Latest news with #Stereophonics'
Wales Online
14 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Wales Online
Stereophonics star Kelly Jones ditches junk food and alcohol from tour rider
Stereophonics star Kelly Jones ditches junk food and alcohol from tour rider The Stereophonics frontman has confessed that he opts for healthier snacks backstage in order to make sure that his jeans still fit him Stereophonics will be playing in the UK this year. (Image: GETTY ) Kelly Jones no longer has junk food and alcohol in his tour rider. The Stereophonics frontman has confessed that he opts for healthier snacks backstage in order to make sure that his jeans still fit him. Speaking to The Sun newspaper's Bizarre column ahead of Stereophonics' headline slot at the Isle of Wight festival this weekend, Kelly said: "The Nineties were crazy – a totally different social situation. It's like another planet now. "I think there are some things on our rider that are still the same as back then – because nobody has bothered to change it. "There's always beer and wine. It used to be 12 boxes of pizza and a crate of lager. But when your jeans stop fitting you, you've got to get that right – those requests don't work at 50!" The Dakota artist revealed that the rockers now have gym equipment and organic food ready for them when they come off stage. Article continues below Kelly explained: "Let's say the takeaway order at the end of the night is a little more extravagant and healthier these days. "Now there's more gym gear backstage – that was definitely not there in the Nineties. "Like a weight bench and stuff. It sits there – it gathers clothes a lot. "We all still travel on the bus together, we all still go out for dinner together, we go for a drink after together. "Thankfully, we all get on – not every band does – and we've had the same crew for 25 years, so it's a family-orientated vibe." Meanwhile, Kelly revealed earlier this year that he turned down the chance to see a Stereophonics tribute band who have a lead singer called "Belly Jones". The Welsh rocker describes it as a privilege when people cover the band's music but chose not to attend a working men's club in his homeland to watch the tribute act over Easter. The 51-year-old musician told The Dave Berry Breakfast Show on Absolute Radio in April: "I wake up on Sunday mornings, and people send me clips of people at weddings and bars and pubs singing my stuff a lot. "And when I went home for Easter this weekend to see my family in Wales, my cousin said, 'Do you want to come up to the working man's club?' I said, 'Why? What's happening? And she said, 'There's a Stereophonics tribute band playing.'" Article continues below He continued: "I think the singer, he's a big guy, he's called Belly Jones. So I said, 'No'. My missus was like, 'No, let's go.' Take the kids, have a good night."
Yahoo
17 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Stereophonics star Kelly Jones ditches junk food and alcohol from tour rider
Kelly Jones no longer has junk food and alcohol in his tour rider. The Stereophonics frontman has confessed that he opts for healthier snacks backstage in order to make sure that his jeans still fit him. Speaking to The Sun newspaper's Bizarre column ahead of Stereophonics' headline slot at the Isle of Wight festival this weekend, Kelly said: "The Nineties were crazy – a totally different social situation. It's like another planet now. "I think there are some things on our rider that are still the same as back then – because nobody has bothered to change it. "There's always beer and wine. It used to be 12 boxes of pizza and a crate of lager. But when your jeans stop fitting you, you've got to get that right – those requests don't work at 50!" The Dakota artist revealed that the rockers now have gym equipment and organic food ready for them when they come off stage. Kelly explained: "Let's say the takeaway order at the end of the night is a little more extravagant and healthier these days. "Now there's more gym gear backstage – that was definitely not there in the Nineties. "Like a weight bench and stuff. It sits there – it gathers clothes a lot. "We all still travel on the bus together, we all still go out for dinner together, we go for a drink after together. "Thankfully, we all get on – not every band does – and we've had the same crew for 25 years, so it's a family-orientated vibe." Meanwhile, Kelly revealed earlier this year that he turned down the chance to see a Stereophonics tribute band who have a lead singer called "Belly Jones". The Welsh rocker describes it as a privilege when people cover the band's music but chose not to attend a working men's club in his homeland to watch the tribute act over Easter. The 51-year-old musician told The Dave Berry Breakfast Show on Absolute Radio in April: "I wake up on Sunday mornings, and people send me clips of people at weddings and bars and pubs singing my stuff a lot. "And when I went home for Easter this weekend to see my family in Wales, my cousin said, 'Do you want to come up to the working man's club?' I said, 'Why? What's happening? And she said, 'There's a Stereophonics tribute band playing.'" He continued: "I think the singer, he's a big guy, he's called Belly Jones. So I said, 'No'. My missus was like, 'No, let's go.' Take the kids, have a good night."
