Vika and Linda Bull on their lifelong musical partnership and path to reconciliation
Bull sisters Vika and Linda have been singing together since they were little, playing very different roles with a very special harmony.
-Vika: I was only 17 months old when Linda was born and for as long as I can remember she was always there. We rode bikes together and played on the street. We grew up near the Botanical Gardens [in Melbourne] and they were constantly climbing the pine trees. He was a chubby kid, so he was teased a bit, and there was a teacher who made fun of him out of courtesy. This made him determined to succeed. He thought: “I’ll show you.”
Our family told us we had to stick together, so I became Linda’s guardian in elementary school. One day in first grade, a boy unzipped his dress. He came running to me in tears, so I went and found this kid in the hallway and hit him with a stick.
Singing is a big part of being Tongan. My mom was singing in church, and we were listening to 3XY on the radio and my dad’s favorites like Linda Ronstadt and Willy Nelson. Linda and I would sit in our room and sing; he would sing the low parts and I would sing the high parts. We were working, but we didn’t know it at the time.
We shared the same room until high school, but we were very different. I never made my bed; his was always clean. He especially attracted attention with his clothes. While I would hang out in the garden with my dad, he and my mom would go shopping for supplies and buy matching bags and shoes. It was the same in high school. Linda became school captain, but I just wanted to join a group.
I left after grade 11 and took a secretarial course while Linda studied at university to become an art teacher. But after a while, I saw that he was unhappy and said, “Come, join my group!” I said.
I was in a band called Sophisticated Boom Boom. The first time he sang with us was in a nightclub on Swanston Street. We discussed the works of Frank and Nancy Sinatra something stupid. I said, “Whatever you do, don’t drink before you hit the road.” But he was so nervous he drank half a bottle of whiskey, then stood up and sang the entire song on the wrong note. I For this reason We were angry but continued to sing together in groups.
I felt more confident on stage than Linda; he was standing next to me watching. When we performed, I was the one in charge, but I felt like he was the mature one in everything else. I was jealous of him and how good he was at everything. By drinking too much, I became a disgrace to the family. I always wonder “What did Vika do now?”
A few years ago Linda and I had a huge fight over dinner at our parents’ house. And I said, “You suck and your husband is an asshole.” I said. After that Linda didn’t talk to me for three months. I apologized and we got back together and our relationship grew stronger. Today we are together almost every day. When we’re not in the studio, we take care of our parents: if one of us isn’t doing our part, we tell each other. This is Linda: She always had the courage to tell me the truth. But he is also patient and understanding. If it wasn’t for him, we would have gone our separate ways but years later we are still together, just doing what we love.
‘When the lights went out Vika was stomping my feet and I was stomping her on my elbow. “You’re singing out of tune,” he would say. ‘
Linda Taurus
: My first memories are of us in the garden: Vika, her tiny little legs in black rubber boots. As the eldest, he made the decisions. But he always looked after me. Once we lost a cricket ball in the stream behind our house. When it came to getting her back, there was no doubt that he would be the one to go to the creek in search of her:
I had a teacher in Kindy who separated me and this Chinese boy from other children. He would serve us lunch last and make me stand in a corner facing the wall. This made me feel like something was wrong. So I wanted to be the best at everything. I worked hard and succeeded, but Vik wasn’t like that: I was praised, but he wasn’t.
My mother was religious and sang in church. Linda and I also sang at home, practiced with Abba in the living room, and sang all the theme songs on TV shows. My mother would listen while she cooked and shout when we were on our way or when someone held a note for too long.
We were sent to a private school, but Vik rebelled: He got a Mohawk and smoked in his room. “Mom and Dad will smell it!” I said. I became the head class president, but he left after 11th grade. This upset my mother and I was angry at Vik for it, but he wanted to live life his way. I studied art at the University of Melbourne and Vik trained as a secretary. He was at the top of his class, but the emphasis was always on my grade. Relatives: “How is university going?” he would ask. but “How is secretarial school going?” They didn’t ask.
He convinced me to sing with his band in 1987, but I was so nervous I sat in my Datsun 120Y drinking whiskey, then got up and sang off key. Then we founded our own group. We started getting shows, but we would fight on stage. When the lights went out he was stomping my feet and I was stomping his elbow. “You’re singing out of tune,” he’d say, and I’d say, “You’re not the boss of me!” I would say. It’s still like this! If I do something wrong on stage he tells me, which is good too. you need praise And criticism.
Vik was violent. He started drinking, so much so that I was like, “Is he going to come to the show?” I would think. I was always saying, “You should go to bed, we have a show tomorrow.” And he would say: “Don’t tell me how to live my life!” He’d come to the studio with a hangover, or he’d get on stage with two minutes left and sing like a bird. He never let down, but he always did it the hard way.
Then in 2006 we had an explosion at our parents’ house. Vik had too many of them. “You and your perfect little family! You think you have it all figured out!” I didn’t talk to him for months. My mother intervened and we made peace. But the only reason it worked was because Vik actually apologized. And it changed everything. We became even closer.
And now he’s sober. He swims every day and tells me what foods I should eat. I love him and admire his courage. I’m so proud to have her as my sister.
The sisters’ ninth studio album Where Do You Come From? output.
