Stereophonics have been entertaining Aberdeen audiences since playing their first Granite City gig at The Works in Belmont Street 25 years ago.
The band performed at the venue in March 1997 with Subcircus on the Tennent’s Live tour where the first 50 fans through the door got a free goodie bag!
The show came just five months before the band released Word Gets Around and the set list included songs from that now legendary debut album.
A Thousand Trees, Not Up To You, Traffic, Too Many Sandwiches, More Life In A Tramp’s Vest and debut single Looks Like Chaplin were all performed at The Works.
The Vodka Bar was directly above the gig venue.
Kelly Jones, Richard Jones and Stuart Cable eventually left Aberdeen with raging hangovers after trying to go through as many of the lip-tingling delicacies as possible.
They all woke up with a horrendous headache before finishing the tour with gigs at the Railway Club in Inverness and Glasgow Cathouse.
Mr Writer, why don’t you tell it like it is?
Broadcaster and DJ Jim Gellatly was writing a weekly music column for the Evening Express and heard the band’s first single Looks Like Chaplin in 1996.
“The single Looks Like Chaplain had been a big favourite of mine when it was released the previous year, playing it on Northsound and covering the band in the EE,” he said.
“I just thought they were very relatable and nice people too. Off the back of the Manic Street Preachers I’d been taking an interest in Welsh bands coming through.”
Jim interviewed the band before the gig and seemed to strike a nerve when he asked about the comparison with the Manic Street Preachers!
Kelly Jones told him: “I think the Manics are a really good band, but it’s a bit lazy to compare us to them.
“If there was any band we weren’t influenced by it would be the Manics. We all grew up and we were into Creedence Clearwater, The Kinks, Beautiful South, Neil Young and stuff. It’s only now that the Manics have come out with a big album as a three-piece that people try to make some sort of connection.
“It’s annoying because you spend so much time crafting your songs. You try so hard making original songs up and I think we do. We don’t try to sound like any other band.
“We take so many influences and put them into one, and then journalists can only compare us to the Manics!”
Jim asked fans to make their own minds up when the band played The Works and became a convert himself after watching that maiden gig 25 years ago.
He said: “I loved the grittiness of Kelly’s voice. I always found him to be very humble and genuine and I was lucky enough to interview him on many occasions.
“They were a lot rawer when they first broke through. I don’t think I expected them to be a band that would have a number one single.
“At that time there weren’t a lot of bands passing through Aberdeen, so when a buzz band like Stereophonics came up it was a bit of an event.
“That first show would probably stand out and cemented me as a fan of the band.”
Quantum leap for north-east band
Stereophonics has come a long way since then and Jim recalled how their meteoric rise to fame literally changed the musical landscape in Aberdeen!
The Leap first emerged on the Aberdeen music scene in the early 1990s.
Jim said: “Even if you hadn’t heard the music, you couldn’t help but notice the guys out and about dressed in their authentic 1960s gear. When The Leap Mark 1 came to an end, and with new personnel on the scene, the project was rebranded as Stereophonic.
“It was all going swimmingly until the Stereophonics arrived, who were signed to Richard Branson’s embryonic V2 label, and then started to have serious success.”
It was back to square one and the band returned to its original name!
Stereophonics have played many times in Aberdeen since The Works in 1997 including gigs at the Music Hall in 1998 and the AECC in 2001, 2007 and 2016.
The band also performed in front of a sell-out crowd at P&J Live in March 2022 where they played a mix of new tracks from their 12th studio album alongside greatest hits.
Stalwarts of the Brit Rock days, Stereophonics have maintained their reputation as one of Britain’s favourite bands for 25 years and, judging by that tremendous performance, there is every chance they will be around for another 25 years!
Long may they continue to return to the Granite City!
More like this:
Manic Street Preachers at Caird Hall: How Dundee venue was reborn
Shirley Bassey: Ultimate Bond girl found her voice again in Aberdeen
