Kelly Jones says 'I can't believe it' as he issues Stereophonics special message

Kelly Jones
Kelly Jones reflected on 25 years of Performance and Cocktails -Credit:Stereophonics/TikTok


Stereophonics frontman Kelly Jones has revealed that it has been 25 years since the band released their second studio album, Performance and Cocktails, which was released in 1999. The 49-year-old musician, who hails from Cwmaman, took to TikTok to reflect on making the album which features songs such as The Bartender and the Thief and Hurry Up and Wait.

“25 years ago today, Performance and Cocktails was released. I can't believe it really. 25 years. I remember playing that song for the first time to Stuart [Cable] in Real World Studios because I'd never really written a song on a piano before.

“I'd swapped a Stereophonics T-shirt for a piano with a lady in the hairdressers – so I gave her a T-shirt, she'd give me a piano, and the only thing I could play was John Lennon's Imagine, which Marshall Bird taught me how to play.” Listen to In the Spotlight with Kelly Jones below.

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Kelly continued: “From that and those few chords I messed about with it, and I all stopped to fill my car up after driving home from the cinema one night on the dark roads in south Wales valleys and I had this idea that we stopped at a garage after a friend in college told me he stopped in the garage and the guy got in the back of his car and asked him to drive him somewhere. I unravelled the story and took it onto many different places in my imagination. At the end of the story, I decided to just say, ‘I was just winding you up. It never really happened.’ So there you go, 25 years.

“Maybe you should all go listen to a Performance and Cocktails this weekend. I'm back in the studio next week with the boys doing Stereophonics stuff as well so lots of new music is still coming. Thank you very much for enjoying the inevitable incredible stuff. Much appreciated, and I'll be here soon.”

After posting the video on the Stereophonics’ official account several people flocked to the comments to share their memories of listening to the album. One person said: “Ahhh that voice...takes me way back to better times.” A second echoed: “This song and the whole album stopped me in my tracks. What a time it was,” while a third commented: “I was 14, we got the cd and recorded it onto a tape so we could give it to the bus driver to play on the way to school and back again everyday...went on for months. Us valley folk were so proud.” Another person wrote: “A stone cold classic from a stone cold classic album.” For the latest TV and showbiz news, sign up to our newsletter.