Music Folks
Stereophonics: The Welsh Village Band With Nine No. 1 Albums
October 17, 2026 · by Music Folks
Stereophonics are the Welsh rock band who went from pub gigs in a small Cynon Valley village to stadiums, built on Kelly Jones’s raspy voice and sharply observed songs about small-town life. Three decades in, they have collected nine UK No. 1 albums, tying Take That and Bob Dylan for the most in British chart history.
Quick Facts
- Formed: 1992, Cwmaman, Wales (as Tragic Love Company)
- Members: Kelly Jones (vocals, guitar), Richard Jones (bass), Adam Zindani (guitar), Jamie Morrison (drums)
- Former members: Stuart Cable (drums, 1992-2003), Javier Weyler (drums, 2004-2012)
- Genre: Rock, Britpop-era guitar rock
- Key songs: “Local Boy in the Photograph,” “The Bartender and the Thief,” “Have a Nice Day,” “Dakota”
- Awards: Brit Award for Best New Group (1998)
Village Beginnings
Kelly Jones, bassist Richard Jones (no relation) and drummer Stuart Cable grew up together in Cwmaman and started out in 1992 as Tragic Love Company, a name stitched together from bands they loved. Cable later spotted the brand name on an old gramophone, and they became the Stereophonics. In 1996 they were the first act signed to the new V2 label, dropping the “the” along the way. Their debut, Word Gets Around (1997), reached No. 6 in the UK, and its songs about the people and places of their hometown won them a Brit Award for best new group in 1998.
Chart Years
Performance and Cocktails (1999) gave them their first No. 1 album and hits including “The Bartender and the Thief” and “Just Looking.” That summer they played to around 50,000 people at Morfa Stadium in Swansea, a show later released on DVD. A run of chart-topping albums followed: Just Enough Education to Perform (2001), with the breezy “Have a Nice Day,” You Gotta Go There to Come Back (2003), Language. Sex. Violence. Other? (2005) and Pull the Pin (2007), making five No. 1s in a row. “Dakota,” from the 2005 album, became their first UK No. 1 single.
Changes Behind the Kit
In September 2003 the band let Stuart Cable go, with a reported lack of commitment as the reason. Javier Weyler took over the drum stool in 2004 and stayed until 2012, when former Noisettes drummer Jamie Morrison replaced him. Guitarist Adam Zindani, who first joined as a touring player in 2007, became part of the core lineup. Cable died in June 2010 at his home in Aberdare, a loss felt deeply in the valleys that had produced the band.
A Second Wind
Rather than fading, Stereophonics kept filling arenas. Keep the Village Alive (2015) returned them to No. 1, and after moving from V2 to Parlophone they topped the chart again with Kind (2019) and Oochya! (2022). A 2022 homecoming at Cardiff’s Principality Stadium, with Sir Tom Jones as a guest, was broadcast by the BBC. In April 2025 they released Make ’Em Laugh, Make ’Em Cry, Make ’Em Wait, which became their ninth UK No. 1 album and drew them level with Take That and Bob Dylan.
Where They Are Now
As of October 2026, the band are marking 30 years since their first single with Tune! Ultimate Collection 96-26, a 30-track career retrospective due on November 20, 2026. Few bands from the late-1990s British guitar boom have kept such a loyal audience for so long, and Stereophonics did it largely on the strength of Kelly Jones’s songwriting and a steady, unflashy work ethic.