If you’re like us, you’ve probably wondered what famous people add to their carts. Not the JAR brooch and Louis XV chair but the hair spray and the electric toothbrush. Back in 2020, we asked Bush frontman Gavin Rossdale — who just released a new album, Loaded: The Greatest Hits 1994-2023 — about the Fender Jazzmaster, Nike tennis shoes, and German oil he can’t live without. Three years later, we asked him to revisit his list — which you can read here — and it turns out he’s still using all of it, along with a few new favorites including the patterned underwear his kids told him about, the potato ricer he uses to make pommes purée, and the vibrating watch that calms him down.
What he still can’t live without
This is my toothpaste. It’s French with a real menthol flavor. I liked the packaging when I first saw it, because it reminded me of one of my favorite wines, Promis by Gaja. You’ve got to be careful, though — the brand also has an anti-plaque toothpaste that’s a bit too chalky. I love the regular one. Whenever I find it, I buy 12 at a time because it’s hard to find.
This set me on my path of having the freedom to write. It’s just explosive. While I’ve veered toward different writers in my life, nothing inspires me as a writer as much as Ginsberg’s works, especially Howl. It’s an endless form of inspiration — you can dive into pieces of it, read the entire thing, start at the back. It just has this emotion and this power behind it that I’ve always connected to. Howl is the Never Mind the Bollocks of books: Beautiful dreamscapes and landscapes of words come flying out.
This chef’s knife is so beautiful, so sharp, so clean. It feels great and it’s also red, my favorite color. It’s heavy, which is good. You want a bit of weight in the handle because you want to have that nice control.
And some new favorites
I have an absolutely dead-specific measurement for my Illy coffee. It’s a heaped tablespoon, a half cup of water, and another half cup of milk, then I heat that up. Temperature has to be perfect. I have it programmed on my microwave: 53 seconds. It’s just for hot milk, boink, because I do it every morning and it just hits the spot. Life is curated for yourself, and it should be about your specifics. I always wait a little while before I have coffee in the morning because apparently it’s better to wake up naturally. So when that coffee first hits and it’s delicious — it’s just so much fun. And the second cup, it’s just not as good because you don’t have the element of surprise breaking your fast overnight, so I’m slow on the second cup. That’s later in the morning. But that first one is like, hold the sides. I’m happy. I don’t know what it is, but that’s the brand for me.
A friend of mine saw me putting another brand in and was like, “Oh no, you need Lumify.” And I was like, “I do?” And apparently I did. It’s nice to have fresh, clear eyes. Life can get tiring and reddening — let’s face it. And I feel a bit naked when I don’t have them, especially when I look in the mirror and see how tired I look. “Oh great, that’s who I am now?” Not after Lumify.
I was looking for a pen torch. It’s really fun. You can light people’s cigarettes. People can light their pipes with it. Fat cigar, barbecue, whatever. But you’ve got to be careful. It’s a very forceful thing. It’s also efficient and wind-resistant. You can control the distance, but it’s perilous.
I don’t know if they should be called this, but I call them bullets. In Europe, like in Germany or Holland, they pour much smaller beers because the idea is you want to keep it fizzy. We’re in America so we’ve got to have the bucket, but the problem with the bucket of beer is that by the time you get a third in, it’s gone a bit flat. This smaller can allows it to be very effective. Beer has to be very, very cold, and these 135-milliliter cans hold the cold temperature really well. When it’s cold, it flies down your throat. I’m all about the sensation and the specifics of food and drink. So when it’s a hot day and you have it cold in a glass or tin, it’s just so refreshing. It has to be cold like oysters. Sapporo is my favorite because it tastes so good. I just like the balance of everything.
[Editor’s note: Old Richmond Cellars lists its prices in Australian dollars, so this is an approximation in U.S. dollars.]
