Stereophonics reveal how David Bowie inspired 'Dakota'
They hit the road with Bowie on his final tour
Last updated 9th Mar 2020
Stereophonics frontman Kelly Jones has revealed how David Bowie inspired him to write their blockbuster smash hit ‘Dakota’ in the early noughties.
Released in February 2005, ‘Dakota’ became the first and only Stereophonics song to reach number one on the UK Singles Chart and is a staple of their live shows where it’s often performed as the final track of the encore.
Speaking on stage at London’s The O2 on Friday night (6th March) as part of their UK arena tour, Stereophonics singer Kelly Jones said he wrote ‘Dakota’ when they supported David Bowie on his North American ‘A Reality Tour’ in 2003-2004. It proved to be Bowie’s final tour.
Explaining to The O2 audience that the late-great David Bowie attended their soundchecks during the tour, Kelly said: “David Bowie would be watching, so we didn’t want to waste too much of his time.
“So, we’d play a song for maybe 45 seconds, and then another song for like a minute, and then maybe another song for a minute, and then maybe 30 seconds of a song.”
According to NME, Kelly continued: “And then I would walk off the stage and I would walk towards the dressing room, and (Bowie) would put his arm on my shoulder and he would walk with me and say, “You know, if you extended a few of those songs, you might be f---ing onto something’.
“So, I wrote this song, this is called ‘Dakota’.”
Watch Stereophonics perform Dakota and more for Absolute Radio:
Speaking to Wales Online shortly after Bowie’s death in 2016, Kelly Jones said of the 2003/2004 tour: "Watching (Bowie) work different audiences with different styles of music across the many, very different states of America showed a huge range of work and I loved it.
“He even dedicated Life On Mars to me one night after I'd asked for it the whole tour, and he also happily read a story I'd written while on tour and gave me his opinion - he'd just sit in our dressing room with us some nights, chatting away.
"We also headlined the Isle of Wight festival together after the tour ended - it was a time which had been a huge impacting experience on me.”
Stereophonics continue their UK arena tour at Newcastle Utilita Arena tonight (Monday 9th March) before playing shows in Aberdeen, Glasgow, Manchester and two nights at Cardiff Motorpoint Arena.
Following these arena dates, Stereophonics play outdoor gigs at Inverness Bught Park (Saturday 11th July) and Bangor Vaynol Park (Saturday 25th July) this summer. Tickets are on sale from Absolute Radio Tickets.
Stereophonics released their eleventh studio album ‘Kind’ last autumn, which features the Absolute Radio playlisted singles ‘Fly Like an Eagle’ and ‘Bust This Town’.
Stereophonics: Their career so far
1992: The band is born
Kelly and Stuart lived on the same street in Cwmaman, Wales, and began jamming together as teenagers, recording a demo under the name Zephyr. After going their separate ways, Kelly and Stuart reunited a few years later, bringing in Richard Jones as bass guitarist - and thus, the line-up was complete.
In 1992, the trio - then known as Tragic Love Company - began to write together, performing in working men's clubs before landing a gig at the Borderline Club in London. They were spotted by producers Marshall Bird and Steve Bush, and recorded demo 'A Thousand Trees'.
1992 - 1996: Career beginnings and name change
Promoter Wayne Coleman organised gigs in South Wales after hearing their demo, and whilst he loved the music - he hated the band name, and said they wouldn't play if they kept it. He then spotted a gramophone manufacturer called Falcon Stereophonic, and the band became The Stereophonics.
They played the Coliseum Theatre in nearby Aberdare with Catatonia, and were approached by John brand afterwards who immediately became their manager. Just two months later, they were the first artists to sign to label V2, dropping 'The' from the band name.
1997: Debut album and BRIT Award
The band's debut album 'Word Gets Around' was released in August 1997, spawning singles 'A Thousand Trees', 'Local Boy in the Photograph' and 'Traffic' to name but a few. In 1998, they won the Best New Group BRIT Award, and released 'The Bartender and the Thief' - the first single from their follow-up, 'Performance and Cocktails', which in turn was released in March 1999.
The band played to 50,000 people at the Morfa Stadium in Swansea that year, and also collaborated with Welsh legend Tom Jones on a cover of 'Mama Told Me Not To Come'. They toured Europe, Australia and America in 1999, and performed at Cardiff Castle - later released on DVD.
2001: 'Have A Nice Day'
After headlining Reading and Leeds in 2000, third album 'Just Enough Education to Perform' was released in 2001, featuring two of their most famous songs: 'Have a Nice Day' and a cover of 'Handbags and Gladrags', which was included in the re-release in 2002. The band performed a two-day festival, 'A Day at the Races', at Donington Park and Cardiff's Millennium Stadium to promote the album, and also headlined Glastonbury Festival in 2002, as well as V Festival.
The band put out their fourth album 'You Gotta Go There to Come Back' in 2003, spawning singles 'Maybe Tomorrow', 'Madame Helga' and 'Since I Told You It's Over'. This was the last album to feature drummer Stuart Cable, who was let go from the band in September 2003. They also had their first headline slot at the Isle of Wight Festival in 2004, which they returned to in 2009.
