1986-John SpenceVocals1986-1987
Gwen StefaniVocals1986-
Eric StefaniKeyboards1986-1994
Tony KanalBass1987-
Chris WebbDrums1986-1989
Adrian YoungDrums1989-
Tom DumontGuitars1988-
Gwen Stefani was 17 and still in high school when her older brother Eric formed No Doubt in December 1986. At first, John Spence was the main vocalist, with Gwen singing harmonies. When Spence committed suicide a year later, Gwen became the sole vocalist. Spence was known for doing backflips on stage.
The core lineup of Gwen Stefani, drummer Adrian Young, bass player Tony Kanal and guitarist Tom Dumont have been together since 1989. Gwen became the last original member in 1994 when her brother Eric left the band before the release of Tragic Kingdom to take a job as an animator on The Simpsons.
They're by far the biggest band to come out of the Southern California ska scene of the late '80s and '90s, but the ska influence had been sanded down to tight pop sound by the time they broke through with their third album, Tragic Kingdom, in 1995. Early on, they drew inspiration from British acts like The Specials, The English Beat, The Jam, and especially, Madness.
Gwen Stefani started dating Tony Kanal soon after he joined the band in 1987. As Stefani tells it, she was madly in love with him (she used to drive across town when she was in high school just to look at him), but he didn't want to commit. When they finally broke up after seven years, Gwen poured her heart out in lyrics to the songs for
Tragic Kingdom, especially the hit "
Don't Speak."
Kanal, born and raised in England until he was about 11, played the saxophone before the bass.
Dumont was a heavy metal guitarist in his sister's band, Rising, before joining No Doubt.
The first record that Kanal bought with his own money was Men at Work's Business As Usual. He later became a huge Prince fan.
Even after signing to Interscope Records in 1991, all the members had day jobs. Gwen Stefani and Kanal were salespeople in the same department store, Young waited tables at a steakhouse, and Dumont ran a music equipment rental business.
The group is named after the favorite saying of their original frontman, John Spence: "no doubt."
Stefani became a fashion icon, and just like Madonna had "Madonnawannabes" copying her look, she had "Gwennabees" emulating her bun, crop tops, and bindi.
All members are college-educated. Dumont majored in music, Gwen Stefani majored in art, and Young and Kanal in psychology.
Before they hit it big, they played the first Warped tour in 1995. Sublime and L7 were also on that tour.
Stefani married Gavin Rossdale of Bush in 2002. They pair met when No Doubt was opening for Bush on their 1995 tour. They had three children together, but Stefani filed for divorce on August 3, 2015, citing "irreconcilable differences."
Adrian Young was a fan before becoming a member. He also lied to help get into the band, when they were auditioning him he told them he had been playing drums for eight years, when he had been playing for only a year and a half.
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Suggestion credit:
Dan - West Hartford, CT
The band tried to keep each member on equal footing, but that proved impossible when they had their hits and the media focus pulled to Stefani. For the sake of promotion, they let magazines and newspapers run features on her individually, which caused some friction. (Spin magazine led the charge, running a feature on her in their June 1996 issue and putting her on the cover - sans bandmates - for the November issue.) Eventually, they gave in to the understanding that their charismatic frontwoman was undoubtably the face and voice of the group.
In 2004, Stefani launched her solo career and took her first major acting role, appearing in The Aviator. The band never broke up but was only active when her schedule allowed. After their 2001 album Rock Steady, they didn't release another until 2012 with Push And Shove.
Stefani is dyslexic, which caused her to struggle in school She didn't realize she had the condition until after she had kids.
Gwen says she was chubby as a kid and will gain weight quickly if she's not carefull. Her parents put her on a diet when she was 12, which left her with the body image issues you might expect.
Gwen had a dog named Magan who's nickname was Little Lamb, which is were she got the name of her clothing line, L.A.M.B. Gwen would dye her dog's fur to mach her own.
No Doubt played some festivals in 2015 but then went on hiatus, with Stefani keeping busy as a coach on The Voice and with many musical projects, including some songs with Blake Shelton, whom she married in 2021. The band returned to action at the Coachella festival on April 13, 2024, on the bill with their old buddies Sublime, who were back with Jakob Nowell on vocals, taking over for his father Brad, who died in 1996.
