Gwen Stefani interview: "Music is the fire behind everything I've ever done"
22.06.2023 - 12:35
/ officialcharts.com
First as the frontwoman of No Doubt and then as a solo artist, Gwen Stefani delivered some of the biggest hits of her era. Who can forget the band’s pleading break-up ballad Don't Speak – a Number 1 hit in 1997 – or 2001's dancehall bop Hey Baby, which peaked at Number 2?
After going solo, Gwen quickly racked-up seven Top 10 hits, including the electro-pop stomper What You Waiting For, hip-hop-tinged Hollaback Girl and the Akon-assisted The Sweet Escape.
Now, ahead of her live shows at BST Hyde Park this weekend, Gwen has dropped her first new single in two years, True Babe. Here, she talks about being influenced by British ska legends Madness, her love of gardening (!), and details plans to release new music that she’s super-excited about.
I mean, it's not just a show – it's Hyde Park. You know, the DNA of everything for me – not just music, but who I became – comes down to the English band Madness.
When I was 13, my brother bought this Madness album where they were singing about Camden Town and it was just so much fun. We were these Orange County kids who were like, 'What is this music?' It was super-underground at the time and it wasn't on the radio [in the US]. You had to know somebody who knew about it, but when you showed up to a [ska] club, everyone was dressed in that style and it was a scene. And I think that sparked everything in my life and career that led to me playing Hyde Park now.
It's crazy to look back at my 13-year-old self and think that. And I have a new song coming out!
It's weird, because I've been writing for like three years to try to put something out. And I did actually put a couple of songs out, but it was during that really weird time when it was like… the [US] election was going on, it was