"Word Gets Around" is dominated by stories of rumour, desire, whispers, murder, suicide and 'sex drives, oral highs, cheated wives and spies' ('Same Size Feet'). Together with lifelong friends Stuart Cable (drums) and Richard Jones (bass), Kelly has been composing these steamy stories of sleepy lives from base camp Cwmaman (a traditional non-urban conurbation, midway between Swansea and Cardiff, one road in/out, houses, pub) for more years than you would believe.

Having signed to V2 at the end of last summer, Stereophonics have wasted little time, playing out constantly and releasing a stream of glittering singles, more or less all gathered on 'Word Gets Around'. Their first dates pitched them into the realm of the toilet circuit, but years attempting to impress the elder family on-stage at the local social club saw them through the typical wet wednesday in Wolverhampton. A limited edition single "Looks Like Chaplin" / "More life in a Tramp's vest" lit the match in November 96 and dates followed with Manic Street Preachers, Kenickie, Skunk Anansie and The Who. The year ended with 60,000 Scottish revelers singing along to "More life, more life, more life in a tramps vest" at Edinburgh's Hogmany celebrations.

February 1997 saw the release of the first fully available Stereophonics single "Local Boy In The Photograph", a story of a boy who checked the train times before checking out. This was followed in May by "...Tramps vest's" musings on the plight of the market trader set to a terrace chant that strode in to the Top 40 without any daytime airplay. (almost unheard of.)

Kelly, Richard and Stuart then risked health and sanity embarking on a full house of summer festivals and a sold out headline tour.
Starting at Glastonbury Festival and ending at Reading Festival on the day before "A Thousand Trees" reached Number 22 in the national charts, countless casual eyes and ears were turned on by Stereophonics blistering live performances.

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