The group was formed in 1981. The original lineup consisted in Guy A. Lepage, Yves P. Pelletier, Bruno E. Landry, André G. Ducharme, Richard Z. Sirois and Chantal Francke. Sirois left the group in 1987, and Francke left in 1992. The group separated in 1995. RBO specialized in performing parodies of well known advertisements, TV shows and movies, as well as impersonating politicians, showbiz stars and various famous people. They quickly became known for being highly politically incorrect. Many of their sketches poked fun at English Canadians, though this was counter-balanced by making fun of Quebec nationalists and political icons such as René Lévesque as well. They also caused a few scandals with sketches involving feces, dildos or the Holocaust. One of their most famous recurring sketches was about police officers who were always eating doughnuts and coffee at Dunkin’ Donuts instead of working. The song called “Bonjour la police” became quite popular and it was sung at the Rolling Stones concert at the Montreal’s Olympic Stadium in December 1989.[citation needed] Team member Guy Lepage became in the early 2000s a media mogul and TV series director, very popular on the Quebec entertainment scene, with popular series such as the sitcom Un gars, une fille (“A Guy & A Girl” in Canada or “Love bites” in the United States) and the talk-show Tout le monde en parle (“Everybody’s talking about it”), based on a popular French broadcasting show. Most other members were stand-up comics or talk-show hosts in the early 2000s. |
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