Perth Now
19 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Perth Now
Stereophonics star Kelly Jones ditches junk food and alcohol from tour rider
Kelly Jones no longer has junk food and alcohol in his tour rider. The Stereophonics frontman has confessed that he opts for healthier snacks backstage in order to make sure that his jeans still fit him. Speaking to The Sun newspaper's Bizarre column ahead of Stereophonics' headline slot at the Isle of Wight festival this weekend, Kelly said: "The Nineties were crazy – a totally different social situation. It's like another planet now. "I think there are some things on our rider that are still the same as back then – because nobody has bothered to change it. "There's always beer and wine. It used to be 12 boxes of pizza and a crate of lager. But when your jeans stop fitting you, you've got to get that right – those requests don't work at 50!" The Dakota artist revealed that the rockers now have gym equipment and organic food ready for them when they come off stage. Kelly explained: "Let's say the takeaway order at the end of the night is a little more extravagant and healthier these days. "Now there's more gym gear backstage – that was definitely not there in the Nineties. "Like a weight bench and stuff. It sits there – it gathers clothes a lot. "We all still travel on the bus together, we all still go out for dinner together, we go for a drink after together. "Thankfully, we all get on – not every band does – and we've had the same crew for 25 years, so it's a family-orientated vibe." Meanwhile, Kelly revealed earlier this year that he turned down the chance to see a Stereophonics tribute band who have a lead singer called "Belly Jones". The Welsh rocker describes it as a privilege when people cover the band's music but chose not to attend a working men's club in his homeland to watch the tribute act over Easter. The 51-year-old musician told The Dave Berry Breakfast Show on Absolute Radio in April: "I wake up on Sunday mornings, and people send me clips of people at weddings and bars and pubs singing my stuff a lot. "And when I went home for Easter this weekend to see my family in Wales, my cousin said, 'Do you want to come up to the working man's club?' I said, 'Why? What's happening? And she said, 'There's a Stereophonics tribute band playing.'" He continued: "I think the singer, he's a big guy, he's called Belly Jones. So I said, 'No'. My missus was like, 'No, let's go.' Take the kids, have a good night."
Daily Mirror
29-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
'Touring with Oasis was messy' says huge musician as he spills on new music plans
Liam and Noel Gallagher have put their differences aside as they prepare to reunite this summer for their mega word tour as Stereophonics' Kelly Jones recalls their wild tour Stereophonics singer Kelly Jones has revealed exactly what it was like touring with the Gallagher brothers at the height of their Oasis fame and teased they're back in the studio. Waring siblings Liam and Noel Gallagher have finally put their differences aside to reunite for a string of dates this summer. The duo will share the stage together for the first time since 2009 in just a matter of weeks. Fans are eagerly awaiting what to expect from the sold-out world tour that kicks off in Cardiff in July, with speculation mounting as Noel has been spotted in the studio. The Britpop icons have remained silent on whether fans can expect new music, as Kelly has now weighed in. Sharing his thoughts on the record-breaking reunion, he said: 'It's good that they got back together. It's taken a long time. "The band aside, just the magnitude of those shows and the magnitude of people wanting to be at shows is an amazing thing for musicians to be part of and for them to have that second bite of the cherry after everything that's gone on, it's pretty amazing really.' Kelly has even toured with Oasis as his band Stereophonics headed to Japan at the same time with the 90s stars. Summing up the wild experience, Kelly told NME:"Pretty messy but good fun." He admitted Noel "took him under his wing" following the release of Stereophonics' third album Just Enough Education To Perform. Kelly added: 'Funnily enough, I found some old pictures of me and Noel rehearsing when he used to have a studio down in Windsor recently, just before we toured America. "We were having a laugh about them and I asked him what he'd been up to and he said he'd been doing some writing in the studio." Giving his verdict on Oasis releasing new music, Kelly said: "I'm assuming he's doing some writing for either his stuff or if they're [Oasis] gonna bring out a couple songs, I don't know.' Liam and Noel have secretly been reuniting in recent weeks as they were pictured together for the first time in years during preparations for the tour. The two brothers