About Stereophonics
Stereophonics are a Welsh rock band formed in 1992 in the village of Cwmaman in the Cynon Valley. The band consists of Kelly Jones , Richard Jones , Adam Zindani , Jamie Morrison and touring member Tony Kirkham . The group previously included Stuart Cable and then Javier Weyler on drums. Stereophonics have released twelve studio albums, including eight UK number one albums. A successful compilation album, Decade in the Sun, was released in November 2008 and charted at number two on the UK Albums chart.
Described as "classic UK rock delivered with whiskey vocals", the band have been summarised as possessing a sound akin to the genres of alternative rock and "British traditional rock". Stereophonics' debut album, Word Gets Around, was released in August 1997 and charted at number six in the UK, aided by the singles "Local Boy in the Photograph", "More Life in a Tramps Vest" and "A Thousand Trees". The band reached mainstream success with the release of Performance and Cocktails in 1999 and have achieved a total of ten top-ten singles as well as one number one: "Dakota" . Having sold around 10 million copies worldwide by 2016, Stereophonics are one of the most successful Welsh rock acts. Upon their release of Pull the Pin, they achieved five consecutive UK number one albums.
The band have also been praised for their live performances, which have landed them headlining slots at many of the UK and Ireland's most high-profile music festivals, including Reading and Leeds in 2000, Glastonbury in 2002, V Festival in 2002, the Isle of Wight in 2004 and 2009, Oxegen in 2010, Tramlines Festival and TRNSMT in 2018, and Latitude in 2019. The band is part of the Cardiff music scene.
Kelly Jones and Stuart Cable lived on the same street in the Welsh village of Cwmaman. Jones heard Cable played drums so asked if he wanted to jam together. After some time practising in Jones' dad's garage, Nicholas Geake joined in on guitar. Later, Jones invited Paul Rosser and Chris Davies to play on bass guitar and keyboards, respectively. Cable recalls he was the one who suggested that Jones be the singer, as his dad was a singer back in the sixties who supported Roy Orbison. In 1986 the band recorded a demo under the name "Zephyr". When Jones went on holiday the band played a gig without him, which resulted in Jones leaving the band and Jones and Cable going their separate ways. Jones, Rosser and Davies formed their own R&B band called "Silent Runner" while Cable joined a glam-rock band named "King Catwalk" on drums.
A few years later, Cable was sacked from the band. A few weeks later, Cable waved to Jones from a bus, and Jones, who was standing at a bus stop, waved back. It was the first contact they had since Zephyr had broken up. Two weeks later, Jones and Cable started speaking again. They agreed to give the band another go, but Cable only wanted to play their own songs. Jones agreed. The duo invited Mark Everett to play for them on bass guitar and Jones then started writing his own songs.
Everett went on holiday for two weeks but Jones and Cable wanted to continue rehearsing, so Jones invited long-time friend Richard Jones to fill in for Everett. Stunned by Richard's appearance and bass playing, Cable convinced Kelly to keep him instead of Everett. The band decided they needed another member to play lead guitar. Simon Collier was the first guitarist brought in. He did not stay in the band, but instead became Kelly's guitar technician. The band tried hiring two other guitarists, another Richard Jones and Glenn Hyde. Neither stayed for long. Hyde did, however, play harmonica on "Rooftop" for the band's 2001 album Just Enough Education to Perform. After Hyde left, the band stuck as a three-piece act.
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