Kelly Jones | |
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| Born | 3 June 1974 Cwmaman, Wales |
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| Years active | 1992–present |
| Spouse | Jakki Healy (m. 2013) |
| Partner | Rebecca Walters (2003–2007) |
| Children | 4 |
| Musical career | |
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| Instruments | |
| Labels | Stylus Records |
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| Website | stereophonics.com |
Kelly Jones (born 3 June 1974) is a Welsh musician and a founding member, lead singer, and guitarist of the rock band Stereophonics.
Kelly Jones was born the youngest of three boys to Beryl and Arwyn Jones in the small Welsh former mining village of Cwmaman, Mid Glamorgan, spending his childhood with them and his two older brothers, Kevin and Lee.
Both of his parents worked in factories. His father coached youth football and pursued his own singing career. The name of Arwyn's backing band, Oscar and the Kingfishers, earned him the nickname 'Oscar' among friends and family. He went on to secure a record deal with Polydor, who renamed him 'Arwyn Davidson' due to the sheer number of Joneses in the music business at the time. Despite making multiple recordings, sharing the Hollies' manager and supporting slots with the likes of Roy Orbison, Arwyn had minimal mainstream success and only released a few singles (including a cover of the Graham Nash song "Simple Man"). [1]
During Jones' youth his uncle, a boxing referee, got him interested in the sport, and he later competed at a high level in South Wales. Following this Jones moved onto football, where he played for his county. Jones grew up in the village of Cwmaman, where he became friends with neighbours, Stuart Cable and Richard Jones (no relation to Kelly), with whom he formed, in 1992, one of a string of covers bands.
Jones' talent for writing was apparent in his youth. He studied film at college and considered becoming a scriptwriter – attracting interest from the BBC for his work – before focusing on music. [2] As his band progressed from covers to performing original material, Jones brought his gift for narrative to his lyrics. He also flirted with the idea of career in boxing, and was a successful fighter at junior levels. [3]
There is a strong autobiographical thread to Jones' writing on Stereophonics' 1997 debut album, Word Gets Around , including an account of his teenage years working on a market stall, "More Life in a Tramps Vest".
In 1996, after several years on the south Wales live circuit, Stereophonics were the first band to be signed to Richard Branson's new Virgin Records label V2. Their debut EP Looks Like Chaplin was not pressed in enough numbers to qualify for the charts, and their next single Local Boy in the Photograph peaked one place shy of the UK top 50. However, their debut LP Word Gets Around , helped by a busy touring schedule that included a support slot on fellow Welsh band Manic Street Preachers' 1996–97 tour, peaked at number 6 on the UK Albums Chart.
In January 2005, Kelly Jones performed a solo set at the Tsunami Relief Cardiff charity concert at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff.[ citation needed ]
In 2007, Jones released his first solo album, Only the Names Have Been Changed , as a limited edition, which managed to reach number 1 on the iTunes download chart.[ where? ] He explained: "We were recording the sixth Stereophonics album last year and in-between takes I started doing these songs off the cuff. Three or four tracks in, I realised that this could actually be something [...] strange how it's always little things that makes big things happen." This created speculation that Jones would leave Stereophonics to pursue his solo career; however, he denied this. [4]
In 2023, under the name Far from Saints, Jones together with Patty Lynn and Dwight Baker of the American band the Wind and the Wave (who had been tourmates with Stereophonics), released their self-titled debut album.
