Kelly Jones
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- This article is about Kelly Jones the singer. For information on the tennis player of the same name, see Kelly Jones (tennis).
| Kelly Jones | |
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 Kelly Jones performing during the January 2005 Tsunami Relief Cardiff concert
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Kelly Jones |
| Born | June 3, 1974 (age 33) |
| Origin |  Cwmaman, Wales |
| Genre(s) | Rock, Britpop |
| Occupation(s) | Musician |
| Instrument(s) | Lead guitar, Vocals |
| Years active | 1992–present |
| Website | stereophonics.com |
Kelly Jones (born 3 June 1974) is a Welsh singer-songwriter and guitarist and the lead singer of the band Stereophonics. Jones is noted for his strong gravelly voice and rather cynical view of fame.
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[edit] History
[edit] Early life and debut
Jones lived in the former pit village of Cwmaman, near Aberdare, where he became friends with neighbours, Stuart Cable and Richard Jones and they formed a covers band together. Showing a talent for writing in his youth, he considered being a scriptwriter before being a musician. The BBC showed an interest in some of his early work but, as the band progressed from a covers band to writing their original material, he decided to use his narrative side more towards writing lyrics.
Jones also flirted with the idea of boxing, and was a successful boxer at youth level. Much of his early life is documented in the Stereophonics debut album, including his account of his teen years on a market stall. These are wryly documented in More Life in a Tramps Vest from the Stereophonics first album released in 1997, Word Gets Around.
Stereophonics 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. However, this did not come at once - their debut EP Looks Like Chaplin did not have enough copies made to enter the charts, their next single Local Boy in the Photograph was one place shy of making the UK Top 50. Although constant gigging and countless support slots earned them much praise and a growing fanbase. Fellow Welsh band Manic Street Preachers put the band as support on many of their 1996/7 tour, this brought the band a lot of new fans.
Their debut LP Word Gets Around did however make it to #6 in the UK Album chart, something that in those days was unheard of for a small Welsh trio.
[edit] 1998 - present: Mainstream success
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. They performed a milestone concert on June 12, 1998 at Cardiff Castle in front of 10,000 people which was considered a major success.
In 1999, after playing another key gig at the now demolished Morfa Stadium in Swansea on July 31, 1999 (released later on VHS & DVD) they released the "difficult second album" which was entitled Performance & Cocktails. This was their first #1 album and it set the trend for their albums which at time of writing, all went straight in at the top spot. Performance & Cocktails showed how three boys from a small town in Wales grew into rockstars with stories to tell. Kelly no longer sang of small town matters but instead roared out anthems like Bartender & The Thief & Just Looking, and wrote tracks such as Plastic California documenting his time in the States. During this time they also collaborated with Tom Jones on a cover of the Randy Newman song Mama Told Me Not To Come for his album Reload.
In 2000, rumours that the band were splitting up ran wild when Jones announced a solo tour, however on the opening night of the tour in Vicar Street in Dublin, he came onto the stage and said "Hows it going? This is about the band splitting up... it's bollocks".
After another successful tour, they re-entered the studios and came out with Just Enough Education to Perform, the first single Mr. Writer, Jones talked about how journalists had turned on him, how they would play an act up to artists face and then write untrue things about them once their back was turned. Despite this, Mr. Writer hit a nerve among fans. More single success for songs like Have A Nice Day, Step On My Old Size Nines and a cover of Rod Stewart's version of Handbags & Gladrags which still receives significant radio play today, established the Stereophonics as one of Britains top bands. They also recorded their biggest audience to date when they played to 80,000 in Slane Castle in Ireland and ending with a Christmas show at the Millennium Stadium, Cardiff, supported by Feeder and Ocean Colour Scene - who they had supported years before.
Everybody expected another album like Just Enough Education to Perform (aka J.E.E.P). but once they released their fourth studio album You Gotta Go There to Come Back everybody knew the Stereophonics were here to stay, unlike their first 3, they were not trying to "make it" in the music business, or cement their place. Songs like Maybe Tomorrow and Madame Helga came out of this album, and also they re-worked a song they had not finished in time - Moviestar and re-issued the album with the track present.
In 2002, the band was chosen as a support act for Counting Crows and toured on various UK dates with the band. Subsequently Jones would join the band on stage and perform Mr. Jones and Hanginaround alongside Adam Duritz.
