No Doubt life and biography

No Doubt is an American rock band from Anaheim, California that formed in 1986. The ska sound of their first album No Doubt (1992) failed to make an impact. The band's diamond-certified album Tragic Kingdom helped launch the ska revival of the 1990s, and "Don't Speak", the third single from the album, set a record when it spent 16 weeks at the number one spot on the Billboard Hot 100 Airplay chart.

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 grrrl 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.

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 1993-1994; the result was the self-released 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 their fifth album. The ska revival and new wave sounds of Rock Steady were issued hot on the heels of debut single "Hey Baby" in December 2001.

2003 was a big year of releases for No Doubt. The album The Singles 1992–2003, a compilation of the band's commercially-released singles, was released on November 25, 2003. It included a cover of the song "It's My Life", which had originally been a hit for synthpop group Talk Talk in 1984, and earned No Doubt a Grammy nomination for Pop Performance by a Duo or Group With Vocal.

Additionally, a special 2-CD 2-DVD box set titled Boom Box was made available, which included the CDs The Singles 1992–2003 and Everything in Time and the DVDs The Videos 1992–2003 and Live in the Tragic Kingdom. Separately, Rock Steady Live, a DVD of the band performing in Long Beach from their Rock Steady tour was released in 2003 as well. The next year, the band was featured in a re-recording of the Toots & the Maytals classic song "Monkey Man". The band also toured with blink-182 in mid-2004, before embarking on a hiatus.

With Stefani promoting her second solo album, No Doubt began initial work on a new album without her and planned to complete it after Stefani's tour was finished. In March 2008, the band started making posts concerning the progression of the album on their official fan forum. Stefani made a post on March 28, 2008 stating that songwriting had commenced but was slow on her end because she was, at the time, pregnant with her second child.

The group entered the studio in May 2010 to start recording on their sixth studio album.Gwen stated publicly that she wanted to complete the project by December 2010. The band were to release another compilation album on November 2 called Icon, in preparation for their upcoming comeback album. Icon will feature the same track listing as their previous compilation album The Singles 1992–2003 albeit with new artwork and a low price point.

No Doubt previously revealed they are taking influence from ska and reggae music for the new record, and drummer Adrian Young was quoted to have hoped for new music to be released in fall 2011. The band decided not to release the album until 2012, stating they did not want to rush it. The band has also been updating their Twitter account about the new album, and recently shot the albums artwork, as well as revealing that the album is finished and that mixing would take place in April.

During their career, the band has won two Grammy Awards and sold more than 35 million records worldwide to date. The band embarked on a US national tour throughout the summer of 2009. No Doubt was ranked 89th best artist of the decade by Billboard.

Current members:
-Gwen Stefani – lead vocals (1987–present), co-lead vocals, backing vocals (1986–1987)
-Tom Dumont – guitar, keyboards (1988–present)
-Tony Kanal – bass, keyboards (1987–present)
-Adrian Young – drums, percussion (1989–present)

Discography:
-No Doubt (1992)
-The Beacon Street Collection (1995)
-Tragic Kingdom (1995)
- Return of Saturn (2000)
-Rock Steady (2001)
-The Usual Suspects (2012)

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