No Doubt found success in 1995 with their second ska punk-inspired album The Beacon Street Collection. The album sold over 100,000 copies in 1995, three times that of their debut album. The band’s Tragic Kingdom album, also released in 1995 was diamond certified with its single “Don’t Speak” spending 16 weeks at the number one spot on the Billboard Hot 100 Airplay chart.
Their next album Return of Saturn in 2000 did not have the same success as their previous albums but received critical praise and was nominated for the Best Rock Album at the 43rd Grammy Awards. They resurfaced with Rock Steady in 2001 which incorporated reggae and dancehall music into their work. The album had two Grammy-winning singles “Hey Baby” and “underneath It All”. However, after a 2004 tour, the band embarked on solo projects and made little noise in the music scene despite releasing some albums together. Whatever happened to No Doubt?
Gwen Stefani and Tony Kanal’s Relationship
Most interband romance spell breakups for music bands. Did the same thing happen to No Doubt? Shortly after Tony Kanal joined No Doubt as a bassist, he began dating Gwen Stefani. The pair kept their relationship a secret for a year as it was an unspoken rule that no one in the band should date her.
Gwen Stefanie joined No Doubt in 1989 when she was unsure about her future. She struggled academically in school but made a startling discovery in college that she had a knack for songwriting. However, she spent her early years with the band quite passive, being focused on her relationship with Tony Kanal.
When he broke up with her, the band nearly split up. But the breakup also unleashed Gwen Stefani’s lyrical creativity in Tragic Kingdom such as “Don’t Speak”, “Sunday Morning” and “Hey You!”, which chronicled the ups and downs of their relationship.
After the Breakup
The success of Tragic Kingdom was a difficult time for both Tony and Gwen. They broke up during the group’s promotional tour of the album, and giving interviews about their broken relationship was hard. But they kept on good terms with each other.
Gwen’s relationship with Tony influenced her musically. She was a super-ska girl as she described herself when she first met Tony but he opened her to influences from Prince, Lisa Lisa, and Debbie Deb. Gwen shared in an interview her break from Tony turned her creativity into her first solo album Love.Angel.Music.Baby.
A Long Hiatus
No Doubt had their first hiatus in 2004 so that band members could explore other projects. Gwen went on to eventually record platinum solo albums, and Tony produced some songs for Pink. Guitarist Tom Dumont started his own band and drummer Adrian Young began playing for other acts.
But the band reunited in 2012 and released their next album Push and Shove together. Although the album was well-received, Gwen has become more influential as a single act as compared to a band member. The album did not sell well and a year later, they went into another hiatus.
A Second Reunion?
No doubt members have insisted they will eventually come together again and told Rolling Stone that they are just doing their own things for now.
However, Gwen isn’t so sure. She explained in an interview to Nylon that the band has no upcoming plans and she has been busy with her own commitments.