No Doubt guitarist Tom Dumont has revealed that he has been diagnosed with early onset Parkinson’s disease.
The band are preparing for their first run of shows in 14 years with their residency at The Sphere in Las Vegas, but in a new social media video, Dumont has revealed that he has been living with the “struggle” of his new diagnosis.
Posting on Instagram, he said he and his bandmates are excited for the upcoming shows and have been “looking at old photographs” and “relearning old songs” to prepare for the run, a process that he said has made him “grateful for the life I’ve gotten to lead as a musician all these years”.
Opening up about his health, he continued: “So a number of years ago I was experiencing a number of symptoms. I went to my doctor, I went to a neurologist, did a whole bunch of tests, and I was diagnosed with early onset Parkinson’s disease. It’s been a struggle, it’s a struggle every day.”
Dumont, who joined the band in 1988, said he would post a follow-up video to give further details on his symptoms, but he confirmed that he will still be playing all of the Sphere shows.
“The good news is I can still play music, I can still play guitar. I’ve been doing really well,” Dumont said. “I’ve just been very inspired by other people who have come out to talk about their health issues on social media and that sort of thing. I think it helps erase some of the stigma and it raises awareness obviously, and awareness is really important for prevention and for research.”
He concluded by saying: “I’m really excited about the shows, can’t wait to see everybody.”
Dumont’s bandmates Adrian Young and Tony Kanal both shared their love for the guitarist in the comments, with Kanal saying he “can’t wait to get on stage with you again”.
The Sphere shows begin on May 6 and there are 12 shows scheduled to take place, their first shows since their reunion at Coachella 2024. They will also be the first female-fronted band to perform at the state-of-the-art venue. Find any remaining tickets here.
Frontwoman Gwen Stefani spoke to NME in an interview in 2024, where she opened up on No Doubt’s Coachella reunion. “The No Doubt thing was so crazy. It’s not like we made a decision to not do anything, or not hang out or talk,” she told us.
“Everybody’s lives just happened. You know, the time we stopped [in 2015] was when I was going through my horrible family breakup – I don’t like to say the word ‘divorce’, because it’s just such a disgusting word. But my life just blew up, it really did. A lot of people are like, ‘Why did it take so long [for No Doubt to reform]?’ But when you have a family, eight years goes by like that. To heal from what happened, I mean it’s still happening, I’m still trying to get through it.”
