Gavin Rossdale

As the lead singer, songwriter and guitarist for the British grunge rock band, Bush, Gavin Rossdale has found a majority of his success in the United States. In fact, his band has been widely reviled by his fellow countryman for not being part of the Britpop scene-a criticism Rossdale has accepted because of his revulsion of Britpop music. Accused of being a Nirvana wanna-be cover boy, Rossdale brushed off such digs and wallowed in the massive success he and his band mates achieved overseas. Rossdale was born in London and raised in Kilburn into a middle class home -- his father was a general physician and his mother was a model -- but at 12 years-old the domestic bliss was shattered when his parents divorced. He went to live with his father and became interested in music, later forming the band Midnight in his late teens. The band was popular at the clubs, which led to a record deal, but they failed to sell albums after the release of a few singles and soon broke up. In 1992, Rossdale met guitarist Nigel Pulsford, bassist Dave Parsons and drummer Robin Goodridge and formed Bush. Despite a reputation as a talented performer, Rossdale was considered damaged goods by the music industry because of his earlier failure to sell records. So difficult was it for the band to get a contract that they had to hold down day jobs to pay the bills (Rossdale was a house painter and video art illustrator.) Then in 1993, music manager Rob Kahane needed acts for his newly established Hollywood Records subsidiary, Acme, and offered a contract that would bring them over to the United States to record. The band gladly signed. Their demo made its way to the Los Angeles-based alternative rock station KROQ, where the track "Everything Zen" became one of the most requested songs at the time. The constant radio play eventually led to enormous record sales for their first album, Sixteen Stone, which, when all was said and done, sold over 8 million copies and peaked at number 4 on The Billboard 200.