Top Class Concert
by Strevie G on 12/07/2025Principality Stadium - CardiffRating: 5 out of 5Very well organised concert, but very disappointed with the vendor prices £8 for a can is scandalous
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Over 5s only. Under 16s must be accompanied by an adult over 18
Indie-rock’s empathetic storytellers return to UK stadiums in summer 2025
A trio of Welsh teenagers from the former mining village of Cwmaman started writing and performing music together at working men’s clubs in 1992 as Tragic Love Company. Originally comprised of Kelly Jones and Richard Jones (who are not related) plus Stuart Cable, they had to change their name in order to get booked for a series of concerts in South Wales. Cable suggested Stereophonics, which was taken from the make of his grandmother’s gramophone.
In 1996, they became the first band to be signed to V2, Richard Branson’s new Virgin Records label. Stereophonics’ debut track Looks Like Chaplin came out later that year and led to support slots on tours with fellow Welsh act Manic Street Preachers(Opens in new tab) and Birmingham-based Ocean Colour Scene(Opens in new tab). Their album Word Gets Around arrived in 1997 and reached No.6 on the UK albums chart thanks to lead singles More Life In A Tramps Vest, Local Boy In The Photograph and A Thousand Trees.
Besides recording songs ripe with storytelling, the band’s sound, which fell somewhere between Oasis-inspired Britpop and ’70s-era rock, quickly resulted in a loyal following. Plus, Stereophonics took home a BRIT Award for Best New Band in early 1998 and played for over 10,000 fans at Cardiff Castle(Opens in new tab).
When the tracks The Bartender And The Thief and Just Looking came out shortly after, they reached No.3 and No.4, respectively, on the UK singles chart. Those were the lead songs from Stereophonics’ sophomore album Performance And Cocktails, which topped the charts upon arrival in spring 1999 and went platinum within three weeks. By the end of the year, the band had played a stadium show in Swansea as well as collaborated with Welsh giant Tom Jones(Opens in new tab) on a cover of Mama Told Me Not To Come for his Reload album.
Stereophonics’ next four albums – 2001’s Just Enough Education To Perform, 2003’s You Gotta Go There To Come Back, 2005’s Language. Sex. Violence. Other? and 2007’s Pull The Pin – all peaked at No.1 in the UK, firmly securing the group’s place as one of the nation’s leading rock acts. In addition, they scored their first and only UK No.1 hit single with 2005’s upbeat Dakota.
During these years, Stereophonics parted ways with Cable, temporarily replacing him with former Black Crowes(Opens in new tab) drummer Steve Gorman before adding Argentinian Javier Weyler, who had been part of recording their demos, as a full-time member. Casino(Opens in new tab) frontman Adam Zindani also joined the line-up after performing on stage with them at Radio 1’s 2007 Big Weekend and then appearing on two of their live standalone tracks, You’re My Star and My Own Worst Enemy.
The band released the greatest hits compilation Decade In The Sun in 2008, with their seventh album Keep Calm And Carry On following a year later.
In 2010, Stereophonics received a rapturous reception while playing a sold-out show titled Summer In The City as the inaugural concert at the newly built Cardiff City Stadium. However, tragic news came two days later with former band member Cable passing away at his home in South Wales from an accidental death due to drinking.
Stereophonics revealed that Weyler left the band in 2012 and former Noisettes(Opens in new tab) drummer Jamie Morrison replaced him. Soon after, they unveiled Violins And Tambourines as the lead single for their 2013 album Graffiti On A Train. Kelly conceived the idea for it when he caught some children with spray paint running across his rooftop to get to the railway behind his house. Critically acclaimed, the record featured the hit single Indian Summer, went platinum and was nominated for World’s Best Album at the 2014 World Music Awards.
Kelly had written so many songs for Graffiti On A Train that a second volume was planned and arrived as 2015’s Keep The Village Alive. They supported it with the Keep The Summer Alive Tour that ran all the way through summer 2016.
After signing with Parlophone Records in 2017, Stereophonics released Scream Above The Sounds. Kelly started writing it while the band was on tour and he’d gotten delayed in Shanghai. While at a hotel, he watched the German crime thriller film Victoria by Sebastian Schipper, and was intrigued by the concept of two people meeting and their lives completely changing during the course of one night.
Stereophonics’ 11th album Kind was recorded over an 11-day period and released in 2019. It became Stereophonics’ seventh album to top the UK charts. Kelly revealed the lead track Fly Like An Eagle and video were inspired by his eldest daughter’s coming out.
