Left to right: Adam Zindani, Richard Jones, Kelly Jones and Jamie Morrison
"Mr Writer, why don't you tell it like it is?
Why don't you tell it like it really is?
Before you go on home"
— "Mr. Writer"
Stereophonics is a long-running Welsh rock band formed 1992 initially as a rock trio formed by vocalist and guitarist Kelly Jones, bassist (and not family related) Richard Jones and drummer Stuart Cable, with the former two being the only remaining original members of the band.
Since the release of their debut album Word Gets Around, the band became one of the most successful bands in the UK, with eleven released studio albums, seven of which cracked the number #1 spot in the UK Album Charts, and various top 10 singles, with their biggest hit, "Dakota" hitting #1 in the UK Single charts, as well reaching the Top 40 in the Alternative Charts across the pond.
Band Members
Current members:- Kelly Jones - lead vocals and guitars (1992-present);
- Richard Jones - bass and backing vocals (1992-present);
- Adam Zindani – guitars, (2007-present);
- Jamie Morrison – drums, (2012-present);
Former members:
- Stuart Cable – drums (1992-2003, died in 2010);
- Javier Weyler – drums (2004-2012).
Album Discography
- Word Gets Around (1997)
- Performance and Cocktails (1999)
- Just Enough Education to Perform (2001)
- You Gotta Go There to Come Back (2003)
- Language. Sex. Violence. Other? (2005)
- Pull the Pin (2007)
- Keep Calm And Carry On (2009)
- Graffiti on the Train (2013)
- Keep the Village Alive (2015)
- Scream Above the Sounds (2017)
- Kind (2019)
- Oochya! (2022)
Trope A Part That's New:
- Album Title Drop:
- Word Gets Around: "Billy Daveyʼs Daughter";
- Performance and Cocktails: "Roll Up and Shine";
- Just Enough Education to Perform: "Mr. Writer";
- You Gotta Go There to Come Back: "I’m Alright (You Gotta Go There to Come Back)";
- Graffiti on the Train: the title track;
- Scream Above the Sounds: "All In One Night";
- Kind: "Restless Mind"
- Britpop: The band is commonly associated with the post-Britpop scene by the British press and carries some of the genre's influence throughout their career.
- Cover Version: Their version of "Handbags and Gladrags" by Rod Stewart. They also recorded The Beatles' "Don't Let Me Down" for i am sam.
- Epic Rocking: "Rooftop" (6:13), "Help Me (She's Out of Her Mind)" (6:54), "Mr. and Mrs. Smith" (6:50) and "This Life Ain't Easy (But It's the One That We All Got)" (6:12)
- Hidden Track: Just Enough Education to Perform's track, aptly titled "Surprise", which comes after "Rooftop".
- One-Word Title: While there are other examples in their discography, Language. Sex. Violence. Other? notably has a tracklist entirely filled with these.
- One-Woman Song: "Madame Helga", "Dakota" and "Lolita".
- Personal Raincloud: "Maybe Tomorrow" opens on this line:I've been down and I'm wondering why / These little black clouds keep walking around / With me, with me...
- Precision F-Strike: "Superman"
- Perishing Alt-Rock Voice: Kelly is well known for having a very limited vocal range, which is sometimes described as a "whiskey vocals" by a few critics.
- "The Reason You Suck" Speech: The person in "Superman", who thinks too highly of themselves but it's obvious they're a self-centered douchebag.
- Ripped from the Headlines: "Local Boy in the Photograph" is based on the newspaper article of a kid he knew who died by jumping off of a train.
- Rock Trio: The band have been a trio until 2007 when Adam Zindani was hired as the second guitarist.
- Sad Clown: The band in the clown make-up and costume in the "Mr. Writer" music video.
- Take That, Critics!: "Mr. Writer" is speculated to be a dig of a music journalist who Kelly seemed to have a good experience with but have turned on them.
- Title Track: "Graffiti on the Train"
- Worst Wedding Ever: "Too Many Sandwiches" is about a wedding that's quickly falling apart.
- You Already Changed the Past: In the "A Thousand Trees" video, a man sees his partner being hugged by a stranger. He assumes this means she is having an affair (though he should have wondered why she was so open about it when near enough to their house). He storms out after she gets back, and in the ensuing row on the street steps into the road as a car is going past, running him over - with the driver being the stranger from earlier, who then comforts his now distraught girlfriend - via the hug seen earlier. And all this for a music track that is seemingly about a report of sexual abuse by a girl against a man (the 'match that burned a thousand trees').
