Storming the Castle

As the Stereophonics prepare for their headline gig at Slane this month, P J Gibbons talks to frontman Kelly Jones about Wales, stardom and his love-hate relationship with the press

WHEN the Stereophonics last stepped on stage at Slane in August 1999, as the main support act to Robbie Williams, the Welsh band weren’t prepared for the sea of sanguine faces that greeted them.

Having been denigrated by music critics following the release of their debut album Word Gets Around just two years before, the group were quietly circumspect of the 80,000-strong heaving crowd, which formed their biggest audience to date, at Ireland’s greatest annual outdoor music event.