10 Fascinating Facts About No Doubt, The Band That Gave Us Gwen Stefani

It's their life!

Published 4 months ago in Wow

Long before No Doubt became a household name synonymous with hits like "Hey Baby," "Just A Girl," and "Don't Speak," they were an up-and coming-band from Anaheim, California, primed to make their mark on music history.

From how the band got its name to their latest reunion, here are 10 fascinating facts about No Doubt, the band that gave us Gwen Stefani.

1
The Stefanis
“Gwen Stefani's brother Eric was originally the keyboardist for No Doubt but left to become an animator for 'The Simpsons.'”

2
What’s in a Name
No Doubt got its name from its late original frontman, John Spence, who used the phrase regularly throughout his life. “Everywhere John went, everything John said, it was always ‘no doubt, man,’ ‘no doubt,’ ‘no doubt,’” recalled Gabriel ‘The Gun’ Gonzalez, who played trumpet with the group. “He’s like, ‘Let’s just call the band No Doubt,’ and we’re like ‘Nah dude that’s stupid,’ but he was so convincing.”

3
Don’t Speak
“No Doubt's 'Don't Speak' was originally written as a happy love song with lyrics like 'We're always together/We will be forever/Such a special treasure.' after breaking up with the band's bassist, Gwen Stefani re-wrote it to reflect her emotional anguish.”
4
Radio Worries
Coming up during the grunge era, one radio station had concerns about No Doubt’s ability to succeed on air. “In 1992 the sound of No Doubt probably was not going to be having much success at alternative radio,” recalled No Doubt’s drummer and producer, Adrian Young, during a sit down with reporter Nic Harcourt. “One of the radio stations said, ‘It would take an act of God for No Doubt to get on the radio.' In 1992, there were a lot of Seattle bands, a lot of heavier bands, and there was no place for what we were doing at that time.”

5
Just a Girl
“I wouldn’t trade being female, for anything, but the guys don’t understand what a burden it can be sometimes,” Stefani said of “Just A Girl,” the first song No Doubt performed on television back in 1996.
6
Tragic Kingdom
Though ‘Tragic Kingdom’ may have produced hits like “Just a Girl” and “Don’t Speak,” Tom Dumont, who plays guitar in No Doubt, said the band was surprised by the album's success. “We were really compelled to make that record; it was so important to us,” he explained. “It’s the honest truth that we didn’t expect it to break through and become a success at all. We were writing the album in such a naive, but good, way. We were writing it for ourselves and to prove something only to ourselves and to make songs that we loved.”
7
‘Simpsons’ Screen Time
“In the Homerpalooza episode of The Simpsons, No Doubt briefly appears as background characters [sic]. Gwen Stefani's brother, Eric, animated them in.”

8
Forgot About Stefani
Dr. Dre’s 2000 hit “Forgot About Dre” samples No Doubt’s “The Climb.”
9
Number One
No Doubt topped the charts three times, their songs “Hey Baby,” “Underneath It All,” and “Don’t Speak” all hitting number one on Billboard’s Pop Airplay charts.
10
No Doubts
Though the band most recently went on hiatus in 2015, they performed together at Coachella in 2024. “I already know what it’s going to feel like because we’re just so in sync when we’re onstage,” Stefani said ahead of their festival slot. “It’s going to feel like riding a bike again. We’re going to be laughing, and we’re going to look at each other and go, ‘Oh my gosh – there you are.’”