Jones is influenced by musicians such as Neil Young, Bob Dylan, Otis Redding, Stevie Wonder, Led Zeppelin, AC/DC and the Sex Pistols. [5] He is noted for his raspy voice, which has been described as "whiskey" [6] and has drawn criticism as well as acclaim. [7]
Jones has had a troubled relationship with the national tabloid press and they have often criticised him, his contribution to music, and his vocal abilities. [7] Jones has generated headlines several times by criticising fellow Britpop and post-Britpop musical artists, most notably Radiohead frontman and solo artist Thom Yorke. Jones criticised Yorke's attitude in a 2002 interview due to what he felt was complaining about touring on Radiohead's 1998 home video release, Meeting People Is Easy . He said: "We can all relate to that video – y'know, having to do a hundred fucking idents for radio stations – but that doesn't mean you've got to walk around and be a miserable twat to everybody. Which is what Thom Yorke is mostly." [8] [9] He later expressed regret for this comment, since he was a fan of Yorke. [10]
Jones is known for his cynical view of manufactured pop and has also criticised reality shows such as Popstars and The X Factor , as well as manufactured bands such as Hear'Say. [11]
In 2002, Jones was arrested for vandalism; the state later declined to press charges. Jones wrote the song "Rainbows and Pots of Gold" in response to the event. [12] Jones and Rebecca Walters have two children; [13] the couple split shortly after the birth of the second child. Jones then married MTV journalist Jakki Healy; they have two children. [14]
Influenced as a child by his older brothers, Kevin and Lee, Jones has been a life-long supporter of Leeds United Football Club. [15] [16]
| Title | Year |
|---|---|
| Only the Names Have Been Changed | 2007 |
| Inevitable Incredible | 2024 |
| Title | Year | Chart positions | |
|---|---|---|---|
| UK [17] | |||
| Don't Let the Devil Take Another Day | 2020 | 8 | |
Radiohead are an English rock band formed in Abingdon, Oxfordshire, in 1985. They comprise Thom Yorke ; brothers Jonny Greenwood and Colin Greenwood (bass); Ed O'Brien ; and Philip Selway. They have worked with the producer Nigel Godrich and the cover artist Stanley Donwood since 1994. Radiohead's experimental approach is credited with advancing the sound of alternative rock.
Britpop was a mid-1990s British-based music culture movement that emphasised Britishness. Musically, Britpop produced bright, catchy alternative rock, in reaction to the darker lyrical themes and soundscapes of the US-led grunge music and the UK's own shoegaze music scene. The movement brought British alternative rock into the mainstream and formed the larger British popular cultural movement, Cool Britannia, which evoked the Swinging Sixties and the British guitar pop of that decade.
OK Computer is the third studio album by the English rock band Radiohead, released on 21 May 1997. With their producer, Nigel Godrich, Radiohead recorded most of OK Computer in their rehearsal space in Oxfordshire and the historic mansion of St Catherine's Court in Bath in 1996 and early 1997. They distanced themselves from the guitar-centred, lyrically introspective style of their previous album, The Bends. OK Computer's abstract lyrics, densely layered sound and eclectic influences laid the groundwork for Radiohead's later, more experimental work.
Stereophonics are a Welsh rock band formed in 1992 in the village of Cwmaman in the Cynon Valley. The band consists of Kelly Jones, Richard Jones, Adam Zindani, Jamie Morrison and touring member Tony Kirkham (keyboards). The group previously included Stuart Cable (1992–2003) and then Javier Weyler (2004–2012) on drums. Stereophonics have released twelve studio albums, including eight UK number one albums. A successful compilation album, Decade in the Sun, was released in November 2008 and charted at number two on the UK Albums chart.
The Bends is the second studio album by the English rock band Radiohead, released on 13 March 1995 by Parlophone. It was produced by John Leckie, with extra production by Radiohead, Nigel Godrich and Jim Warren. The Bends combines guitar songs and ballads, with more restrained arrangements and cryptic lyrics than Radiohead's debut album, Pablo Honey (1993).
Pablo Honey is the debut studio album by the English rock band Radiohead, released on 22 February 1993 in the UK by Parlophone and on 20 April 1993 in the US by Capitol Records. It was produced by Sean Slade, Paul Q. Kolderie and Radiohead's co-manager Chris Hufford.
Hail to the Thief is the sixth studio album by the English rock band Radiohead. It was released on 9 June 2003 through Parlophone internationally, and through Capitol Records in the United States on 10 June. It was the last album released under Radiohead's record contract with EMI, the parent company of Parlophone and Capitol.
