Evolving from Boston club band THE DREAM, which itself had been created by a union of ADRENALINE and DIRECTION in 1981, and releasing an eponymous six track album on Toppe Records in 1983, EXTREME was the subject of unexpected exposure when their video clip for 'Mutha (Don't Want To Go To School Today') won an MTV competition in 1985. The song had originally been recorded by THE DREAM.

It was when hotshot ex-SINFUL guitarist NUNO BETTENCOURT, born Nuno Duarte Gil Mendes Bettencourt in the town of Praia da Vitoria, on the island of Terceira in the Azores, and ex-DAEMON and IN THE PINK bassist Pat Badger in 1986 came into the fold that the band's career began to race forward, building up a huge reputation in Boston as a strong live act.

EXTREME put in their first European shows in 1986 at festivals in Portugal. In their absence tracks such as 'Suzi (Wants An All Day Sucker)' and 'Nasty Habits' had been scoring the band valuable airplay. The following year EXTREME tied for first place in the Boston Music Awards -with GANG GREEN! Sharing management at the time with MICHAEL BOLTON through Louis Levin, EXTREME signed to major label A&M and made their debut with the inclusion of a song 'Play With Me' on the soundtrack album to the cult movie 'Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure'.

The eponymous debut album (produced by Mack and mixed by Nigel Green and Brian Foraker) failed to ignite much interest outside of their home state (they received a further Boston Music Award in 1988 for 'Outstanding Heavy Metal Act') but amends were made with 1990's 'Pornograffitti'(with guest performances from PAT TRAVERS and DWEEZIL ZAPPA), essentially a concept album sub- titled 'A Funked Up Fairy Tale' which shot the band to stardom as Rock fans discovered EXTREME's distinctive brand of Funk Rock. The acoustic ballad 'More Than Words' gave the band massive international radio play and it reached the coveted number 1 slot in the American singles charts. The cheeky anthem 'Get The Funk Out' also charted highly as EXTREME toured constantly to back up these successes.

As EXTREME's stock rose, Bettencourt was invited to contribute guitar to JANET JACKSON's short foray into the world of Hard Rock by playing guitar on her 'Black Cat' track.

Their credibility was further enhanced with an appearance at the AIDS benefit concert in honour of the late QUEEN vocalist FREDDIE MERCURY. The band were there at the personal invitation of QUEEN guitarist Brian May and put in a worthy performance of QUEEN covers, a band EXTREME have always been open in their admiration for.

A line-up change ensued prior to EXTREME's performance at the 1994 Castle Donington festival as Geary was supplanted by ex ANNIHILATOR drummer Mike Mangini.

EXTREME returned with the very contemporary sounding and extremely underrated 'Waiting For The Punchline' album, but the quartet's dalliance with Grunge and fans claims that the songs had no choruses inevitably led to poor sales and, ultimately, the band's demise as Bettencourt set out on a solo career.

With the group no longer a going concern, Gary Cherone landed the plum job of replacing SAMMY HAGAR as frontman for Rock institution VAN HALEN. However, the resulting 'III' album was roundly panned by VAN HALEN fans and media alike and Cherone was ousted a little less than a year later.

An EXTREME retrospective album was scheduled for release by A&M in April 1998 as Nuno Bettencourt and Mike Mangini reunited in a power trio with Nuno's nephew Donovan. Mangini also appeared on DREAM THEATER's James LaBrie's side project MULLMUZZLER's 1999 album.

2000 found Badger as part of former SAIGON KICK mentor Jason Bieler's new act SUPER TRANSATLANTIC for the 'Shuttlecock' album. Recovering from the VAN HALEN debacle Cherone took some time assembling his new project TRIBE OF JUDAH. When demo tracks emerged on the internet it would come as a welcome surprise to EXTREME fans to discover the band included both Mangini and Badger.

