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No Doubt
With the return of the punks in the mid-'90s came a resurgence of their slightly more commercial rivals, new wave bands. No Doubt found a niche as a new wave/ska band, on the
strength of vocalist Gwen Stefani's persona -- alternately an embrace of little-girl-lost innocence and riot grrl feminism -- exemplified on the band's breakout single, "Just a Girl."
Formed in early 1987 as a ska band inspired by Madness, the lineup of No Doubt initially comprised John Spence, Gwen Stefani and her brother Eric. While playing the party-band circuit around Anaheim, the trio picked up bassist Tony Kanal, born in India but raised in Great Britain and the U.S. Hardened by the suicide of Spence in December 1987, No Doubt nevertheless continued; Gwen became the lone vocalist and the group added guitarist Tom Dumont and drummer Adrian Young.
Gwen Stefani
A young and energetic Gwen Stefani moved into the music spotlight in 1987 as the sexy lead singer for the band
No Doubt. One of her biggest hits in the '90s with the cross-mixed group of ska-punk and new wave fashion was a single called "Don't Speak," one of the tracks from No Doubt's Grammy nominated third album Tragic Kingdom. The video for "Don't Speak," a play on inner jealousy in a band, accumulated plenty of play on MTV, giving the group and its lead singer a chance to reach even more fans.
Stefani was born and raised in the glittering sunshine of Southern California. Others shared musical talent in her family, including her brother Eric Stefani. When he and a friend, singer John Spence, put together a new band called No Doubt in 1987, of course Gwen was brought in as co-singer with Spence. That same year, Spence ended his life by suicide, leaving a saddened teenage Gwen to step up to the microphone alone. During those first hard years in the group, playing gigs where ever they could, Gwen somehow managed to finish high school and enter college without missing a beat. Other members of No Doubt are guitarist Tom Dumont, drummer Adrian Young, and bassist Tony Kanal. The latter would become Gwen's love interest for a number of years.
In 1992, after signing with Interscope Records, No Doubt released its self-titled debut album. When the record label didn't like the numbers that came in from that first album, they wouldn't agree to back a second. Refusing to give in, even though her brother Eric left, Gwen and the other band members put up money of their own in 1995 to record a sophomore album called The Beacon Street Collection. Stefani kept up the hard work, and soon she and the band had Interscope's full attention again, and were working on another album, Tragic Kingdom. The old saying about the third time being the charm, proved true, and there was nothing tragic to be found in this third offering. The Grammy nominated album hit number one on the Billboard charts, and three of its tracks charted as well, including "Spiderwebs" and "Just a Girl." Another full-length album, Return of Saturn, appeared in 2000 with Gwen Stefani still taking her spot in front at the microphone, where she seems to shine her best.
No Doubt's live act began to attract regional interest, and Interscope Records signed them in 1991. The band's debut a year later, an odd fusion of '80s pop and ska, sank without a trace in the wake of the grunge movement. As a result, Interscope refused to support No Doubt's tour or further recordings. The band responded by recording on their own during 1993-94; the result was the self-released The Beacon Street Collection, much rawer and more punk-inspired than the debut. Eric Stefani left just after its release, later working as an animator for The Simpsons.
By late 1994, Interscope allowed recordings to resume, and Tragic Kingdom was released in October 1995. The album served as a document of the breakup of Gwen Stefani and Kanal, whose relationship had lasted seven years. Thanks to constant touring and the appearance of "Just a Girl" and "Spiderwebs" on MTV's Buzz Bin, the album hit the Top Ten in 1996. Stefani, who has made no secret of her pop ambitions, became a centerpiece of attention as an alternative to the crop of tough girls prevalent on the charts. By the end of the year, Tragic Kingdom hit number one on the album charts, almost a year after its first release; the record's third single, the ballad "Don't Speak," was the band's biggest hit to date. No Doubt's much-anticipated follow-up, The Return of Saturn, was released in the spring of 2000 and "Simple Kind of Life" and "Ex-Girlfriend" were both critically successful at the mainstream and college levels. A year later, Stefani also hooked up with rap chanteuse, Eve for the single "Let Me Blow Your Mind" (it went on to earn a Grammy for "Best Rap/Sung Collaboration" in 2002), however Stefani also joined her band for the release of fifth album. The ska-revival and new wave sounds of Rock Steady was issued hot on the heels of debut single "Hey Baby" in December 2001.
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