Stereophonics
Stereophonics |
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Stereophonics are a rock band originating from Wales with members Kelly Jones, Richard Jones and Javier Weyler. Kelly and Richard grew up together in the village of Cwmaman, near Aberdare in South Wales. Bar their debut, Word Gets Around, which peaked at #6 in the album chart they have thus far had all their albums reach number one in the UK charts. Kelly and Richard, along with original drummer Stuart Cable, began writing and performing in working men’s clubs together in 1992 as a teenage cover band. In 2003, Cable was sacked from the band because of commitment issues and was replaced by the Argentinian Javier Weyler
Band history
Formation and early years: 1992-1996
The three-piece began writing and performing music in working men’s clubs together in 1992 as a teenage cover band known as 'Tragic Love Company', a name inspired by their favourite bands (Tragically Hip, Mother Love Bone and Bad Company) although they were initially known as "Blind Faith", they quickly renamed after discovering that a band of that name in which Eric Clapton played had already existed. The band later changed their name to "The Stereophonics", named after the manufacturer of then drummer Stuart Cable's father's record player.[1]
In March 1996 the band played a gig at their local Coliseum Theatre with Catatonia and Pocket Devils. They played as Tragic Love Company and so impressed John Brand, a respected manager within the music industry, he signed a management deal with them after the concert.[2]
In May 1996 the band were signed to a newly formed record label, V2. The record label was created by Richard Branson and were the first artist to be signed. Upon signing, they dropped "The" from their name and simply became "Stereophonics".
BRIT Award and height of fame: 1997-2000
In August 1997, the band released their first studio album Word Gets Around, which reached #6 in the UK charts and was promoted by 5 singles. Afterwards the band embarked on a successful world tour.
In February 1998 the band received a BRIT Award for the Best New Group. In the same week the band re-released the single "Local Boy in the Photograph" which in turn, reached position 14 in the UK Singles Chart. The band's debut album, Word Gets Around, also went "Gold" in the UK from the heightened publicity .
In November 1998, The Bartender and the Thief, the first single from Performance and Cocktails, was released. It hit number three on the UK charts. "Just Looking", was released next and reached number 4 in March 1999. The same month the much anticipated new album was finally released, entering at number 1 and within three weeks went platinum. Later that year the band played in front of 50,000 people at Morfa Stadium in Swansea The concert was filmed and released on DVD the following year. They also collaborated with Tom Jones on a cover of the Randy Newman song Mama Told Me Not To Come for his album Reload.
Throughout 1998 and 1999 the band toured in Europe, Australia and the USA. On June 12 1998 Stereophonics played to over 10,000 spectators in the grounds of Cardiff Castle in Wales. Footage of the concert was released in VHS and DVD titled Live at Cardiff Castle.
Middle era: 2001-2004
The band released their third album, Just Enough Education to Perform in April 2001. The album included the critical track "Mr. Writer" which was widely disliked by critics. The song caused controversy which in turn caused a lot of bad publicity for the band by the mainstream media.
To promote the new album, Just Enough Education to Perform, they [Stereophonics] played a two day festival which was called "A Day at the Races". The two day concert was held at Donington Park on the first day and Cardiff's Millennium Stadium on the second. The concerts were supported by Ash, Black Crowes and Proud Mary. Over 200,000 separate tickets were sold for the weekend festival in total. The performance was released on a DVD in 2002.
2003 saw the release of their fourth album, with the title You Gotta Go There to Come Back. Drummer Stuart Cable was sacked from the band due to reported commitment issues, Cable at the time presented a TV show called "Cable TV" and felt that the band would never improve. Because of this he missed several rehearsals and live concerts. He was eventually replaced by present drummer Javier Weyler.[3] Steve Gorman, The Black Crowes Drummer stood in for the bands live performances until Javier Weyler was appointed.
Towards the end of the year they conducted a sold-out tour of the UK, ending with a Christmas show at the Millennium Stadium, Cardiff, supported by Feeder and Ocean Colour Scene. The group took a break after their 2003-2004 world tour, which included a set at the Manchester Move Festival in July 2004.
With new drummer on board: 2005-present
Their fifth studio album Language. Sex. Violence. Other? was released in March 2005; it marked their first recordings with their new drummer, Javier Weyler. The band achieved their first UK number 1 with "Dakota", the first single to be lifted from Language. Sex. Violence. Other? The second single from the album, "Superman," peaked at number 13 in the charts. After "Superman" came "Devil", which featured a controversial video and reached number 11 in the charts. The album was nominated for a Pop Factory award at the end of the year, losing out to Feeder's Pushing the Senses.
