Excuse Me Mr.

The song “Excuse Me Mr.,” from No Doubt’s album *Tragic Kingdom*, has an interesting backstory. Originally, the idea was for a softer, more melodic version—even with some country influences—which was the preference of their producer, Matthew Wilder. However, the band felt that this wasn’t the essence of the song. At one point, the only copy of the more energetic version they preferred was lost, but they managed to re-record it. The dispute over which version to include on the album reached such a point that No Doubt threatened not to record “Spiderwebs,” another single from the album, if they weren’t allowed to re-include the punk rock version of “Excuse Me Mr.”

This track, co-written by Gwen Stefani and Tom Dumont, was released as a radio single in the United States on August 21, 1996, and commercially in Japan in 1997. Although it had moderate success on the general charts, it did reach the Top 40 on the alternative charts in the United States and Canada. Matthew Wilder produced the track, and David J. Holman and Paul Palmer handled the mixing. The song is also included on the compilation album *The Singles 1992–2003*, released in 2003. The music video, directed by Sophie Muller in January 1997, features two distinct storylines: one showing the band playing to an empty venue that fills with paparazzi, and another featuring Stefani in a rescue scenario. No Doubt performed “Excuse Me Mr.” on several occasions, including during their Tragic Kingdom World Tour between 1995 and 1997, and on *Saturday Night Live* in December 1996.