Described as "classic UK rock delivered with whiskey vocals", the band have been summarised as possessing a sound akin to the genres of alternative rock and "British traditional rock". Stereophonics' 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 by 2016, 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 and TRNSMT in 2018, and Latitude in 2019. The band is part of the Cardiff music scene.
Full Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stereophonics
Studio albums
Word Gets Around (1997)
Performance and Cocktails (1999)
Just Enough Education to Perform (2001)
You Gotta Go There to Come Back (2003)
Language. Sex. Violence. Other? (2005)
Pull the Pin (2007)
Keep Calm and Carry On (2009)
Graffiti on the Train (2013)
Keep the Village Alive (2015)
Scream Above the Sounds (2017)
Kind (2019)
Oochya! (2022)
T-Shirt Sun Tan
Stereophonics Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
One said French afternoon
So he called in to a shop for two
He bought himself an ice drink
A totally tropical nice drink
Then he saw what he thought was you in a room
He thought about going over
And your sex dressed breasts, impressed too
He'd really like to get it together
Before the twelfth of never
So he's coming over
It's when all the phases come around the clothes you wear
The sex and love it's enough for the time outta touch out of luck
He always liked them older
So that his top lip touched on her shoulder
Lionized undisguised kill for you
Like to show you his t-shirt sun tan
Love to show you his minute head stand
Then a gun spun open
It's when all the phases come around, the clothes you wear
The sex and love it's enough for the time outta touch out of luck
It's when all the phases come around the clothes you wear
The sex and love it's enough for the time outta touch out of luck
From you to me, to me to you
From you to me, to me to you
From you to me, to me to you
From you to me, to me to you
It's when all the phases come around, the clothes you wear
The sex and love it's enough for the time outta touch out of luck
It's when all the phases come around the clothes you wear
The sex and love it's enough for the time outta touch out of luck
Out of luck, hey hey heya
The lyrics to Stereophonics’ song T-Shirt Suntan tell the story of a man who sees a woman he’s attracted to while walking around in France. He enters a shop to buy two drinks and sees what he believes to be her in a room. Despite her being older than him, she impresses him with her sexiness and he would like to get together with her before it’s too late. He seems to be fixated on her t-shirt suntan and would like to show her his “minute head stand” but the gun spun open, ending the story abruptly.
At its core, T-Shirt Suntan is about the sexual attraction between two individuals and the fleeting nature of those kinds of encounters. The man is captivated by the woman and her sex appeal, but ultimately the moment passes and he remains out of touch and out of luck. The repetitive use of the phrase “it’s when all the phases come around, the clothes you wear, the sex and love” emphasizes this idea that these moments of attraction and sensuality are merely phases that come and go.
One interesting interpretation of the song is that it speaks to societal expectations around age and relationships. The man’s fixation on the woman’s age and his desire to be with her despite the age difference could be interpreted as a commentary on the expectation that men should date women of a certain age or younger. The line “he always liked them older” could be seen as a rebellion against these expectations.
