Stereophonics frontman Kelly Jones has opened up about his child’s gender transition and says the family is “proud” of how they have dealt with it.
Born Lolita Jones, the Welsh singer’s child came out as gay in 2016 before transitioning into a boy named Colby.
Colby coming out inspired the Stereophonics song, ‘Fly Like An Eagle’ which you can check out below.
Speaking about the transition in an interview with the Daily Star, Jones said “I’m flabbergasted that, through all this, not one person has bullied Colby or made any sarcastic comments to him. He looks like a cool little guy, too, with a messy haircut and Dr Martens – he’s found his own little style.”
“As a family, it’s all our job to help him realise he’ll eventually get to where he wants to be, and I’m proud of how we’ve coped” he added.
Kelly Jones said Colby’s school was “very cool about it all”. Colby will continue his studies and GSCEs at the all girls school he attends before applying to sixth-form colleges.
“It’s very hard to put into words, but it was difficult to come to terms with it at the start. I almost found myself going through a sort of grieving process, as though I’d lost a daughter and hadn’t had a chance to say goodbye properly” said Jones.
“But then you realise they’re the same person, the same soul, and suddenly it hits you: Right, I need to get my head around this. I mean, how tough must it be to feel you were born inside the wrong body? I can’t even begin to imagine.”
Jones said that he decided to “listen and be supportive” of the whole transition. He also mentioned that Colby is a talented artist and designed the cover of Stereophonics’ 2019 album ‘Kind’.
Last week, a sound engineer for Stereophonics came out and defended the band over their decision to play two sold out concerts in Cardiff at the beginning of the pandemic. You can read Radio Nova’s report on it here.
