Kelly Jones has spoken about his former bandmate, and lifelong friend, the late Stuart Cable in a new podcast in aid of a mental health charity for musicians, revealing he dreams of his friend "at least five times a week".
The pair formed the 'Phonics and various other iterations of their band with Richard Jones in Cwmaman in the Cynon Valley during the late 1980s and found fame in the mid-1990s with their debut album, Word Gets Around, released in 1997. He told the Help Musicians podcast, hosted by Squeeze's Chris Difford, that Stuart was "like a big brother" to him after the host asked did he "take Stuart on stage with him?"
"Stuart turns up in my dreams," Kelly confessed, saying it was "intense" when the drummer died. "At least five times a week. It's bizarre. Still to this day yeah it's quite strange. I lived in number 54 he lived in 62, we lived on the same street all our lives.
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"He'd be playing drums up there and I'd be playing guitar down there. He introduced me to a lot of music, it was his big laugh that opened the door a few times. So, him dying at 40, I'd like to say it was a surprise but in many ways it wasn't he was that kind of character. He was never going to get to be an old man."
The Stereophonics drummer died back in 2010 and was sacked from the band in the early 2000s. The band continued and have become one of Wales' most successful acts with eight UK Official Album Chart Number 1s under their belt. Kelly added that his friend was a funny guy but possibly the bravado hid the insecurities underneath.
"You don't realise that when you are young," Kelly added. "It was quite hard. His son comes to our shows now and we were talking about that the other day, his son doesn't look like him but there are a few expressions... it's eerie. He was a great guy."
Kelly also speaks about his new band Far From Saints, who will release their debut album later this year and mark a new musical direction for Kelly who's formed the group with American songstress and mental health advocate Patty Lynn and drummer Dwight Baker from the band The Wind and the Waves. The band will support Kings of Leon in Wrexham this summer, find out about that here.
When asked how the Stereophonics feel about his new project, Kelly said: “I've got a great relationship with the boys in the band. But it’s good to have that freedom. I think sometimes I feel quite guilty, you know, doing things outside of the band that I'm in and think ‘Am I doing the right thing?’ But you learn things from being on your own stage that you can take back to the band."
The revealing podcast series from Help Musicians has previously featured many big names, from legendary artists like Sting, Robbie Williams, Nile Rodgers and Midge Ure through to contemporary superstars like Blossoms and Yungblud. Upcoming guests in the third series include Joan Armatrading, Skin and KT Tunstall.
Help Musicians offers a wide range of support including a mental health charity, Music Minds Matter, for everyone in the industry. Music Minds Matter’s helpline is available 24/7 to anyone who works in music and has seen a 200% increase in calls in the past two years alone. For more information on the charity, click here.
The full podcast episode is available to listen to at all the major podcast providers now, and also here, with further episodes being released weekly.
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