Line by Line Meaning
He was walking round to you
He approached your place to talk to you
One said French afternoon
It was a French afternoon, as someone said
So he called in to a shop for two
He went into a shop to get two things
He bought himself an ice drink
He purchased and consumed a chilly beverage
A totally tropical nice drink
It was a delightful, exotic beverage
Then he saw what he thought was you in a room
He spotted a person who he assumed was you, inside a room
He thought about going over
He considered approaching that person
But you were always much older
You were always a lot older, though
And your sex dressed breasts, impressed too
He was also fond of your sexy clothing and breasts
He'd really like to get it together
He desires to be with you
Before the twelfth of never
He wants to be with you very soon
So he's coming over
He's making a move to get closer to you
It's when all the phases come around the clothes you wear
The clothes you wear may represent different phases of your life
The sex and love it's enough for the time outta touch out of luck
Sex and love can be satisfying even if you're feeling out of touch and unlucky
He always liked them older
He was always attracted to older people
So that his top lip touched on her shoulder
He prefers partners that are taller than him so that when they hug, his top lip touches their shoulder
Lionized undisguised kill for you
He has a fierce admiration for you and would do anything for you
Like to show you his t-shirt sun tan
He would love to show off his t-shirt tan to you
Love to show you his minute head stand
He wants to impress you by showing his ability to do a headstand for a short time
Then a gun spun open
Something unexpected happened, like a gunshot
From you to me, to me to you
Communication goes back and forth between us
Out of luck, hey hey heya
Feeling unlucky and hopeless
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: KELLY JONES, RICHARD MARK JONES, STUART CABLE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
me
He was walking round to you
One said French afternoon
So he called in to a shop for two
He bought himself an ice drink
A totally tropical nice drink
Then he saw what he thought was you in a room
He thought about going over
But you were always much older
And your sex dressed breasts, impressed too
He'd really like to get it together
Before the twelfth of never
So he's coming over
It's when all the phases come around the clothes you wear
The sex and love it's enough for the time outta touch out of luck
He always liked them older
So that his top lip touched on her shoulder
Lionized undisguised kill for you
Like to show you his t-shirt sun tan
Love to show you his minute head stand
Then a gun spun open
It's when all the phases come around, the clothes you wear
The sex and love it's enough for the time outta touch out of luck
It's when all the phases come around the clothes you wear
The sex and love it's enough for the time outta touch out of luck
From you to me, to me to you
From you to me, to me to you
From you to me, to me to you
From you to me, to me to you
It's when all the phases come around, the clothes you wear
The sex and love it's enough for the time outta touch out of luck
It's when all the phases come around the clothes you wear
The sex and love it's enough for the time outta touch out of luck
Out of luck, hey hey heya
me
He was walking round to you
One said French afternoon
So he called in to a shop for two
He bought himself an ice drink
A totally tropical nice drink
Then he saw what he thought was you in a room
He thought about going over
But you were always much older
And your sex dressed breasts, impressed too
He'd really like to get it together
Before the twelfth of never
So he's coming over
It's when all the phases come around the clothes you wear
The sex and love it's enough for the time outta touch out of luck
He always liked them older
So that his top lip touched on her shoulder
Lionized undisguised kill for you
Like to show you his t-shirt sun tan
Love to show you his minute head stand
Then a gun spun open
It's when all the phases come around, the clothes you wear
The sex and love it's enough for the time outta touch out of luck
It's when all the phases come around the clothes you wear
The sex and love it's enough for the time outta touch out of luck
From you to me, to me to you
From you to me, to me to you
From you to me, to me to you
From you to me, to me to you
It's when all the phases come around, the clothes you wear
The sex and love it's enough for the time outta touch out of luck
It's when all the phases come around the clothes you wear
The sex and love it's enough for the time outta touch out of luck
Out of luck, hey hey heya
D Avos
Why is it no longer available?? Gutted saw them tonight at Brighton Centre- rocked it totally but didn't sing this- SHAME. Best Stereophonics song by far!!
Rossenspeil
Still my fave Phonics tune. This song really could have seen them hit the next step. Singles released from this album were poorly chosen.
Steve Mann
nah they weren't! the 5 singles were awesome tracks, just looking was probably the best the lads ever got, thing is every song on P&C could've been released as a single, it's the strongest album ever produced IMHO>
sofia12392
amazing!! whys is so unheard of? took me ages to find this! thanks!!
dannylmeats
My favourite Stereophonics song, I always liked em older
madmax
Love this song! Same with poster Rossenspeil its my fave Stereophonics tune! I remember stopping at the Tower Records in San Francisco and picking up the Performance & Cocktails album along with Travis - The Man Who. Those were the days!!
tallboy999
Still the best song off the album!!!!
tiareece
so love ma boys!!! first 2 albums are the best!!!
iampunitan
saw em in wolverhampton a good few years back - you are bang on - they are a fantastic live band and recorded .. one of those rare all rounders