Stewart]] in [[Waterloo, Ontario]] in the summer of 1990, and he joined the band.<ref name="Behind the Music" /> The band received attention during Andy Creeggan's absence, receiving the 1990 [[YTV Achievement Awards|YTV Achievement Award]] for Best Band/Musical Group<ref name="Barenaked Truth" /><ref name="RPM22Dec1990">{{cite news |title=YTV Achievement Awards recognize young talent |url=https://worldradiohistory.com/CANADA/RPM/90s/1990/RPM-1990-12-22.pdf |access-date=11 October 2022 |issue=6 |publisher=RPM |date=22 December 1990 |volume=53 |page=7}}</ref> and squeezing into a ''[[Speakers Corner (TV series)|Speaker's Corner]]'' video booth to perform "[[Be My Yoko Ono]]".<ref name="Barenaked Truth" /> Andy Creeggan returned in early 1991, playing keyboards, [[congas]] and other percussion instruments, and the band soon began their first Canadian tour.<ref name="Behind the Music" />