Pop singer Gwen Stefani was reduced to tears as she was surprised with a video message from ska legend Pauline Black while appearing on The One Show.
The “What You Waiting For?” artist, 53, was a guest on the BBC One show on Monday (19 June) night to discuss her forthcoming shows supporting Pink at BST Hyde Park in London this weekend (24 and 25 June).
During the interview, presenters Alex Jones and Jermaine Jenas spoke to Stefani about the influence of ska on the singer and her band No Doubt. They singled out Black, who sung with the ska revival band The Selecter, in particular.
“My older brother was bringing home music… The first record was Madness, and that was what got us into all the ska music,” the 53-year-old explained. “Then The Selecter with Pauline Black.
“She was really the only girl that was out there in that kind of scene… Everything about my style was trying to take from her because her style was so extreme. So [I’m] definitely a huge fan, and I wouldn’t be me without The Selecter and all those bands. Definitely.”
Jones then told Stefani that they had “a bit of a surprise” for her, as they had “rang Pauline up” and got her to record a video message for the pop musician.
“What!” Stefani repeated, before the message from “On My Radio” singer Black played. The 69-year-old told Stefani that she was pleased to have influenced her and sent her love.
Looking taken aback, Stefani addressed the cameras as she said: “I’m going to cry right now. Zoom in, guys, because these are real tears. Woah, I’m shaking. I’m not- I can’t believe that. That is incredible.”
“I can understand why,” Jenas said, with Stefani shooting back: “No, you don’t understand anything, OK. She was my idol when I was 13 and she just talked to me on... It’s crazy. You don’t understand too because the music, it was very underground where we discovered it and nobody knew what it was.
“They were singing about London and Camden and the culture, so I became a huge fan, never thinking I would come here, let alone being on TV, talking to you guys and then watching her talk to me on TV. That was weird. Thank you guys, thank you Pauline. Oh my gosh.”
Stefani – who is married to country star Blake Shelton – performed with the ska-inspired rock band No Doubt from 1986 to 2004, and again when the band reformed from 2009 to 2015.
The mother-of-three sung lead vocals on songs such as “Don’t Speak”, with Tony Kanal laying bass, Tom Dumont on guitar and Adrian Young playing drums.
