|
BIOGRAPHY
|
NO DOUBT
ARE:
Adrian: Drums Gwen:
Vocals Tony: Bass Tom:
Guitar ( click on each member for the relative bio )
No Doubt are a California band that worships Camden Town's (North London
UK) very own 'nutty boys''
Madness 'and
boasts a crazy platinum blonde front woman with a serious make up obsession.
They are multi grammy award winning NO DOUBT who have sold over 30 million albums. If you haven't heard their music... well they combine
a mixture of ska, new wave, rock, pop, ballads, reggae and dance to create
a fresh upbeat sound. If you are familiar with any No Doubt songs you're
most likley to know "Don't Speak" the song that took them in to the spotlight
and made them known worldwide. Other succesful hits include "Hey Baby", "Underneath It All", "Its My Life", "Simple Kind Of Life" and "Spiderwebs"
They have become a household name in the
US , their album Tragic Kingdom topped the charts for SEVEN WEEKS!! 'The
first week it was at number one we were amazed. I can't even believe we
have a song on the radio! All our dreams have been fulfilled!"-Gwen.
Lead singer Gwen Stefani has also had a very succesful solo career with the album Love.Angel.Music.Baby which included the worldwide hit "Hollaback Girl", two clothing lines L.A.M.B and Harajuku Lovers. Tony also has his own record label which upcoming star Elan is signed too. Tom also has a side project called Invincible Overload as well as touring with Matt Costa and writing for Shifty. Adrian is a golfer and has also played drums for Bow Wow Wow and Unwritten Law.
TRAPPED IN A GARAGE
It all started when Eric persuaded Gwen to sing his first song 'Stick
It In A Hole' (about a pencil sharpener). She wasn't really too interested
but did it anyway. The band then formed in 1987 with Gwen singing alongsides
Eric's college friend John Spence and bassist Tony Kanal. The band were
named 'No Doubt' as it was John Spence's favorite phrase. They played
a few parties, became succesful locally and were ready to hit stardom
when the first big blow hit the band. John , tragically commited suicide
even before their first album was out. Drummer Adrian Young and guitarist
Tom Dumont then joined the band, but when the first self-titled album
was finally released in 1992 it sank without a trace.
THE KINGDOM OF TRAGEDY
More devastation struck when Eric decided to leave the band to pursue
a career as an animator for 'The Simpsons' just before the completion
of Tragic Kingdon, and then Tony Kanal (bass player and Gwen's long
term boyfriend) got the seven year itch and broke her heart. Gwen was
so hurt that she wrote a whole album about the break-up including the
song "Don't Speak". Tony's still in the band though and they both say they're
now over it.
'We've become really close again, yeah I think we're both
healthier now.'-Gwen. Due to the slow pace it was taking to complete Tragic Kingdom and the huge amount of material building up
No Doubt decide to independently release The "Beacon Street Collection" for fans. It was named after the
house on Beacon Street in Anaheim where several members lived and the
garage studio where most of the tracks were recored. Finally then came their
breakthru album "Tragic Kingdom", a mixture of ska, new wave, pop, punk
and rock. The title being taken from the Disney theme park, The Magic
Kingdom, nearby where No Doubt live. No Doubt go on their first world wide tour. After the succesful Tragic Kingdom
the band took a break and return back on the scene with the song "New"
from the Go! soundtrack.
THE SPACE AGE
"New" was later put on No Doubt's following album "Return Of Saturn" released
in April 2000. This was one of No Doubt's hardest albums to write and
they're first following the depature of former main song writer Eric
Stefani. For them this was they're 'growing pains' album. The new album
brought out a new No Doubt heavily influenced by the 80's and Gwen's new
pink locks. Instead of oranges the theme of the album was based on an
'outer space' image even though none of the band were interested in
astromomy. The album title reflects Gwen's mental struggle on the verge of turning 30 as it takes 30 years for saturn to travel
around the sun.
STILL ROCKING STEADY
In December 2001 No Doubt then released they're fifth album "Rock Steady"
filled with 'danceable, hummable, instantly accessible songs'. "It's
the hardest thing in the world just to be simple, to let the music and
the words speak for what you're feeling and, hopefully, to share that
feeling. And the feeling we all shared on this album turned out to be
pretty simple, too: we were in a good mood." The album again, is mixed
with a heavy mixture of different influences featuring vocals from Bounty
Killer and Lady Saw. The first single released was "Hey Baby" which almost
matched the high success of Don't Speak and peaked in at number 2 in
the UK during it's first week of release. This was followed by a world
wide tour.
TIME TO REFLECT
In April 2003 No Doubt announce a break. But this didn't mean we wouldn't be hearing from the band. Instead of a new album, the band get nostalgic and release a greatest hits album, DVD and "Everything In Time, an album featuring unreleased songs. No Doubt decided to release a new single, this time a cover of the Talk Talk hit "It's My Life" Other songs in consideration included INXS's "Don't Change" and Depeche Mode's "A Question of Lust.") "We love Eighties music," says Kanal. "['Life'] just kind of rose to the top of our list."
nodoubtweb.com
|
|