That summer Kelly embarked on a solo UK tour playing re-imagined, stripped-back versions of Stereophonics’ classics and solo pieces. During the shows, he explained the stories behind the songs that have meant so much to him. Those performances were recorded and at the end of 2020, Kelly released a documentary called Don’t Let The Devil Take Another Day along with a 21-track solo album by the same name.
In September 2021, Stereophonics unveiled the optimistic yet defiant single Hanging On Your Hinges and confirmed their 12th album Oochya! would arrive on 4 March 2022.
“The album title [Oochya!] was always a saying me and the band used in the studio to mean ‘let’s have it’, a blast of energy and optimism and that’s what we wanted to get across with Hinges,” said Kelly about the new album and song, which also draw on his love of garage rock.
The Welsh rockers played two huge end-of-year shows titled We’ll Keep A Welcome at Cardiff’s Principality Stadium in December 2021 with special guests Tom Jones and Catfish And The Bottlemen(Opens in new tab) as well as an 11-date UK arena tour in spring 2022.
A new studio album and stadium tour were both announced for summer 2025, with the band playing Belfast, Dublin, Cork, Huddersfield, Glasgow, London and Cardiff along with the promise of "no hit left behind" on their biggest ever tour. Stadium Anthems promises to be a journey through the band’s incredible career – also taking in a headline slot at the Isle of Wight Festival.
Encore
A new studio album is on the way, with "no hit left behind" in the summer Stadium Anthems tour
Very well organised concert, but very disappointed with the vendor prices £8 for a can is scandalous
Absolutely a cracking night, the place was rocking ,
Fantastic gig brilliant atmosphere and a great venue. Ticket purchase process and issue was good and communication timely. At the stadium the marshals were friendly and helpful but the event parking was terrible to exit after with no organisation to keep the traffic moving.
An amazing night with great atmosphere considering the heat great bands and staff friendly and helpful
Vocally one of the best performances I have seen, Kelly sung for over 2 hours belting out hit after hit. Brilliant
Amazing performance by all the groups. It was so warm people were fainting while waiting to go in. Staff was bringing cups of water out for everyone. 1st time my daughter been to a concert and she was amazed by it all. The atmosphere was electric
A scorching hot day but it's impact lessened by the fact that you were permitted to take a 500 ml bottle of water into the event. Even better was the fact that there were free (filtered) water stations available so replenishment was no problem. The concert was brilliant with the band playing a mix of old and new songs. The atmosphere was electric and many were soon up on their feet dancing along to their favorite songs. Thank you to all of the stewards and stadium personnel who were friendly and helpful. If you are going to one of the gigs, you are in for a treat!
Great show, hit after hit.. great sound and venue. Interactive with the crowd. Just brilliant!
Thanks to Transport for Wales and a broken train, we missed the gig.
This was a superb performance by the Welsh band. All filler and no killer. A big hats off to the organisers for the after gig crowd control as well. Principality has principals.
Incredible performance. Brilliant atmosphere. Loved it!
Stereophonics are amazing 🤩 try to see them 3 times a year and also Kelly on his own he's just so brilliant and amazing every time
Excellent gig by the Stereophonics in the heat. Stadium staff were very helpful
Principality stadium as a venue was excellent, much better than Wembley IMO. Staff were very friendly and very helpful. Now....The Stereophonics - amazing, incredible, absolutely on it! Totally buzzing all the way home.....next stop - Nottingham in December - can't wait! The sound was clear and the place was rocking.....thank you Stereophonics!
Stereophonics what a night my heart was in my mouth brilliant from start to finish ❤️
Fantastic gig, Stereophonics were awesome as always. First time at Finsbury Park, we had to leave as the encore started to be able to get the last train which is disappointing but the stewards were very good directing everyone
Fantastic night, sound was amazing all the hits could not have been any better!
Love the Stereophonics, have seen them live 4 times and they never disappoint. Bloody brilliant xxx
Primarily there was too many people. Based on the stage set up and the venue perimeters in general it was way too crowded and was too packed. It took forever to simply access the toilets, and the queues for drinks were appalling. Poorly organised based on these factors. Secondly, the music/speakers itself were too quiet, it's a rock band playing music that can be very upbeat yet the volume and overall feel felt way too subdued. Yes it could be a license issue but it was a Friday night and not a late finish so the atmosphere felt lacking.
This was another fantastic gig by our favourite band. The set list was definitely the greatest hits!! Blossoms were also amazing. Just a shame Finsbury Park was a bit chaotic for bars, toilets and exiting.