Stereophonics – Live at Glasgow Academy – December 10, 2007 – Gordon Skene Sound Collection –
Stereophonics to kick off the week. Recorded live at Glasgow Academy on December 10, 2007 and coinciding with their tour that started in November to promote Pull The Pin, their sixth studio album.
Described as “classic UK rock delivered with whiskey vocals”, Stereophonics have been summarized as possessing a sound akin to the genres of alternative rock and “British traditional rock”. Their debut album, Word Gets Around, was released in August 1997 and charted at number six in the UK, aided by the singles “Local Boy in the Photograph”, “More Life in a Tramps Vest” and “A Thousand Trees”. The band reached mainstream success with the release of Performance and Cocktails (and its promotional singles “The Bartender and the Thief”, “Just Looking” and “Pick a Part That’s New”) in 1999 and have achieved a total of ten top-ten singles as well as one number one: “Dakota” (2005). Having sold around 10 million copies worldwide, Stereophonics are one of the most successful Welsh rock acts. Upon their release of Pull the Pin, they achieved five consecutive UK number one albums.
The band have also been praised for their live performances, which have landed them headlining slots at many of the UK and Ireland’s most high-profile music festivals, including Reading and Leeds in 2000, Glastonbury in 2002, V festival in 2002, the Isle of Wight in 2004 and 2009, Oxegen in 2010, Tramlines Festival (Sheffield) in 2018, and Latitude in 2019. The band is part of the Cardiff music scene.
Pull the Pin was released in the UK on 15 October 2007, along with a download-only taster; “Bank Holiday Monday”. The track was also available for free to people who pre-ordered tickets for the band’s concerts in 2007. The album was written and recorded by November 2006 but held back for release until late 2007. “It Means Nothing” was the first single of the album, released in September before the LP was released a week later on 15 October. The album contains twelve songs and reached number one in the UK’s official album chart. The next single, “My Friends”, reached number thirty-two in the UK charts, their poorest chart performance since “More Life in a Tramps Vest” from their debut album.
On 20 May 2007, at Radio 1’s Big Weekend in Preston, the band were joined on stage by Casino frontman Adam Zindani. Zindani continued to tour with the band for the remainder of the Pull the Pin tour, playing lead guitar and backing vocals. He has been credited for writing and performing on two of the band’s new tracks, “You’re My Star” and “My Own Worst Enemy”. On “You’re My Star”, he sings backing vocals and plays lead guitar, whereas on “My Own Worst Enemy” he only plays lead guitar. In November 2008, Stereophonics released their first greatest hits compilation, Decade in the Sun.
Hit the play button and crank this one up – you may need to keep this concert handy, since the week promises to be insane and you’ll need all the sonic distractions you can get your hands on. Just sayin’.