The band played in Vancouver, Canada in April of 2005 with opening band The Manvils. Following the concert, Kelly Jones invited The Manvils lead guitarist, fellow Welshman Mark Parry to join Stereophonics on the road as second guitarist in the band for their world tour. On July 2 2005, the group appeared at the Live 8 concert, in Hyde Park, London, playing to their biggest audience yet.
The band were scheduled to support Oasis for a number of dates across Europe in early 2006, but pulled out due to family commitments. 2006 also saw the release of Stereophonics first live album Live from Dakota. The album is a 2-disc compilation featuring 20 tracks spanning all five of the band's albums and capturing the best of their 2005 world tour. Rather than being a recording of single show, every night of the tour was recorded and the band picked out the best version of each song individually. The album also features a track by the title of Jayne. This track was later released as part of Kelly Jones' solo Album "Only the names have been changed"
Their latest album Pull the Pin which was released in the UK on 15 October 2007, along with a download-only taster; "Bank Holiday Monday". The track was also available for free to people who pre-order tickets for the band's concerts in 2007. The album was written and recorded by November 2006, but held back for release until late 2007.[4] It Means Nothing was the first single from Pull the Pin, released in September before the album was released a week later on October 15th. The album contains 12 songs and reached number 1 in the UK's Official album chart. The next single "My Friends" reached #32 in the UK charts, their poorest single performance since "More Life in a Tramps Vest". Pull the Pin was like it's predecessor nominated for a Pop Factory award, which it went on to win. The band have announced that they will peform at the Virgin Music Festival in Toronto in September 2008, supporting supergroup Oasis.[[1]]
Other projects
On October 9, 2007 the band saw the US release of their retrospective DVD entitled Rewind: The First 10 Years. A double disc with a runtime of nearly four hours, it traces the entire band history with live and behind-the-scenes footage dating from their earliest gigs to sold-out arena tours. Availability coincides with the US re-release of the Language.Sex.Violence.Other? DVD, and the worldwide digital debut of their latest studio album, Pull the Pin.
In 2007 Lead singer Kelly Jones released a solo album titled "Only the names have been changed" while recording the band's sixth studio album, Pull the Pin. The album contains 10 tracks (all named after women) and features a simple arrangement of guitar, piano and subtle strings. The album also includes the song Jayne, a previously unreleased Stereophonics track featured on the live album Live from Dakota, and the Rewind DVD.
Drummer Javier Weyler also released a solo album titled Lagrima in 2007 under the persona Capitan Melao. The name Capitan means captain in Spanish and Melao is a Latin American slang word for swing, rhythm or soul.
The band also performed the original opening theme tune for the TV series Long Way Round. The lyrics were altered slightly for the follow-up series, Long Way Down.
Band members
- Kelly Jones – vocals, guitar, keyboards
- Richard Jones – bass guitar, vocals
- Javier Weyler – drums, percussion
Previous members
- Stuart Cable (drums, percussion, vocals) 1992 - 2003
Touring members
- Tony Kirkham (keyboards)
- Adam Zindani (guitar)
- Scott James (guitar) 2001 - 2004 (touring member only)
- Aileen McLaughlin (backing vocals - live) 2002 - 2003
- Anna Ross (backing vocals - live) 2002 - 2003
- Steve Gorman (drums, percussion) 2003-2004 (touring member only)
Discography
| Year | Title | Chart Positions | |
|---|---|---|---|
| UK Albums Chart | Top Heatseekers Chart | ||
| 1997 | Word Gets Around | 6 | - |
| 1999 | Performance and Cocktails | 1 | - |
| 2001 | Just Enough Education to Perform | 1 | 11 |
| 2003 | You Gotta Go There to Come Back | 1 | 48 |
| 2005 | Language. Sex. Violence. Other? | 1 | 35 |
| 2007 | Pull the Pin | 1 | - |
See also
References
- ^ Stereobase Biography. Stereobase (Fan-site). Retrieved on July 17 2007.
- ^ Usenet : Alt Music Stereophonics FAQ Version 1.01
- ^ Stereophonics drummer fired. BBC News. Retrieved on July 17 2007.
- ^ Stereophonics: Friends in the North video interview with stv.tv
