Stereophonics
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| Background information | ||
| Origin |  Cwmaman, Wales |
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| Genre(s) | Rock Indie rock Alternative rock Britpop |
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| Years active | 1992–present | |
| Label(s) | V2 Records Vox Populi Records |
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| Website | Official website | |
| Members | ||
| Kelly Jones Richard Jones Javier Weyler |
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| Former members | ||
| Stuart Cable Steve Gorman |
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Stereophonics are a rock band from Wales with original members Kelly Jones, Richard Jones (no relation to Kelly) and Stuart Cable, who grew up together in Cwmaman in the South Wales valleys. The trio began writing and performing 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. They later changed their name to "Stereophonics", named after the maker of Cable's grandmother's gramophone.
They finally made a big splash in 1996 as the first band to be signed to Richard Branson's new Virgin Records label V2. Their distinctive sound offered a blend of Oasis-inspired Britpop and '70s-influenced rock & roll earning them a series of big UK hits.
In 2003 drummer Stuart Cable was sacked from the band by Kelly Jones because of problems over "commitment", and was eventually replaced by present drummer Javier Weyler.
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[edit] Band members
Current Line-Up
- Kelly Jones (vocals, guitar, keyboards, main songwriter)
- Richard Jones (bass guitar, vocals, keyboards)
- Javier Weyler (drums, percussion) was announced as a replacement to Stuart Cable in December 2004. The band first met Argentinian Javier when they were recording album demos, and then again in late 2003 when they were visiting Argentina.
Previous Members
- Stuart Cable (drums, percussion, vocals) 1992 - 2003
- Steve Gorman (drums, percussion) 2003: After Stuart Cable's sacking in September 2003 ex-Black Crowes drummer Steve Gorman stepped in for several tour dates.
[edit] History
In the early days they supported both fellow Welsh rockers Manic Street Preachers and English retro mods Ocean Colour Scene as well as being joined onstage by Doug Parmenter.
They were the first band to be signed to Richard Branson's V2 record label in 1996.
In February 1998 they received a Brit Award for Best New Group the same week as a re-issue of "Local Boy in the Photograph" made number 14 in the charts and their first album went gold in the UK, selling over 100,000 copies. During that year Stereophonics had successful tours in Europe, Australia and the USA. On June 12, 1998 the Stereophonics played an important gig Live at Cardiff Castle in Cardiff in front of 10,000 spectators. A major success it was released on VHS and later DVD.
In November 1998, The Bartender and the Thief, the second 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 what was widely regarded as the best gig of the year in Britain in front of 50,000 people at Morfa Stadium in Swansea. They also collaborated with Tom Jones on a cover of the Randy Newman song Mama Told Me Not To Come for his album Reload.
The band had a relatively quiet 2000 and didn't really hit the headlines again until the launch of Just Enough Education to Perform in April 2001. They then played back-to-back dates at Donington Park, supported by Ash, Black Crowes and Proud Mary in front of 120,000 fans and Cardiff's Millennium Stadium to a capacity 80,000 that summer.
2003 saw the release of their fourth album You Gotta Go There To Come Back and a change to their logo. Towards the end of the year they did 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 song "High as the Ceiling" was featured in a 2005 commercial for a Nissan sports utility vehicle.
The group took a break after their 2003-2004 world tour, which included a set at the Manchester Move Festival in July 2004.
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 grabbed their first number 1 hit in the UK singles charts with the album's first single, the punky, upbeat Dakota (song). The second single from the album, "Superman" was a growling, Black Sabbath-inspired rocker. This song however did not repeat the success of "Dakota", peaking at number 13 in the charts, partly due to limited radio airplay. After "Superman" came "Devil", which featured a controversial video and reached number 11 in the charts.
On July 2, 2005, the group appeared at the Live 8 concert, in Hyde Park, London, playing to their biggest audience yet.
The Stereophonics song "Maybe Tomorrow" is featured over the end titles of the race-drama movie "Crash", which won the Academy Award for Best Film in 2006. It is also used in the 2004 psychological thriller Wicker Park.
The band were scheduled to support Oasis for a number of dates across Europe in early 2006, but pulled out due to family commitments. After taking a break, they are currently working on their next album.
[edit] Discography
[edit] Studio Albums
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[edit] Live Albums
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[edit] Singles
| Year | Title | Chart Positions | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK Singles Chart | UK Download Chart | US Modern Rock | ||
| From Word Gets Around | ||||
| 1996 | "Looks Like Chaplin" | - | - | - |
| 1997 | "Local Boy In The Photograph" | 51 | - | - |
| 1997 | "More Life In A Tramps Vest" | 33 | - | - |
| 1997 | "A Thousand Trees" | 22 | - | - |
| 1997 | "Traffic" | 20 | - | - |
| 1998 | "Local Boy In The Photograph" (re-issue) | 14 | - | - |
| From Performance and Cocktails | ||||
| 1998 | "The Bartender and the Thief" | 3 | - | - |
| 1999 | "Just Looking" | 4 | - | - |
| 1999 | "Pick a Part That's New" | 4 | - | - |
| 1999 | "I Wouldn’t Believe Your Radio" | 11 | - | - |
| 1999 | "Hurry Up and Wait" | 11 | - | - |
| From Reload by Tom Jones | ||||
| 2000 | "Mama Told Me Not To Come" | 4 | - | - |
| From Just Enough Education to Perform | ||||
| 2001 | "Mr. Writer" | 5 | - | - |
| 2001 | "Have a Nice Day" | 5 | - | - |
| 2001 | "Step On My Old Size Nines" | 16 | - | - |
| 2001 | "Handbags and Gladrags" | 4 | - | - |
| 2002 | "Vegas Two Times" | 23 | - | - |
| From You Gotta Go There to Come Back | ||||
| 2003 | "Madame Helga" | 4 | - | - |
| 2003 | "Maybe Tomorrow" | 3 | 191 | - |
| 2003 | "Since I Told You It’s Over" | 16 | - | - |
| 2004 | "Moviestar" | 5 | - | - |
| From Language. Sex. Violence. Other? | ||||
| 2005 | "Dakota" | 1 | 1 | 34 |
| 2005 | "Superman" | 13 | - | |
| 2005 | "Devil" | 11 | 3 | - |
| 2005 | "Rewind" | 17 | 28 | - |
[edit] DVDs
- Live at Cardiff Castle (1998)
- Live at Morfa Stadium (1999)
- Call Us What You Want But Don't Call Us in the Morning (2000)
- A Day at the Races (2002)
- Live from Dakota (2006)
- Language. Sex. Violence. Other? (2006)
[edit] Compilations
Stereophonics tracks have appeared on the following compilation CDs:
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Official Stereophonics Website
- Stereophonics Official MySpace Page
- Stereophonics Newsgroup alt.music.stereophonics
- Stereoboard.com (Fan-site)*
- WordGetsAround.org (Fan Community)
- Fabchannel.com - Watch a free top quality stream of another great Stereophonics concert
- Stereophonics @ WelshBands.eu
* Stereoboard.com is owned by the person who originally created the Stereophonics website which was supported and endorsed by the band. However in 2001 the owner split the website from the band to gain more control over it and its content.
