The latest Welsh talent to leak into the mainstream, Stereophonics, could be the country cousins of The Manic Street Preachers - manic field preachers, if you will. Led by the photogenic, gravel-throated Kelly Jones, the trio's stock-in-trade is its old-fashioned rock 'n' roll ethos, with an emphasis on big, horizon-sweeping chords and big, lighters-in-the-air anthems. The no-nonsense formula has propelled the band's second album, Performance & Cocktails, into the No 1 slot, and yielded hit singles such as The Bartender & The Thief, Just Looking and their latest smash, Pick A Part That's New. They play the Olympia on Friday.
