4 Non Blondes

Born in Springfield, Massachusetts, Linda Perry struggled with her sexuality as a teenager and found herself living on the streets and becoming involved in drugs, before moving to San Francisco in 1986 to pursue her dream of a music career. Pouring her troubles into her songwriting, Perry developed a huge, raspy voice full of emotion while paying her dues playing at the city's coffee houses. Forming 4 Non Blondes with bassist Christa Hillhouse in 1989, Perry cut an eccentric figure with her dreadlocks, top hats and goggles, but her charisma and anthemic songs quickly caused a record label bidding war. Signing to Interscope, the band's second single What's Up? received constant airplay from MTV and went on to become a huge worldwide success, reaching Number 2 in the UK and becoming one of the biggest hits of the year. Album Bigger, Better, Faster, More? (1992) sold over 7 million copies, but Perry felt she was being pushed into a slick, commercial direction and quit the band. She released a low key solo album In Flight in 1996, but re-emerged as a songwriter and penned big hits for Christina Aguilera, Pink and Gwen Stefani and is now recognised as one of the world's most successful female producers.