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Full Name: Gwen Stefani.
Birthdate: October 3rd, 1969.
Birthplace: Orange County, California.
Siblings: (two brothers) Todd, Eric.
Band Started: 1987.
Gwen's
brother Eric started the band No Doubt with his friend John Spence in 1987, and
asked the always effervescent Gwen to join on as co-vocalist with Spence. Tony
Kanal joined the group a little later, and the trio began to gain popularity by
playing at local parties.
But the party was over when Spence committed suicide in 1987, which left Gwen to
move up the ranks to lead vocalist. The show must go on, and it did, as No Doubt
continued to perform in local gigs. In the meantime, Gwen had graduated high
school, and followed up her studies at Cal State Fullerton College.
Gwen was forced to juggle the band, her studies, as well as what turned out to
be a 7-year long romance with fellow band member, Tony Kanal. In 1989, two new
members joined the No Doubt team, guitarist Tom Dumont and drummer Adrian Young.
After No Doubt was really attracting a fan base (thanks mostly to their
energetic live performances), Flea, the bassist of the Red Hot Chili Peppers
recorded a demo for the band in 1990, which led to their signing with Interscope
Records.
In 1992, the band released their self-titled debut, but despite the substantial
following the band had garnered, the album was far from a commercial success.
Their record company was losing faith in their potential, but No Doubt's
persistence did not waver.
The group went back into the studio with their own money, and recorded a
collection of "extra" songs they had written. Their sophomore effort, The Beacon
Street Collection, was released in 1995, and not only struck a cord with their
devout fans, but also re-sparked Interscope's confidence in the band.
No Doubt was back in business and returned to the recording studio with the
support of their record company. The fruit of their effort was the hugely
successful Tragic Kingdom, only this one was sans Eric Stefani, who left to
become an animator on The Simpsons.
1995's Tragic Kingdom broke through the charts with its debut single, "Just A
Girl", with the help of the punk-tinged catchy lyrics and an accompanying
colorful video. The album went on to spawn hits such as "Spiderwebs" and the
super smash hit, "Don't Speak". The latter was written as an ode to the former
relationship of Gwen and Tony, and must have struck a Spanish guitar chord with
the public since the single has become the band's biggest smash to date and
topped charts worldwide.
The album went on to become a Billboard Number One, and garnered two Grammy
nominations for the group.
No Doubt's most recent release, Return of Saturn, hit the music scene in 2000,
and spawned the hits "Ex-Girlfriend" and "Simple Kind of Life".
Gwen is still romantically linked with the lead singer of Bush, Gavin Rossdale,
and the rock star pair have been involved for at least 5 years.
But the spunky singer paired up with Moby to add her infectious voice to his
single, "South Side". No doubt about it, the self-proclaimed Sound of Music
fanatic brings a girly yet powerful spark to the group, and the music industry.
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