were spotted arriving at a working men's club in Newington Green, London, last week. It is understood Noel and Liam were shooting promo material for Adidas for a new collaboration between them and the sports brand. Speaking on X, Liam told fans reuniting with his big brother for the shoot had been a "biblical" experience. He posted: "It was more a video kind of thing like a mini film and word on the street it was BIBLICAL. I just get in and out I don't hang around looking at the screen I'll see it when you cats see it" He also teased followers that he's desperate to get back to performing live with Oasis again, "The stage is my safe space it's where I get a bit of peace n quiet," he penned. The Mirror revealed earlier in April, the eagerly-awaited Oasis reunion will happen next month - with band rehearsals beginning in May. Noel has been back in the studio on his own rehearsing songs and working on new material in London. They added: "Noel is often in and out of the studio working on things, he is a singer songwriter so it's only natural. "But Liam is a singer and he has a long list of dates ahead of him with Oasis this year so he will not be overdoing rehearsals. After a big solo Definitely Maybe tour your last year, the main thing his voice needs at the moment is rest. He has been relaxing recently and spending time with his mum Peggy. "The plan is for the band to start meeting up in May. They will jam around and work out a set list and Liam will be the last one to join in with the vocals. There is plenty of time and Liam is a born rock'n'roll star who has lived and breathed these songs and performed a lot of them in his own solo shows so he doesn't need much practice. But the rest of the band do need to rehearse more, especially as there is a new drummer in the mix."
Wales Online
26-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Wales Online
Kelly Jones 'didn't think anyone would give a sh**' as he opens up on Stereophonics, getting older and 'the end of the road'
Kelly Jones 'didn't think anyone would give a sh**' as he opens up on Stereophonics, getting older and 'the end of the road' Stereophonics' thirteenth studio album Make 'em Laugh, Make 'em Cry, Make 'em Wait is 'classic Stereophonics' says Cwmaman's Kelly Jones but with a flavour of the band in 2025 (Image: James D Kelly ) "'I had no idea anyone would give a sh*t," Kelly Jones mused as he's asked, probably for the umpteenth time, about what the catalyst and thought process was behind his anthemic tributes to Welsh life back in the early to mid 1990s. Stereophonics have now been in the Welsh, and wider public consciousness, almost three decades and have just released their thirteenth album, Make 'em Laugh, Make 'em Cry, Make 'em Wait - the title of which was inspired by the singer-songwriter's art school teacher back in Pontypridd . The phrase has been worked into Stereophonics lore since Kelly was first told it while developing his other passion, screenwriting, back in that art school, their extensive back catalogue a mix of observational everyday scenes, emotions and situations that can make you laugh and blub in equal measure such is the 50-year-old's mean skill of songwriting - name me a valleys native who doesn't smile, revelling in the shouting of "OFFICE BLOCKS" from A Thousand Trees or get a shiver over the melancholic-but-optimistic Maybe Tomorrow. Article continues below From 1997's debut, Word Gets Around - home of tracks that paint a vivid picture of a certain corner of Welsh life like Local Boy in the Photograph and A Thousand Trees - to this year's new release, and everything in between (including corkers like Performance & Cocktails, Kind, Graffiti on the Train), the band at their best paint a picture of where they are, where Kelly is in that moment. Back at the start, Kelly's rigorous absorbing of what was around him in Cwmaman, a classic Welsh mining village burrowed into the valley almost, it's so far up and the rest of the Cynon Valley , wasn't seen by the writer as channelling emotion and feeling down on to the page but looking back, songwriting allowed those feelings to have an outlet. Local Boy is about a lad from the valley who died by jumping in front of a train, Goldfish Bowl documents a claustrophobic, aimless feeling all small town teens experience once in their life at least.. "When you first start, it's much more observational, it's about people, characters, stories, small town and then you have your own experiences, and those experiences are kind of the typical clichés you see in the world," said the Welsh frontman. "Then you get to a certain point, I suppose, for me, it was around album three or four, where you're starting to feel stuff. In your late '20s, almost 30 you start to not really know what anything means. You start writing things like, Maybe Tomorrow and I didn't really know what