Vika and Linda Bull, Australian-Tongan sisters who recently entered the ARIA Hall of Fame, reflect on their journey from childhood in Melbourne's Doncaster suburb to becoming celebrated singers and backing vocalists for prominent artists like Hunters and Collectors and John Farnham. Their musical partnership thrived due to complementary differences in personality and taste, with Linda being more cautious while Vika is described as bolder and more adventurous. Despite growing up in a conservative environment, their unique harmonies and cultural background became defining aspects of their identity and success in the music industry.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-07,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Beyond their sublime harmonies, however, the singing sisters are very different people whose music tastes were "polar opposites" growing up.
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tastes → sing → harmonies
"I'm a little bit country, and Vika's a little bit rock'n'roll," Linda says on Take 5 with Zan Rowe.
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Linda → say → Rowe
Older sister Vika admits to being the wilder of the two growing up.
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"I have the guts to do that," she says.
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she → have → that
Sometimes too much, and it drives me crazy.
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"She's seen me just bumble through and make a wreck of things."
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Linda adds: "I did watch that and go, 'I don't think mum would survive two of us like that.'
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"
The pair's differences are their strength, Linda reasons.
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But we cover a lot of ground because we work as a team."
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Across four decades as successful recording artists, the OAM recipients and recent ARIA Hall of Famers have stuck to the same motto:
"Sisters first, singers second."
Finding their voice
The first person to notice how Vika and Linda's dissimilarities complemented each other was their mother.
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"She recognised Vika had a higher voice, and I naturally had a lower one.
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She would coach us with holding the note, how to sing in tune," Linda says.
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"Teach us different parts people were singing on the radio.
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We'd just go around the house practising.
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"
Raised in the conservative suburb of Doncaster in 1970s Melbourne, "we stood out," says Linda.
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Their mixed heritage and cultural practises set them apart at primary school.
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But they delighted in attending Tongan church each Sunday and the visceral experience of the choir.
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"It's frightening and exhilarating; just the best thing you'll ever hear," gushes Vika.
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Vika → hear → ?
Mama Bull was less than happy when Vika, who had left school early to pursue singing, convinced her little sister, a few years into a university degree, to do the same.
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"That was a bad day in the Bull household," Vika smirks.
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"Mum goes, 'Not you too!'
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It's your fault, you taught us!"
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Linda jokes.
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"That was our pact with mum: we'll stick together.
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And so we didn't.
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"
"Well, you didn't!" Vika counters.
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In the late 1980s, Vika and Linda gained wider attention with The Black Sorrows, their intimate harmonies and soulful power the secret sauce on tunes like Chained To The Wheel and Never Let Me Go.
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"I didn't know what a gift Joe [Camilerri, band leader] was giving me at that time.
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It was a great band to be in [and] Joe just said, 'go for it.'
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During this era, Vika and Linda moonlighted as celebrated singers-for-hire on albums from Hunters and Collectors, John Farnham, Deborah Conway, and more.
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"You don't want to overshadow the singer," explains Vika.
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You're there to support and lift."
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By 1994, they departed The Black Sorrows to step out on their own.
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I remember the day.
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It was hard to leave that band.
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Being in the Sorrows, we would've remained backing singers.
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We just thought, 'we want to start telling stories as well.'"
Linda adds: "… in our own way.
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We'd been interpreters of [other people's] music, but we felt if we don't try … we're wasting our time."
Going solo together
When the Bull sisters were ready to leap, side by side, some Australian music royalty was ready to help give them a push.
Featuring on Archie Roach's 1990 classic Charcoal Lane introduced Vika and Linda to Paul Kelly.
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"He said we should sit down and write songs; 'Give it a crack!'" remembers Linda.
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"He was the first person to say that, even though we hadn't written one song."
Kelly devoted a "year of Thursday afternoon writing sessions" to the duo, coaxing them with yarns and musical sketches.
"
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…and 24 more, not listed.
The Aporia