Gwen Stefani and her No Doubt band mates have revealed that the experience of having children has defined the sound of the punk rockers' first album in nearly a decade.
The singer and mum to sons Kingston, six, and Zuma, four told The Daily Record that balancing motherhood with recording was a challenge revealing, “We were only able to get together three days a week and, because I had the kids, there was only a limited amount of time.”
Despite this challenge, the California girl believes that becoming a parent has benefited the band, saying, “But it was that fight that made the record so great, just really wanting it, and saying, ‘No, and I don’t care that Kingston is in school ‘till 3pm, let’s meet at 10am and write the record’ – whatever it took.”
Gwen is not the only band member whose life has changed since the their last single nine years ago. Every member of the original line up has traded in rock and roll excess for family life, with guitarist Tom Dumont saying, ''There's a lot of kids between us so we're pulled in many different directions but we're so proud of this record and we put a lot of time into it.”
If family life has been a taming influence on Gwen, at least one of the Stefani/Rossdale clan is keeping the punk spirit alive with her oldest son, Kingston being spotted out and about in New York recently with a striking blue barnet. The six year old's shoulder length mop-top had been bleached and dyed in a vibrant hue, bearing an uncanny resemblance to his mother's blue 'do back in 1998.
With the record, Push and Shove, due out in September, the band are planning a major world tour with the kids on board, leading Gwen to take inspiration from another globetrotting brood – when asked how the band would manage to travel with so many children she simply said, “We’ll have to learn from Angelina and Brad.”
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