Vika & Linda

Vika and Linda, also known as Vika and Linda Bull, are an Australian vocal duo consisting of Vika Susan Bull OAM (born 1966) and her younger sister, Linda Rose Bull OAM. They came to prominence after singing backing vocals in Joe Camilleri's band The Black Sorrows from 1988. They left that group early in 1994 to start their duo with a self-titled album which was released in June that year and was certified platinum. The duo scored their first number 1 album in 2020, with their retrospective 'Akilotoa: Anthology (1994-2006). The duo have received six ARIA Music Award nominations as well as AIR Awards recognition, induction into the Music Victoria Hall of Fame, and were awarded the Order of Australia Medal (OAM) in 2022 in recognition of their outstanding contribution to the performing arts. At the 2026 ARIA Music Awards they were inducted in the ARIA Hall of Fame. Vika Susan Bull was born in 1966 in Doncaster. Her sister, Linda Rose Bull is 18 months younger. Their mother, who was from Tonga, arrived in Australia in 1959 as a nursing student. Their father, whose parents were local orchardists, was from Melbourne. The family maintained close links to the local Tongan community, and the sisters were taught traditional singing and dancing. As children, they regularly performed with the family at dinner dances and the Tongan church they attended. After church they would have a Tongan feast, Vika recalled in 1995, "It didn't matter what the occasion was we would sing. We had harmonies around us ..., and now we mainly sing gospel .... It's a way of letting loose, which is what gospel music is all about". Vika received musical training. She had singing lessons, was taught the piano and how to read music. Vika and Linda both attended Camberwell Girls Grammar School. Vika left at the age of 17 to train as a legal secretary at Stotts College. Both worked at the Black Cat Cafe in their teens in Fitzroy. While growing up, the sisters had separate ambitions: Vika wanted to be a professional singer; Linda wanted to be either a visual artist or a microbiologist. Vika started training as a secretary, while Linda entered university. They both enjoyed singing, with their mother, an early coach, noticing their sibling vocal harmony. Vika recalled, "Our mother taught us to sing in harmony. [She] said, 'Linda, you got the low voice. You take the low part.' I took the high part". Vika's early influences were Aretha Franklin, Etta James and Ruth Brown. Linda's influences were Linda Ronstadt, Aretha Franklin and Dolly Parton.[citation needed] By 1983 Vika had started a band, Blue Tomatoes, with one of the café's co-owners, Toni Edwards. They played cover versions of soul songs and a few originals. In 1984 Vika became a backing singer in a Melbourne band, Fear of Flying. After two years Vika joined Sophisticated Boom Boom. Other members of that group were Jenny Tubbs (now Barbato), Louise Taunt, Steve Purcell, Steve Dagg, Kerri Simpson, and Jeremy Rasmussen. Vika started working as a receptionist at Platinum Studios, a recording studio. In 1987, Linda left university and joined Vika in Sophisticated Boom Boom. Vika also performed with John Justin and Thunderwings alongside Justin, Tony Featherstone, Paul Hines, Carl Manuel, Gordon Pitts, and Robert Woodrow. Later in 1987 the sisters formed their own band, The Honeymooners, with a line up of Jack Abeyratne, Thiery Fossmalle on bass guitar, and Steve Sedergreen on piano. Vika met John Watson, drummer (ex-Australian Crawl, Kevin Borich Express) in James Reyne Band, and they married in 1997. Vika's first recording opportunity occurred when Rebecca Barnard was using the Platinum Studios and one of her backing vocalists "lost her voice". Vika, the receptionist, was now a backing singer. Early in 1988 Vika released her debut solo single, "Livin' Hell", which was soon followed by a second single, "My House". Vika and Linda worked with Barnard and Simpson in The Sacred Hearts of Sweet Temptation. By mid-1988, Vika and Linda had joined the Black Sorrows, a blues-rock group, which had formed in 1983 by Joe Camilleri (ex-Jo Jo Zep & The Falcons) on lead vocals and saxophone. The group's drummer, Peter Luscombe, recommended the sisters to Camilleri. They provided backing vocals on the Black Sorrows' fifth studio album, Hold On to Me (September 1988). The line-up was Vika and Linda, Camilleri, and Luscombe; with Wayne Burt on guitar; Jeff Burstin on guitar (both ex-Falcons); and Mick Girasole on bass guitar. The album peaked at No. 7 on the ARIA Albums Chart. Vika and Linda provided backing vocals on the band's hits on the related ARIA Singles Chart, "Hold On to Me", "Chained to the Wheel" and "The Crack-Up". For live gigs, Camilleri would give each their own "spots" displaying different voices: "Vika strong and soulful. Linda soft and gentle". Their second album with The Black Sorrows was Harley & Rose (November 1990) and saw the duo provide lead vocals on some of the album tracks. It peaked at No. 3 and provided two top 30 singles, "Harley + Rose" and "Never Let Me Go". Better Times was released in September 1992 and peaked at No. 13. They followed with a compilation album, The Chosen Ones – Greatest Hits, in November 1993 which reached No. 4. The group toured in support of its release, Nicole Leedham of The Canberra Times noted that the band "has also been through the odd line-up change, with the latest incarnations offering the harmonies of Vika and Linda Bull, being the most successful". Vika praised Camillleri saying that "He taught us that you have to take care of your own career, because no one else will do it for you. He taught us to watch every cent, to make sure your band is happy, and how to deal with the public". While members of The Black Sorrows, the duo provided vocals for other artists: Hunters and Collectors' What's a Few Men? (November 1987) and Ghost Nation (November 1989); Ross Wilson's Dark Side of the Man (July 1989); Archie Roach's Charcoal Lane (May 1990); John Farnham's Chain Reaction (September 1990); Seven Stories' Judges and Bagmen (1990); Deborah Conway's String of Pearls (October 1991) and Bitch Epic (1993). During the recording of Charcoal Lane, they met Paul Kelly, its producer, and a singer-songwriter in his own right. By February 1994 Vika and Linda had announced they would leave The Black Sorrows and were "branching into their solo careers". They began performing original works and country music covers at venues like the Cherry Tree and The Esplanade. They prepared material for their debut self-titled album. In March 1994 they performed at Canberra's National Food and Wine Frolic, where they presented their new material. Also that year the duo was invited to Tonga to sing at celebrations for the 75th birthday of King Tāufaʻāhau Tupou. The duo's self-titled debut album was released in June 1994 on Mushroom Records and was produced by Kelly. A bonus disc, containing five gospel songs, was included with the special edition of the album. Kelly also provided guitars and backing vocals. Other session musicians were Burstin on guitars; Luscombe on drums; Stephen Hadley on bass guitar; and Jex Saarelaht on keyboards. All tracks on the standard edition were originals. Kelly had offered twelve tracks (they recorded five) including "Ninety Nine Years", which had been co-written with Vika and Linda. Three other tracks were written specifically for the duo, "When Will You Fall For Me" by Mark Seymour (of Hunters & Collectors), "House of Love" by Wayne Burt, and "These Hands That Hold Me" by Eris O'Brien. "When Will You Fall For Me" and "House of Love" were both featured as backing music on the soap opera, Home and Away. Other tracks were written by Camilleri and Stephen Cummings. Linda told The Canberra Times' Naomi Mapstone "it was amazing how friendly and helpful these people were, they could just as easily have said no because they're so busy". Another The Canberra Times review described their music as "a mix