It comes naturally to Melbourne’s Bull sisters — they’ve been singing together their entire lives, starting in church with their mother, Siniva, who came to Australia as a nursing student in 1959.
From church to the charts, Vika and Linda have enjoyed a remarkable musical journey.
A snapshot of the highlights: After three classic albums with The Black Sorrows, Vika and Linda have released seven studio albums, two live albums and a chart-topping anthology.
They have also sung on number one albums by Paul Kelly, Kasey Chambers and John Farnham, played gigs for the Dalai Lama, Nelson Mandela and the King of Tonga, and been nominated for five ARIA awards.
Vika and Linda made their own history in 2020 when their career anthology, Akilotoa, entered the Australian charts at number one — their first chart-topping album and the first number one album by an Australian female duo.
Three months later, Vika and Linda’s gospel collection, Sunday: The Gospel According To Iso, debuted at number two.
“Soon it would become apparent that 2020 was the year that many artistic careers slid to a pause,” wrote Andrew McMillen in The Australian, “but not that of Vika and Linda, whose soulful vocal prowess became a radiant beacon of warmth.”
In September 2021, Vika and Linda released their first album of original material in 19 years. The album was aptly titled The Wait.
Preceded by the singles Raise Your Hand and My Heart Is In The Wrong Place, the songwriting credits for The Wait read like a who’s who of Aussie music royalty: Kasey Chambers, Ben Salter, Paul Kelly, Don Walker, Glenn Richards, Chris Cheney, Bernard Fanning, Matt Walker, Neil Murray and Mick Thomas.
“These voices have the ability to make a new tune sound timeless, to make something personal and private seem universal and classic,” wrote Mick Thomas in The Wait’s liner notes.
“Like gospel music itself, comfortable and reassuring, at the same time inspired and elevated.
“These are the voices you need to get you through. And the songs can come along for the ride.”
Vika and Linda are fresh off the back of their appearance at the Red Hot Summer Tour concert in Bendigo, and ready to perform on the main stage for audiences on Friday night.
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