The only way to truly elevate food to where it should be is with the correct salting. Without the correct salting, you could have the best produce and you’re fucked. I don’t care if you spend $300 on a steak; if you have no salt, that’s not a great steak. Maldon is my favorite. There’s a brine to it. There’s a directness to it. There’s obviously the flakes of it. So if you do a sea-salt caramel or sea-salt ice cream, or if you want to finish something off, it’s nice to have that crunch with it. I cook a lot for my boys. I’ll go through a spell where I eat at home a lot, and then I just get like, “You know what? I’m done.” I get too elaborate. I spend too much time on it. It’s super-creative, but I go too far and I end up being in a kitchen k-hole. But I like to cook entire great meals to make people happy. I have an Instagram account, which is the food I make for my boys.
I only use it for Escoffier’s pommes purée, which is a really important dish. Because I’m bougie, I can’t make mashed potatoes. Instead, I use the ricer to make pommes purée, then I spread the potatoes with warm butter through a flour sieve. I have a very fine mesh sieve, and it just works perfectly for the riced potatoes to go in and then butter, pass it through, then you add the appropriate amounts of butter and milk or cream, and you can rival the finest French restaurants. It’s extremely smooth. The ricer is literally for the pommes purée, but I can use it for making gnocchi, too. Dead easy. Should be in everyone’s repertoire.
For some reason I’ve got these underwear. I discovered them through my kids, they wear them. My boy Zuma is like, “Dad, you can get them too.” I love them. They’re super zany colored, and they’re on Amazon. I dress like a child under these adult clothes. One of my favorite things is the restocking of regular stuff for my kids like underwear and socks, but each one is particular about the brands they like. So when you do the washing, you know: “Oh that’s his, he’s a Calvin Klein.” One kid likes Calvin Klein. Two kids like Ethika, but they’re different sizes. So that’s how we differentiate washing; otherwise it’s chaos. I’ve worn regular underwear, but I never liked the names on underwear. I used to go to Target for years because they used to have underwear with no names at the top, but then I could never find my size. Then when I discovered these Ethikas, I was like, “I got a new lease on life.” First sign of senility: “I want multicolored underwear.”
The Apollo is this incredible watch that gives you neurofeedback through vibrations. It has different pulses that go into your neural pathways. You can program it for different modes like calming, waking up in the morning, exercising, when you feel low energy, and so forth. It’s an incredible apparatus. You feel a pulse on you and it makes you feel better.
I was getting injured a lot on tour from bouncing around, and my calf would always hurt. I’d be on stage and hobbling a bit, but then I’d warm up, loosen, and then I’d be great for the show. Then I started working with a neuro-pathway-based therapist who had me warming up singing on a trampoline with my eye focused on one spot. So my body’s used to doing this, but my mind is in control now and not telling me, “Stop fucking jumping.” And since I started doing that, I never have that pain in my legs, because my brain demonstrated that by calming, irrespective of the bounce, we’re all safe. The Apollo helps me in a similar way.
The thing about sumac, which is so magical, is it’s a herb from the flowers. Most herbs and ground spices have a sort of a heat-y, intoxicating, deep spice flavor. This is pure citrus. So you sprinkle it on your scrambled eggs, salad, fish, chicken, whatever you want. And the citrus taste is surprising, it’s uplifting. I’m a self-taught cook, so I will experiment with it. Often it’s just an easy finishing because it can burn a little bit.
I grew up in West London, and all the Rastas had beanies. And because it rained a lot, it was a combination of that and Rastas that I was inspired by. And then, since I became a singer, I would do shows, shower, and wear a beanie afterward because I hate having cold, wet hair. I still do that a lot. And it’s a great way to straighten your hair when it’s curly. Eleven percent of the world has curly hair, and for some reason, most of us are really frustrated with it. We used to sell this beanie on the Bush website. I actually went to Camden Market and got 500 of them. I’m a little type A, a little bit too much, just getting my own merch.
[Editor’s note: Gavin Rossdale’s exact beanie is sold out, but this one is similar.]
The Strategist is designed to surface the most useful, expert recommendations for things to buy across the vast e-commerce landscape. Some of our latest conquests include the best acne treatments, rolling luggage, pillows for side sleepers, natural anxiety remedies, and bath towels. We update links when possible, but note that deals can expire and all prices are subject to change.