that was at the time. I think now 'maybe tomorrow, find your way home'. People will probably think it's about getting back home. But I think home is yourself, really? If you can find your way back to you, to yourself, then obviously you'll have a much more peaceful journey in yourself, I suppose." It's a very unsurprising introspective look at using personal situations and emotions to fuel creative output, but Kelly has come to appreciate that path he ended up on in life. Stereophonics pose for a photoshoot at Las Iguanas in Cardiff way back in 1997 (Image: Mirrorpix ) "In hindsight, being older, I think having the outlet probably really helped me in life because when you do feel a lot. You are sensitive to a lot," said Kelly who chats to us after returning from an Easter weekend back in Wales with his family that was filled with Easter roast dinners and mountain walks. "I know a lot of my friends who I grew up with and from school didn't have that outlet. I didn't know then I felt a lot, and I didn't know I was sensitive to stuff. "It's funny when you look back at your work, as you get older and have a family and do other things in life, you get to know yourself a lot better. I suppose in your '20s and '30s, you're constantly running at very high speeds, and you're not really looking at yourself. "You're going and going and going and you're just doing work as you go along. But I suppose I was doing the work and it was kind of a blessing. A huge distraction from yourself, perhaps, as well. And then when you stop, you start really seeing what you are experiencing in life, and use that in your work. I'm glad that I had somewhere to put it all, because I've got a really fast mind, and I can't keep up with it sometimes." It was perhaps that fast mind that allowed Kelly, along with Stuart Cable and Richard Jones - who all grew up on the same street in Cwmaman - to channel that energy into going for it as a band, and after years of dedicated rehearsals factored in between playing local football, Sunday dinners and working on the market stall they were signed by Richard Branson's V2 in 1996. It seems to be a feat Kelly still can't get his head around, "I don't really know what drove us to do it," he said. "It was an incredible commitment, every Thursday, every Sunday, rehearsing, and then Richard joined the ship about 1994/ 95. That drive to something that there was no f*cking possible chance of think about it, [where we were from] literally was a dead-end street. You go to the end of the road, there's a place where we rehearsed, and then there's a f*cking mountain. You can't drive through it, people say they live on a dead-end street, we literally did live on a dead-end street. "So I don't really know what drove us to do it. I've got no idea. It was just an ongoing commitment that we silently made to ourselves, and it just went on and on until somebody else heard it and recognised it and reacted to it, and then it became what it became. "But at 18, sitting on my bedroom floor writing Local Boy in a Photograph, A Thousand Trees, I had no idea that anybody would give a shit about it. It's quite strange, really." Kelly and Richard with Stereophonics' rhythym section, Adam Zindani and Jamie Morrison (Image: James D Kelly ) We go on to talk about the new album, originally mooted as a second Best Of..., the first, Decade in the Sun, was out in 2008 but Kelly just had too many new original tracks. 2022's Oochya! saw a return to the studio for the band post-pandemic and was a classic album length of 15 songs. Kelly knew with Make 'em Laugh, Make 'em Cry, Make 'em Wait he wanted to do it a bit differently, taking lessons he'd learned from his solo album Inevitable Incredible about the track-listing length and being able to reconnect with his own writing. "What I learned from the solo record was eight songs is a cool attention span [length] in 2025 - it's about 40 minutes so it felt really concise. I narrowed it down until I got eight that I felt connected to. And I just wanted to make a record that was like a classic Stereophonics album, but in an album of us in 2025," said the lead singer of the Stereophonics, who is joined in the line up by lifelong friend, bassist Richard, as well as rhythm guitarist Adam Zindani and drummer Jamie Morrison. "There are elements of all of our styles within it, but I'm talking about where I'm at in my life right now," he continued. "But I think if you're a Stereophonics fan from the beginning to now, it ticks a lot of boxes. It got a lot of anthemic stuff and it's got a very melodic stuff." Going back to the title Kelly elaborates on how he took that lesson from decades before and has used it ever since with the 'Phonics. "He just said, 'make 'em laugh, make 'em cry, make 'em wait' and I've always used that with the band's set lists. You start with a big song and it