Photo Credit: Tom Sunderland
After a successful run of stadiums and parks shows in the summer, Welsh rock icons STEREOPHONICS ensured those who missed out in the warmer months were treated to their usual packed show ahead of Christmas with a huge run in some of the UK’s finest arenas this December.
A jam packed Co-Op live served as the bands’ biggest show of the tour, with the new arena quickly becoming a favourite amongst many artist and punters across the UK. A huge screen at the back of the stage grabbed everyone’s attention until STEREOPHONICS made their way into peoples eye line. Opening just as they did in the summer with ‘Vegas Two Times‘, Kelly Jones strutted along the catwalk, shredding riffs in between various songs had the crowd applauding each time. Fan favourites ‘Have A Nice Day‘ and ‘Local Boy in the Photograph‘ had the whole arena singing along, and the elegant but still rockier tune ‘Pick A Part That’s New‘ goes down a storm.
Pleasing the Manchester crowd even further with big hitters ‘Rewind‘, ‘Superman‘ and a much calmer intro to ‘Maybe Tomorrow‘, the more full throttle ‘More Life In A Tramp’s Vest‘ picked up the energy once again. The whole arena was bouncing from front to back and even folk out of their seats at this point, showcasing this is a firm favourite from their fan base. Kelly then brought things down a level once again, as he detailed the story about being passed on a ukulele which then lead into ‘I Wouldn’t Believe Your Radio‘. Picking back up the intensity with ‘Mr. Writer’ and ‘Mr and Mrs Smith’, a surprise last minute addition of ‘Indian Summer’ made it on to the set list before a strong remaining three.
‘Fly Like an Eagle‘, ‘Just Looking‘ and arguably the perfect way to round off their set, ‘Bartender and the Thief‘ still wasn’t enough for the packed Co-Op Live crowd. The Manchester mob were clamouring for more, and ‘PHONICS were not going to let them down. Returning to the stage, the band opened with ‘100MPH‘, and that just about sums up STEREOPHONICS. Following up with ‘Traffic‘ and another energetic anthem in the form of ‘C’est La Vie‘, it was time for the almighty ‘Dakota‘ to finally come around. The arena lit up as expected, with Jones allowing the crowd to take over the final chorus and conclude a fantastic 2025 for the band.
Taped Magazine 