ROLL UP AND SHINE
kelly: 'its about and experience from a new york club called shine. it was a very surreal night, there was a guy talking about peoples fears of sex and religion, with explicit acts preparing behind him. this is where the slogan performance and cocktails came from. it was on the business card: shine - performance and cocktails.'
THE BARTENDER AND THE THEIF
kelly: 'the song came from an idea we had in this weird bar in new zealand. it was this really strange place where these mad sailors wandered in and out all night.'
I WOULN'T BELIVE YOUR RADIO
kelly: 'i woke about four in the morning with ringo starr and george harrison singing this to me in my dream. they were sitting on the pavement outside my mother and fathers house. the initial idea was for stuart to sing it, and keep the ringo theme going.
it is very light! lyrically, its basically about an argument with your partner and deciding to leave. it's a welsh expression, i wouldn't believe your wireless radio'.
HALF THE LIES YOU TELL AIN'T TRUE
Kelly: 'It's based on the media trying to find something that's not there. It was inspired by the treatment of Michael Hutchence, Princess Di and Ron Davies. George Michael is another example - how can you follow someone around just because they had a wank in a toilet? Also, when we went through Hollywood, people would point out things, like 'Oh, that's where Hugh Grant got caught with a prostitute.' You think, 'F***ing hell, this is all a movie set.' The title is another one from my brother.'
T-SHIRT SUN TAN
kelly: 'it's about an obsessed fan of somebody, who lusts after her, then shoots her...'
IS YESTERDAY,TOMMOROW,TODAY?
kelly: 'chris rees, one of the boys down the club told me his son had asked him "dad, is yesterday, tomorrow, today?" it's not what the song is about, but i liked the phrase for the title.'
A MINUTE LONGER
Kelly: 'This was the first one I wrote in my new house, before we went on tour last January. It's about if there's a shit time happening, you stay with your memories a bit longer, rather than coming back to reality. If something is a pain in the arse, you think back to something better.'
SHE TAKES HER CLOTHES OFF
Kelly: 'This used to be a nasty punk song! I sounded like a chipmunk because it was in a really high key, so we decided on an acoustic version instead, it's quite mellow and melancholy. The character is a woman who was once really good-looking and the men used to give her all the attention. Then, when she gets older, she puts on weight, so the only way she can get attention is by stripping off in a bar and acting the goat. It's based on someone who I knew in Cwmaman, who was always rumoured to be a prostitute.'
PLASTIC CALIFORNIA
Kelly: 'In LA, I soon realised that no one is a waitress - they're all actors and actresses. We went on a graveyard tour where a hearse takes you to all these dead film stars' houses. We just thought, 'What a f***ed-up town!' Then again, we must be pretty f***ed-up to get in the back of a hearse with this guy burning joss-sticks in the front! The lyrical voice can't make up his mind whether he likes this place or not, so in the end he just says, 'Well, pleased to meet you anyway...'
I STOPPED TO FILL MY CAR UP
Kelly: 'My girlfriend works in a hairdresser's and this woman wanted to give us a piano, so we swapped it for a Stereophonics T-shirt. The only song I could play was 'Imagine', but I had these chords, so one night I came in from the pictures and wrote this song really quickly. It's about leading the listener on and it comes from a story that a bloke told me. He said that one night he stopped to get some petrol and someone climbed in the back of his car. We didn't want any guitars on it. It's the perfect song to finish the album with.'
