Editing Barenaked Ladies (section)

===First albums (1992–1997)===
[[File:Andrew creeggan.jpg|thumb|alt=A bespectacled Andy Creegan, playing a keyboard at a library|Andy Creeggan performing with the Brothers Creeggan in [[London, Ontario]], in 2002]]
Barenaked Ladies were signed to [[Sire Records]] in April 1992.<ref>"Barenaked Ladies sign U.S. deal". ''[[Ottawa Citizen]]'', April 30, 1992.</ref> They performed at Toronto's [[Ontario Place Forum]] the following month, and were the quickest act to sell out the venue.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.worldradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-Business/Music/Archive-RPM-IDX/IDX/90s/RPM-1992-07-11-OCR-Page-0007.pdf|title=Barenaked Ladies play Kingswood in August|magazine=[[RPM (magazine)|RPM]]|access-date=July 11, 2024}}</ref>

The band's first full album, ''[[Gordon (album)|Gordon]]'', was released in July 1992 and was successful in Canada;<ref name="MMMBio" /> by the end of August, it had been certified platinum.<ref>"The Ladies and Gordon". ''[[Ottawa Citizen]]'', August 27, 1992.</ref> The album included some of the band's best-known songs, including "[[Enid (Barenaked Ladies song)|Enid]]", the first single; "[[Be My Yoko Ono]]", which helped fund the album; "[[If I Had $1000000]]", spawning a practice of throwing [[Kraft Dinner]] during live shows which the band later discouraged;<ref name="Talk to the Hand" /><ref name="Distinguished Artists" /> and "[[Brian Wilson (song)|Brian Wilson]]", named after [[Beach Boys|Beach Boy]] [[Brian Wilson]] (who covered the song on [[Live at the Roxy Theatre|a live album]]). A number of ''Gordon''{{'s}} songs were live favourites, and had already been recorded. Although the band was doing well in Canada, US success was elusive.<ref name="Behind the Music" />

Their second album, ''[[Maybe You Should Drive]]'' (1994),<ref name="MMMBio" /> was less popular in Canada.<ref name="Behind the Music" /> The band's US tour lost money, despite an appearance on ''[[Late Night with Conan O'Brien]]''. Before the next release, Andy Creeggan decided to leave the band; he had become disillusioned with its direction,<ref name="Barenaked Truth" /> and was uncomfortable with their new fame.<ref name="MMMBio" /> According to Page, Creeggan had considered leaving during rehearsals for ''Drive''; the band convinced him to stay to record that album and for its subsequent tour. Creeggan wanted to study music at [[McGill University]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.mcgill.ca/reporter/32/13/kaleidoscope|title=Kaleidoscope|website=Mcgill.ca|access-date=April 17, 2017|archive-date=April 18, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170418163316/http://www.mcgill.ca/reporter/32/13/kaleidoscope/|url-status=live}}</ref> Tyler Stewart has suggested that Creeggan had never fully accepted his replacement as a percussionist.<ref name="Behind the Music" /> He left when band members were tiring of one other, with Page and Robertson rarely communicating; Stewart cites Creeggan's departure as worsening the situation. Page developed alcohol abuse and depression.<ref name="Behind the Music" /><ref name="Barenaked Truth" /> To reverse their fortunes, they signed with [[Terry McBride (CEO)|Terry McBride]] and [[Nettwerk]] for management.<ref name="Barenaked Truth" />

The band released ''[[Born on a Pirate Ship]]'' as a quartet in 1996.<ref name = "Barelaked Nadies" /> The album's "[[Shoe Box]]" was included on the ''[[Friends]]'' soundtrack,<ref name = "Barelaked Nadies" /> and the [[Jason Priestley]]-directed video for "[[The Old Apartment]]" received notable US airplay.<ref name = "Barelaked Nadies" /> Although the album had better sales than ''Maybe You Should Drive'', it did not match the success of "Gordon".<ref name="MMMBio" /> Barenaked Ladies appeared on an episode of ''[[Beverly Hills, 90210]]'' ("Spring Breakdown") performed "The Old Apartment", "Life, In a Nutshell", and "Brian Wilson" at the Peach Pit After Dark night club. Tyler Stewart invited his friend [[Kevin Hearn]] to replace Andy Creeggan as a keyboardist for the tour, and Hearn joined the band full time. They had a cameo appearance in the Canadian film ''[[The Wrong Guy]]'' with [[Dave Foley]] in 1997, performing "Gangster Girl".<ref name="Behind the Music" /><ref name="Barenaked Truth" />

Barenaked Ladies recorded two dates on their 1996 ''Born on a Pirate Ship'' tour and released ''[[Rock Spectacle]]'', a live album with a modest American radio hit in "Brian Wilson". The album was their first US gold record, and they saw their next one as a chance to make it big in the States.<ref name="Behind the Music" /><ref name="Barenaked Truth" />