takes people through anecdotes. You make them laugh with a few stories. Then you play the song that makes people cry, and then at the end, you make them wait for the anticipation on the show. So it's always kind of been there that thread the beginning and it just felt like the right time to stick that on an album title." The new album cover (Image: James D Kelly ) While it's a useful directive for an album or gig setlist, the impact of Stereophonics songs on the fans - laughter or tears - doesn't really cross Kelly's mind while writing but he does recognise they are charged with emotion, these days. "I try not to go near how they affect other people," he shared honestly. "At the time I'm writing them, I try to write as honestly and as vulnerably as I can. Don't get me wrong, I've written some f*cking, rock and roll B-sides that don't mean anything," he said. "But the ones that we're talking about, the ones that do that thing, I'm aware of it at the time I'm writing them, like the song, This Life Ain't Easy on the Kind album, or Fly Like an Eagle, those types of songs. They were very, very emotional songs, to both write and perform, Songs are hard to perform without losing yourself in them. You have to pull yourself back a bit and have a look for an exit sign in the corner. Sometimes you can just perform stuff and it doesn't really affect you at all. And then other times if there are things going on in your life, the meaning of the song takes on a new interpretation. I've never really tried to talk about a lot of my songs in terms of interpretation. It's for audiences to figure out what they mean to them. I don't really hold anything back. So I guess if there is stuff I'm going through and it is stuff I'm feeling, then it does get onto the page, and I try to get it onto the performance and the production." Writing in that way must bear a hell of a weight on a person, I ask Kelly how he washes off that day where he's spent a chunk of time writing or recording and it's a simple answer - his kids, who keep him grounded for sure. Kelly is dad to four, Colby, 20, Misty, 18 who he shares with ex-partner Rebecca Walters and Riley, nine and Marley, five, with wife Jakki Healey. "They take up so much of that energy, and it's just about finding that balance," he said, adding that his writing sessions at home take place behind a closed door. He joked on being asked what they all think of the music: "I don't think they do!" Adding that working on the music writing can take a back seat to the school run. "The most peculiar thing for an outsider to understand is that you go out, you do the job, you play Mexico City where people meet you at the airport. You play the show and everybody's crying and singing and then when you come home you're handing out Lakers jerseys and T-shirts - the kids don't really ask you one question about the show. I've never really brought it home in that way," adding:. "I close the door if I'm practising on the piano and the guitar, and they tell me to shut up because they're watching Bluey." Dad-of-four, Kelly, is kept down to earth by his four kids (Image: James D Kelly ) It's now just a few months until the Stereophonics perform at the Principality Stadium, on July 11 and 12. His kids will come and experience the biggest of home gigs for the band, and Richard and Kelly especially three years on from the last sell out performances at the giant venue. Kelly's parents, Arwyn and Beryl, will also be there - Arwyn recently returned to his own on-stage passion, performing with his old band, Oscar Jones and the Kingfishers. It's a tight family unit and this extends to the band, too. Together as best mates since they were three-years-old, Kelly and Richard's friendship is the backbone of the band and the ever-so-slightly younger Jones paid a heartfelt tribute to the bassist who isn't related to him, but you feel they might as well be. "He's like John Wayne, you know, he's the kind of bed that I lie on, you know?" said Kelly who was born in the same hospital and went to the same school as his bandmate. "He's the rock in the band and always has been. Me and Stuart used to be like two cats in a bag and he'd be the one telling us to shut up. When I was younger and mouthing off it was probably because I had him in the background. "I don't ever want to do anything without Richard, even if I want to do other things, and it's called something different. I still want him to be there with me. He's a true friend and he's a brother, really. So, yeah, he is a constant, and I love having him around. And he's always known what to do and what not to do." Make 'em Laugh, Make 'em Cry, Make 'em Wait is out now via EMI. The band play the Principality Stadium on July 11 and 12. From superstar gigs to cosy pubs, find out What's On in Wales by signing up to our newsletter here . Article continues below
