At five, the decision is made to carry on drinking into the day. By 11, Kelly is back in his local with Scott James, Tony Kirkham and roadie Simon. This time they�re drinking vodka with milk because they have heartburn. �We wanted White Russians,� he says, �but they�d run out of Kahlua.� Heartburn aside, he is in a blissful state, �walking on air.� Only when Simon starts crying into his beer at 7pm does Kelly Jones head home for a Pot Noodle, half a loaf of bread and a nice warm bed.
Seventy-two hours later and Kelly Jones is hung over again. Yesterday was Richard�s 29th birthday and today the band are sweating out the booze during rehearsals for a string of five UK dates. The venue is Waterloo Sunset Studios near Tower Bridge. The large, airy loft room offers views of high-rise council estates to the south and the Millennium Wheel to the north. Kelly conducts the band while perched on a bar stool, a bottle of Harveys Bristol Cream at his feet. �It helps my singing,� he says, unconvincingly.
Last night was another messy one. Richard invited everyone back to his house in North London, passed out on his bed at two after going for a piss, but roused himself again at three to carry on drinking with his guests until sunrise. �I stuck to lager,� he says sensibly. �No silly drinks.� Kelly�s birthday present to Richard was a brown suede footstool. Cable hasn�t had time to buy a gift, but the thought had crossed his mind to give back The Beatles DVD package that Richard and Gail gave to him four days ago.
Kelly�s birthday is just 10 days away. Another party is planned to celebrate the release of the new album. Hopes are high for the Stereophonics� greatest success to date. The key, Cable notes, is the single Maybe Tomorrow. �it�s the first time in history that we�ve had everybody agree on the same single all over the world � Europe, America, everywhere,� Cable explains. Even Richard Jones, a quite, low-maintenance king of man, is thinking of world domination. �We�re at the stage now where we can�t really get any more popular in Britain,� he says, matter-of-factly. �The next step is to get to that level everywhere else.�
For Richard Jones, the least appealing facet of life in a famous rock band is being stalked on the London Underground. �Its always young girls,� he says with a gentle laugh. �They start following you from one station to the next, two or three of them, not saying anything. If they want an autograph, hopefully they�ll ask�
For Kelly Jones, there is more to consider. As the author of three albums that have sold a total of five million copies around the world, he need never work again, yet the idea of retirement terrifies him. �I couldn�t imagine not doing anything,� he frowns. �My biggest fear is running out of time before finishing everything I want to do.�
Two years ago he was troubled by the effect that one of his songs had on another person�s life. He got a letter from a young who had become pregnant by a rape. While in the waiting room at an abortion clinic, she heard the Stereophonics� Traffic playing on the radio. One line acted as a trigger inside her: �to kill an unborn scare�. She decided to have the child, and walked out. She named her son Kelly. �Stuff like that,� he says, �blows your head up,�
Given the effect that this song had on a person he had never met, Kelly still harbours reservations about Rainbows And Pots Of Gold. �Half of me was frightened to play that song for anybody,� he admits. �But if you edit yourself too much, you�re not being true as an artist. And whether it makes me feel any better or worse, I wrote that song for me.�
Stuart Cable: A Tribute
The man behind the drum kit is the real star of the Stereophonics, Here�s why�
1. Before being a rock star, Stuart Cable delivered school meals in a van. You should have seen me go,� he says. �I was the fastest dinner man in the West!�
2. His big hair. �When it started to grow, people said I was the new Noddy Holder. I didn�t give a fuck!�
3. His bass drums. Observent readers will have spotted his name pointed on them.
4. Of all the members of the Stereophonics, there is none more metal. �There was a point when for 12 months I listened to Rush and nobody else. I had the cut-off denium over the leather jacket and the Rush and AC/DC patches on the back. I had to get my mother to do the embroidery.�
5. And his mother�s name is�.�Mable Cable. It just gets better, doesn�t it? Almost as good as Gary Neville and Phil Neville�s dad � he�s called Neville Neville! Unbelivalbe!