But a sackload of letters sent to NME by English fans accused the band's flag-waving show of bordering on fascism. Amid the furore, the band remained tight-lipped, but the exchange soured the relationship between Stereophonics and the music press.
Exhausted, the band took a much-deserved hiatus throughout , although Mama Told Me Not To Come - which found Kelly manfully trying to outbellow Tom Jones on the Welsh renaissance man's cover of the Randy Newman original - hit number four in March.
The band's return proved that their runctions with the rock press had clearly hit a raw nerve, however. The first single to be taken from Stereophonics' third studio album was Mr Writer - a spiteful retort to music journalists. Dour and plodding, it stalled at a disappointing number five.
Tellingly, Kelly Jones debuted many of the songs in an intimate solo acoustic tour in late stripped-down songs like Step On My Old Size Nines found Stereophonics losing some of their bombastic edge and embracing a subtle brand of songwriting that evoked old rockers like Neil Young.
Sure enough, a cover of Handbags And Gladrags - written by former Manfred Mann songwriter Mike D'Abo, and popularised by Rod Stewart in the s - that rocketed Stereophonics back up the charts in the December of , prompting V2 to re-release the album with the cover as a bonus track. In January , Stuart Cable dropped out of a Japanese tour citing family reasons, prompting rumours of a split. It was a hard-rocking, whiskey-swilling return to form for the band.
However, on 25 September it was announced that Stuart Cable had been sacked from the band due to commitment issues. Apparently Cable only heard of the news once it became public.
According to BBC News, the drummer was informed by journalists contacting him. He later placed the matter in the hands of his lawyers, adding: "I'm a founder member of the Stereophonics and I would like to stress that I did not leave nor ever had any intention of leaving the band.
I am, and have always been, a fully committed member of the Stereophonics and am very upset that Kelly seems to be saying I was not committed to the band. Kelly Jones' statement, on the band's website, said: "Me and Stuart started a band when I was It is commonly referred to by it's acronym, 'J.
On July 21st, the Stereophonics followed in the footsteps of the Manic Street Preachers and played a full concert at the newly built Millennium Stadium, Cardiff. Then in November , the band announced it would release Handbags and Gladrags UK 4 as an official studio track, though it wasn't on the current album tracklisting.
Vegas Two Times , the album opener was released on DVD single, and live footage from 'A Day at the Races' was overdubbed with the studio track for the video.
Vegas Two Times opens the album with a minute of female harmonies before the track kicks in. This extended intro was completely cut for the single version, and also when being played live, but by this point in their career, the live 4-piece had once again grown to included second touring guitarist Scott James, and backing singers Aileen McLaughlin and Anna Ross.
The album itself divided fans and critics alike. Most opinions were and still are very cold towards the record, citing the dramatic departure from the band's signature sound as main reason behind it's poor critial reception. It is also worth noting the effect that 'Mr.
Writer' had on the relationship between the media and the increasingly outspoken Jones. Most reviewers refute this claim however, citing a lacklustre performance in songwriting as the principal downfall of the LP. Fans are also split, for some of them were not fans until the release of the album and use of such tracks as Have a Nice Day on TV commercials.
Others see the departure in signature sound as a fall from grace the band has yet to recover, whilst the more pragmatic approaches seem to suggest that the giddy days at the time of 'WGA' and 'Performance' were dizzy heights that will probably never be reached again, if only for the luck of timing and social chords that were struck within the era of these intial albums.
The band themselves were quick to defend the sound of the album, without making any apology for the songs that made the cut, suggesting that the rigours of touring the world as a rock band mean that they were constantly in an environment surrounded by loud music, and when they got back on their tour bus, they wanted to distance themselves from that sound, so they turned to a different type of music. In turn, this music feeds the inspiration for the upcoming songwriting process.
In June , the band headlined the Pyramid stage of the prestigious Glastonbury festival, displaying a confident reportoire of songs new and old alike, and for the first time played unreleased songs, the most significant and electrifiying of these performances being that of future lead single Madame Helga. After a summer of festival appearances the band settled in back at their homes to write songs for the album.
In the coming months, both Kelly and Richard both decided it would be better if they moved to London, to ease their label pressures and commitments. Stuart declined to do the same. Instead, Cable was given his own TV chat show, Cable TV , by BBC Wales, where he would host lively chat and music, which included an acoustic set by Stereophonics , although curiously without Stuart, obviously wanting to draw clear definitions between his band and his TV persona.
