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Gwen Stefani biography
GWEN STEFANI BIOGRAPHY
After a successful career as the frontwoman for ska-pop revivalists No Doubt, Gwen Stefani launched her solo career with a statement of intent and some tough self-love. "Take a chance you stupid ho," she cried on debut single, What You Waiting For. And the risk worked...Swivelling on massive platform shoes, dressed in vaguely pornographic babydoll dresses and surrounded by a phalanx of Japanese dancers (the Harajuku Girls), Stefani mixed a heady brew of hip-hop, bubblegum pop and zany nursery rhyme imagery on critically acclaimed debut album Love Angel Music Baby.
California born Stefani fell in love with ska after listening to her brother's Madness and Selecter records as a teenager. So she jumped at the chance to join No Doubt, a band her brother Eric had put together in 1986. Stefani originally shared lead vocals with singer John Spence but he committed suicide in December, 1987. With the future of the band uncertain, it was Stefani who reportedly rallied the other band members to continue. The band were eventually signed to Interscope in 1991 and Stefani was now dating bassist Tony Kanal. The band's eponymously titled debut album failed to impress either the public or record company bigwigs and although their 1994 follow-up, Beacon Street Collection, fared better, inner band turmoil was threatening to disrupt the group. Eric Stefani soon left to became an animator for The Simpsons and Stefani's relationship with Kanal had ended causing some frosty moments.
Inspired musically by the break-up, Gwen then went off to write a bunch of songs about heartbreak, failed relationships and starting all over again. Three years later the band were back and the single Don't Speak had soon hit the No.1 spot all across the world just as the band's third album, Tragic Kingdom, similarly topped the charts in the UK and America. Follow up singles Just A Girl and Spiderwebs propelled the band to superstardom and Stefani had soon become the glamorous focal point of the band, her face plastered across fashion and music mags. Rumours were soon rife that the rest of the band resented Stefani's headline-hogging stance.
In 1995 Stefani began a relationship with Bush frontman Gavin Rossdale after he had come to see a No Doubt concert. The pair eventually married in 2002 and Stefani gave birth to a son in May, 2006. No Doubt's fourth album, Return Of Saturn didn't match the success of Tragic Kingdom. 2001's Rock Steady received decidedly mixed reviews but still managed to spawn the hit singles Hey Baby and Underneath It All. A greatest hits set, The Singles 1992-2003, was released in 2003 signifying the demise of the band although no official statement was made and Stefani side-stepped quietly into a solo career.
Stefani approached her ex-boyfriend Tony Kanal about making a solo record based on some of Stefani's non-ska favourite bands - Prince, The Time and Madonna. Soon, the pair had recruited old friend and former 4 Non Blondes singer Linda Perry who had written hit songs for Pink. Soon the project was expanding even further. A queue of high-profile collaborators were lined up including Dr.Dre, The Neptunes, Dallas Austin and Jam and Lewis. Despite the eclectic mix, somehow the project worked and the resulting album, 2004's Love Angel Music Baby was a barking but compelling mix of cartoon hip hop and bubblegum pop. Preceded by hit single What You Waiting For, the album was a swashbuckling explosion of styles that was as compelling as it was twisted. Against all the rules, Stefani's second single, Rich Girl, a hip hop reworking of If I Were A Rich Man from stage musical Fiddler On The Roof, should have been a disaster. It wasn't. And Stefani's third solo single, Hollaback Girl became her first solo US No.1 single. Stefani received five 2005 Grammy Award nominations for Album Of The Year.
After an appearance in Martin Scorcese's The Aviator and a sideline in fashion design, (she created her own line, L.A.M.B) Stefani returned in 2006 for her second album, The Sweet Escape. The album saw her again collaborating with Tony Kanal, Linda Perry and The Neptunes. Again, the album oozed wackiness. Stefani took the bold step of mixing yodelling and hip hop over a Sound Of Music sample on the album's lead-off single, Wind It Up, ensuring that even if you don't agree with her choices, you'll never get bored of them...
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