In 2003, whilst on tour in Germany, drummer Stuart Cable who by this time had had his own chat show was sacked from the band by Jones because of problems over "commitment", and was replaced temporarily on the remainder of the tour by Black Crowes drummer Steve Gorman. According to Stuart, "I kept pluggin away. I knew when we started we weren't very good and I was waiting for it to get better. It was becoming obvious that wasn't going to happen and I said so. Kelly didn't like that".
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's former studio engineer, who they had made permanent in the band after asking him to fill in on the drums for some early LSVO recordings. The band grabbed their first number 1 hit in the UK singles charts with the album's first single, the upbeat Dakota where Kelly spent much of the video in his dark sunglasses driving. The second single from the album, Superman, was a growling 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 this came Devil, which featured a controversial video and reached number 11 in the charts.
In January 2005 he performed a solo set at the Tsunami Relief Cardiff charity concert at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, the biggest live music charity concert since 1985's Live Aid which featured other artists such as Eric Clapton.
On July 2, 2005, the group took a break from their sold out world tour and appeared at the Live 8 concert, in Hyde Park, London, in front of 240,000 people - their biggest audience yet.
In 2006 the band were scheduled to tour with fellow British rock legends Oasis, but due to an unfortunate family-related event the band pulled out. They did not resurface until later in the year where they began recording on their sixth studio album Pull The Pin which was released on Monday, October 15th 2007. Pull The Pin is an album that returns to the bands classical rock roots that was evident in the first album and the influence of 70s rock can be seen in many of its tracks.
[edit] Equipment
Jones is well known for his love of British style amps, and is never seen without his Matchless', Badcat's and Vox AC30's, whether playing solo or with Stereophonics. He loves the "clean British sound" of the AC30's and the "dirty crunch" of the Badcat's and Matchless'.
He does not use many pedals, but in solos is well known for his use of his Dunlop CryBaby wah, and his crunchy, wah-driven solos are instantly recognisable. He also uses Boss effects pedals, including a chorus, delay, flange, phaser and various distortion pedals, although he is gradually getting rid of the distortion pedals and just using amp switching pedals using the built in crunch and clean settings, mainy using his AC30 for clean work and his other 2 amps for distortion.
His main guitar is a cherry red Gibson SG, possibly an original 60's but given its remarkable condition, maybe a reissue. His use of a Gibson ES335 is becoming more and more common along with his Fender Stratocaster, and his Fender Telecaster is also making more and more appearances, but his Fender Jaguar, used extensively on 'Language Sex Violence Other' seems to have been made redundant on the latest 'Pull the Pin' tour. He is also known to use Gibson Les Paul Goldtops, especially on heavier tracks such as 'Bartender and the Thief' and 'Vegas 2 Times'. His acoustic guitar of choice is an original 60's Gibson J200, and rarely uses anything else, but owns various other Gibson's and Takamine's
[edit] Criticism
Jones has always had a troubled relationship with the media and they have often criticised him and his contribution to music. This relationship was not helped when he wrote "Mr. Writer", a song about a journalist who had traveled with Stereophonics on tour - and then subsequently slighted Jones in an article by repeatedly referring to him as "monkey-boy" and likening him to a chimpanzee.[citation needed]
He also has had arguments with famous musicians. He has said that Matt Bellamy of Muse is "stuck up his own arse".[citation needed] Jones has also criticised pop reality shows such as Popstars and X Factor and manufactured pop bands such as Hear'Say, as he believes they make no contribution to music, and regards them as a joke.[1]
He has generated headlines several times by criticising Radiohead. After Radiohead released Kid A, Jones said people need to get back to songwriting or the "country will fall to fucking pieces".[citation needed]
[edit] Personal life
Jones is known for his preference of wearing vintage clothing, and owns at least 20 leather jackets including several variations of his trademark tan leather jacket. In recent years he is frequently seen wearing sunglasses even at night time concerts and indoors.[1] Kelly has a young daughter called Lolita Bootsy.
[edit] Discography
[edit] Studio Albums
| Year | Title | Chart Positions | |
|---|---|---|---|
| UK Albums Chart | Top Heatseekers Chart | ||
| 2007 | "Only the Names Have Been Changed" (as Kelly Jones) | - | - |
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