This hard-rocking trio have overtaken the Manics to become the biggest band in Wales if not the UK. Kelly Jones, Richard Jones and Stuart Cable began life as a covers band called Tragic Love Company performing at working men's clubs in and around their home town of Cwmaman.The band renamed themselves Stereophonics and Kelly's bittersweet lyrics about life in the south Wales valleys attracted the attention of Richard Branson's V2 label which release their first single Looks Like Chaplin/More Life In A Tramp's Vest in 1996.The debut album Word Gets Around spawned a string of hit singles including Local Boy In The Photograph and Traffic. It helped earn the trio a Brit Award for Best New Band in 1998.Since then, the albums Performance and Cocktails, Just Enough Education to Perform and You Gotta Go There To Come Back have secured Stereophonics' place as one of the UK's leading rock acts.They've also toured extensively, including a string of high profile gigs at Cardiff Castle, Morfa Stadium, Donington, and the Millennium Stadium as well as headlining appearances at the Glastonbury, Reading, T in the Park and V festivals.Kelly's vocal talents earned him a guest spot duetting with fellow Welshman Tom Jones on a cover of Mama Told Me Not To Come on the latter's Reload album.Meanwhile garrulous drummer Stuart Cable has fronted a health awareness campaign about testicular cancer, and has been presenting his own Cable TV programme on BBC Wales television.But Cable's larger-than-life personality contrasted sharply with Kelly and Richard's preference to shun the limelight off stage, and ructions led to his shock sacking from the band in September 2003.It was more than a year later, in December 2004, that unknown Argentinian Javier Weyler was named as Cable's replacement.But the change of personnel hasn't hampered the band, who scored their first ever number one single in spring 2005 with Dakota, closely followed by the chart-topping album Language. Sex. Violence. Other? Moment of Glory: Their first major headlining gig at Morfa Stadium, Swansea, in 1999 in front of 50,000 was voted Gig of the Year by readers of the NME. ...more...(taken from and info at: www.bbc.co.uk/wales/southeast/halloffame/showbiz/stereophonics.shtml)