Stereophonics frontman Kelly Jones has revealed he still dreams about his late bandmate Stuart Cable as he opened up about how his death impacted him.
Cable, who grew up alongside Jones and was one of the original founders of the Welsh rock band, died in 2010 aged 40.
Speaking on a podcast for the charity Help Musicians, Jones, 48, admitted it was “intense” when his long-time friend died and that he later wrote a song about him.
He said: “Stuart turns up in my dreams at least five times a week. It’s bizarre. Still to this day, it’s quite strange. I lived in number 54 he lived in 62, we were on the same street all our lives.
“He’d be playing drums up there and I’d be playing guitar down there, we merged in my garage and then we took it to the youth club.
“He was like another big brother to me, he introduced me to a lot of music… it was his huge laugh and personality 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. I don’t think he was ever going to get to be an old man.”
Jones also reflected on how the late drummer was a “very funny guy”, but that his bravado may have hidden his underlying insecurities.
He added that Cable’s son now comes to their shows and that there are certain moments when he reminds the band of the late drummer.
He said: “His son doesn’t look like him but there are certain expressions that his son does, its very eerie because he looks exactly like him.”
The singer also revealed he wrote Before Anyone Knew Our Name for Cable and feels the day he wrote it was when he “officially properly grieved”.
“It was basically about us starting as kids and the desire we had to get to where we got to and it was kind of unfinished business in some ways but he was funny,” he added.
Stereophonics released their debut studio album World Gets Around in 1997 and topped the charts with their follow-up, 1999’s Performance And Cocktails.
They have since released seven more number one albums including 2022’s Occhya! and are known for the songs Just Looking, Maybe Tomorrow, C’est La Vie and Have A Nice Day.