EXTREME would be back in the news in mid 2004 as a gig as part of the 20th Maré de Agosto Internacional Music Festival on the Portuguese island of Santa Maria in the Azores, Bettencourt's birthplace, was set to host a near reunion gig. The guitarist was scheduled to perform with his own band POPULATION 1, but news leaked that Gary Cherone and Paul Geary were in place for an additional EXTREME set. Handling bass, in Badger's stead, would be Carl Restivo. Their first reunion gig on US soil came on 18th September at WAAF's Hillman 15th Anniversary Concert as part of the '2004 Taste of Boston' at City Hall Plaza performing alongside PUDDLE OF MUDD and DROPKICK MURPHYS.

Early EXTREME guitarist PAUL MANGONE issued a solo album 'Fly By Wire' in late 2004, this featuring Gary Cherone on guest vocals. Meantime, the EXTREME reunion gathered pace, with Japanese shows being announced for January 2005. That same month both Cherone and Bettencourt donated their vocals to 'Forever In Our Hearts', a track penned by GODHEAD's Jason Miller as a benefit effort in aid of the Indian Ocean tsunami victims.

April saw Nuno Bettencourt re-emerging as part of a newly constructed band entitled SATELLITE PARTY in collaboration with JANE'S ADDICTION and PORNO FOR PYROS frontman Perry Farrell and percussionist Gabriele Corcos. It was also learned in September that Gary Cherone had forged a fresh venture, simply billed CHERONE, to release the EP 'Need I Say More'.

The singer also fronted AMAZING JOURNEY, a one-off tribute band assembled to pay homage to THE WHO. On drums would be Mike Portnoy, of DREAM THEATER repute, with PAUL GILBERT of MR. BIG and RACER X on guitar and BILLY SHEEHAN from MR. BIG, DAVID LEE ROTH, UFO and TALAS on bass. This impressive quartet undertook a brief burst of US shows in May 2006.

Nuno Bettencourt featured on the song and accompanying video for escapologist and stunt performer Criss Angel's 'MF2' track included on his television series soundtrack 'Criss Angel: Mindfreak' album.

Unveiled in April 2007 new Rock outfit HURTSMILE was notably fronted by Gary Cherone along with brother Markus Cherone, of FLESH, OK PANIC and SUPERZERO, on guitar, Joe Pessia, of DRAMAGODS, POPULATION-1 and STATE OF THE ART, on bass and drummer Dana Spellman.

The classic line-up of EXTREME, Gary Cherone, Nuno Bettencourt, Pat Badger and Paul Geary reunited once again for a benefit concert and auction on on May 18th at the Canal Room venue in West Broadway, New York to honor of music manager Steven Hoffman, who died of lung cancer in 2003. As a surprise foretatse, on April 9th the quartet performed an impromptu version of LED ZEPPELIN's 'Communication Breakdown' in Hollywood, California before a METAL SKOOL show.

EXTREME released 'Saudades de Rock', their first studio album in thirteen years to coincide with their first world tour in over twelve years, on August 12th 2008 on Open E Records with distributed by Fontana. The quartet, including new drummer Kevin Figueiredo, recorded their fifth studio offering at NRG Studios in Los Angeles with Bettencourt at the helm as producer and mixer. The 'Take Us Alive' tour opened on July 29th at The Chance in Poughkeepsie, New York and was anchored by a hometown gig two days later at the Bank of America Pavilion. In advance of the tour, EXTREME co-headlined on July 11th at the five-day 'Rocklahoma' festival in Pryor, Oklahoma.

The European version of the 'Saudades de Rock' album, released through Italian label Frontiers on 1st August, included a bonus track, the 'Americocaine' demo from 1985, the very first studio recording of EXTREME.UK headline tour dates took the band through November.

'Saudades de Rock' debuted at no. 78 on the national US Billboard charts and no. 80 in the UK.

EXTREME teamed up with RATT for a co-headling US tour starting 12th July 2009 in Amarillo, Texas and running through until 7th August in Hampton Beach, New Hampshire. That November Nuno Bettencourt revealed he had been hired as a session touring guitarist for R&B diva RIHANNA.

Garry Sharpe-Young