Thomas Edward Yorke is an English musician who is the main vocalist and songwriter of the rock band Radiohead. He plays guitar, bass, keyboards and other instruments, and is noted for his falsetto. Rolling Stone described Yorke as one of the greatest and most influential singers of his generation.
Edward John O'Brien is an English guitarist, songwriter, and member of the rock band Radiohead. He releases solo music under the name EOB.
Dan Rickwood, known professionally as Stanley Donwood, is an English artist and writer. Since 1994, he has created all the artwork for the rock band Radiohead with their singer, Thom Yorke, plus many of Yorke's other projects, including Atoms for Peace and the Smile. In 2002, the pair won a Grammy Award for Best Recording Package for the Radiohead album Amnesiac. Donwood also creates artwork for Glastonbury Festival, and has published books of short stories and a memoir.
"Fake Plastic Trees" is a song by the English rock band Radiohead, released on their second album, The Bends (1995). It was the third single from The Bends in the UK, and the first in the US. It reached the top 50 on the UK Singles Chart, the New Zealand Singles Chart, the US Modern Rock Tracks chart and the Canadian Rock/Alternative chart.
"Pop Is Dead" is a song by the English rock band Radiohead, released as a non-album single on 10 May 1993, several months after their debut album, Pablo Honey. It features a chromatic guitar riff and lyrics criticising the music industry. The music video features the singer, Thom Yorke, in a coffin.
The Eraser is the debut solo album by the English musician Thom Yorke, released on 10 July 2006 through XL Recordings. It was produced by Nigel Godrich, the longtime producer for Yorke's band Radiohead.
Richard Jones is a Welsh bassist, pianist and backing vocalist from Cwmaman, Wales, for the Welsh post-Britpop rock band Stereophonics.
"Harrowdown Hill" is a song by the English musician Thom Yorke, released on 21 August 2006 as the first single from his first solo album, The Eraser. Yorke wrote it about the death of David Kelly, a British weapons expert who told a reporter that the British government had falsely identified weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. "Harrowdown Hill" reached number 23 on the UK singles chart. A music video was released in July 2006.
"The Bends" is a song by the English rock band Radiohead from their second studio album, The Bends (1995). In Ireland, it was released by Parlophone on 26 July 1996 as the album's sixth and final single, and reached number 26 on the Irish Singles Chart.
In Rainbows is the seventh studio album by the English rock band Radiohead. It was self-released on 10 October 2007 as a pay-what-you-want download, followed by a retail release internationally through XL Recordings on 3 December 2007 and in North America through TBD Records on 1 January 2008. It was Radiohead's first release after their recording contract with EMI ended with their album Hail to the Thief (2003).
Post-Britpop is an alternative rock subgenre and is the period in the late 1990s and early 2000s, following Britpop, when the media were identifying a "new generation" or "second wave" of guitar bands influenced by acts like Oasis and Blur, but with less overt British concerns in their lyrics and making more use of American rock and indie influences, as well as experimental music. Bands in the post-Britpop era that had been established acts, but gained greater prominence after the decline of Britpop, such as Radiohead and the Verve, and new acts such as Keane, Snow Patrol, Stereophonics, Feeder, and particularly Travis and Coldplay, achieved much wider international success than most of the Britpop groups that had preceded them, and were some of the most commercially successful acts of the late 1990s and early 2000s.
"Lotus Flower" is a song by the English rock band Radiohead, released on their eighth studio album, The King of Limbs (2011). It features Thom Yorke's falsetto over syncopated beats and a synthesiser bassline. Its music video, featuring Yorke's erratic dancing, attracted millions of views and inspired an internet meme.
The Smile are an English rock band comprising Thom Yorke, Jonny Greenwood and Tom Skinner (drums). Critics likened them to Yorke and Greenwood's band Radiohead, with more jazz, krautrock and progressive rock influences and a looser, wilder sound.
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