2005: A new line-up
Stereophonics released their fifth album 'Language. Sex. Violence. Other?' in 2005, the first to feature new drummer, Javier Weyler. The album's single 'Dakota' became their first UK Number 1, and they performed that year at Live 8 in Hyde Park, London.
Kelly pictured here performing at the Isle of Wight Festival in 2009.
2007: Kelly goes it alone
Kelly also released his first solo album, 'Only the Names Have Been Changed', in 2007. He explained how it came about, "We were recording the sixth Stereophonics album... And in-between takes I started doing these songs off the cuff. Three or four tracks in I realised that this could actually be something... Strange how it's always little things that makes big things happen."
Kelly is pictured performing at a session for Absolute Radio in 2009.
2007 - 2010: ‘Pull The Pin’
'Pull the Pin' was released in October 2007, spawning single 'It Means Nothing' which was written about the London 7/7 attack. Kelly told The Guardian it was "about the feeling of unease in the city and people realising what was important in their lives."
They performed at the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games in Vancouver, and released seventh album 'Keep Calm and Carry On', playing a UK tour throughout 2010 to promote it.
The band are pictured here at a session for Absolute Radio in 2009.
2010: Stuart Cable's death
Sadly, former member Stuart Cable passed away in June 2010, and Kelly decided to take a break from writing and releasing albums every two years.
The band released song 'Before Anyone Knew Our Name' in 2017 in memory of Stuart. Kelly said of the song, "I think, you know, Stuart left the band and we were still friends for seven years. And then he passed away tragically, and of course people have opinions about what happened and all this sort of stuff. We kept it very private because we were like brothers."
2009: Isle of Wight Festival
We met the band backstage at the Isle of Wight Festival in 2009, where they kindly signed a guitar for us. It's still up on the wall.
2011: New music and another personnel change
The band announced on Facebook in 2011 that they were back in the studio, but in 2012 announced that Javier had left the group. Jamie Morrison of The Noisettes replaced him, and they released eighth album 'Graffiti on the Train' in March 2013.
Pictured here performing at Hyde Park in 2012 at the Olympics Opening Ceremony concert.
2012: Isle of Wight Festival
Our presenter Sarah Champion caught up with Kelly backstage at the Isle of Wight festival 2012 and the pair chatted away in our camper van. As you do.
2015: 'Keep the Village Alive'
Stereophonics impressively released a ninth album in September 2015, entitled 'Keep the Village Alive' which topped the UK Albums Chart. It contained singles 'C'est la Vie' and 'I Wanna Get Lost with You'. They also performed a set for us at the Dingwalls venue in Camden (pictured).
2016: Backstage at the Isle of Wight Festival
We had a chat with the band backstage at the Isle of Wight Festival in 2016 - but there was a slight mishap when guitarist Adam Zindani fell through the deck chair...
2016: Backstage at Isle of Wight Festival take two
Thankfully, we were able to get Adam a different chair and complete the interview... Oops!
2017: 'Scream Above the Sounds'
The band made their 10th album in 2017, releasing 'Scream Above the Sounds' in October. This realised Kelly's dream that they would put out their 10th studio album in the 20th anniversary year of their debut, instead of releasing a Greatest Hits album.
Pictured here performing at the Isle of Wight Festival in 2016.
2019: 'Kind'
But they didn't stop there, getting straight back in the studio to record their eleventh album, 'Kind', which was released in October 2019 and reached Number 1 in the UK. They also embarked on their tour to promote the album, kicking off in Liverpool on 18th January and concluding in Cardiff on 15th March.
2020: Kelly Jones 'Don’t Let The Devil Take Another Day'
2020 saw frontman Kelly Jones release his album 'Don't Let The Devil Take Another Day'. The work contained 21 reworked tracks from throughout the Stereophonics' career, and even had its own documentary! The 90-minute feature tells the heartfelt story of the Stereophonics frontman/songwriter, following his personal uphill battle as he rediscovered his voice.
2022: Stereophonics release 12th album 'Oochya!' and UK tour
On 6th September 2021, Stereophonics announced that their 12th studio album will be titled 'Oochya!', and released it on Friday 4th March 2022! They later went on a huge tour to support the album's release throughout March and April.
2023: Far From Saints
Kelly teamed up with Austin's Patty Lynn and Dwight Baker to create new band Far From Saints, who released their debut single 'Let's Turn This Back Around' in January 2023. They're planning to release their album later this year and also preparing to tour the new music.
See Stereophonics at the following upcoming shows:
MARCH 2020
Newcastle Utilita Arena – Mon 9th
Aberdeen P & J Live Arena – Tue 10th
Glasgow The SSE Hydro – Wed 11th
Manchester Arena – Fri 13th
Cardiff Motorpoint Arena – Sat 14th
Cardiff Motorpoint Arena – Sun 15th
JULY 2020
Inverness Bught Park - Sat 11th
Bangor Vaynol Park - Sat 25th