They played acoustic versions of songs that would go on to become Getaway and Climbing the Wall. When it came to the new album, it is widely assumed that Kelly wrote the songs without any input from anyone, except live recording engineer and personal friend Jim Lowe.
In the liner notes of the new album, Kelly wrote: " We got together as a band and rehearsed the demos at Stuart's garage a week before going into the studio… " But demanding schedulings had already begun to put a strain on the working relationship of the band. The studio process also changed for this album. Relying heavily on live engineer Lowe to capture the tracks in as few takes as nessessary added to the very live and raw sound on the album. The song were on a more personal level, rather than on a narrative, and faced issues like alcohol and drug abuse, sex and procarious living more than had reviously been addressed by the band.
On July 21st, the band released their biggest international smash song to date, the gorgeous and aching Maybe Tomorrow which charted in the UK at 3, but went on to transcend the band's status as a restricted UK act. The melotron and rhodes piano sound that gave the song its melancholy charm found it's way onto quite a few American TV and film soundtracks including ' Wicker Park ' and later on the Academy Award-winning film ' Crash '.
The band lined up on last single to be released in the UK prior to finishing their world tour in , the aforementioned Since I Told You It's Over was scheduled for released in November. However, in September whilst in America touring the album, Stuart Cable was sacked by the two founding members of the band, Kelly and Richard, citing commitment issues as the sole reason for the departure. Emotionally to me this is heartbreaking, I love him like a brother, but commitment-wise there have been issues since Just Enough Education To Perform.
Cable had pulled out of imminent and ongoing US tour dates citing ill health and had suspended his own touring regime at the advise of doctors, though the band were set to continue toruing without him, leaving him to return to the UK to recuperate.
Cable has always claimed that he knew nothing of his sacking until being confronted with it by the media. The band replaced him on the road with friend and former drummer for The Black Crowes , Steve Gorman.
Gorman remained on tour with the band until they had completed every date, and even appeared in the video for bonus single Moviestar , a track that didn't make the original cut of the album, but was to be released as a single in it's own right.
Stuart Cable provided the drums tracks for the song in studio before his departure, but had already been sacked before the video had been shot. On the 20th December, Cardiff's Millennium Stadium would once again play host as the final gig of the world tour, and end a successful year on the road in which they had played in excess of over 60 gigs and festivals in no less than 14 different countries. They ended a turbulent year on a high. A settlement was reached between the remaining members of the band and Cable as compensation for his axing, but the bitterness between the band, both current and former, was apparant, with Cable brandishing Jones a 'dictator'.
The recording process for new record was to take up the entirety of Writing for the album had taken place on the road between , and the band quickly put the disappointments of the previous year behind them and focused on recapturing the imaginations of their listeners.
After writing the bulk of the songs for the new record, which was set to throw back to the days of old, the band went into the studio to record the album demos. The band felt at this point that this process required a committed drummer. Steve Gorman was not considered as a full time replacement for Stuart Cable and Gorman later rejoined the reformed Black Crowes in As Weyler had assisted in recording demos for Stereophonics' new studio album, later on that year Kelly Jones and Richard Jones wrote to Javier inviting him to drum permanently within the band.
Javier accepted the offer and met up with the rest of the band to finish Stereophonics' fifth studio album ' Language. Apart from Weyler, there were no other additions to the Stereophonics line up, but the band decided that the big band sound which had seen their live stage set up rise to a 7-piece band was now a thing of the past.
Tony Kirkham remains the a part of the live set up, but Kelly Jones played piano parts on the new album, rather than Kirkham. Despite having performed all over the world, the band still find that they get pre-gig nerves. As soon as we get the first one done we're really flying". With only a month until Stereophonics perform at Thetford Forest, the band are really looking forward to the show. All the reports we've heard are of big receptions, like it's such a nice atmosphere there, we're really looking forward to experiencing it.
We can't wait to get up there! It's a beautiful part of the country and I don't think there are enough venues there to come and play regularly, so whenever we do come and play there it's always a good time. Once all of their upcoming shows are complete, the band will be looking towards their next album release.
We will probably then be back on the road, worldwide, as of the beginning of next year. There's no better feeling than playing a song that you've written and having a great reaction from a bunch of people in front of you who are there to have a good time - it's a good position to be in.
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