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Stereophonics‘ Kelly Jones has spoken about how “proud” he is of the way his family has coped with his daughter transitioning into a boy.
Born Lolita Bootsy, the frontman’s 15-year-old came out as gay in 2016 – inspiring the Stereophonics track ‘Fly Like An Eagle’ – before this year transitioning into a boy called Colby.
Speaking in a new interview, Jones said that although it was “difficult” to come to terms with at first, everyone has been supportive of his son’s transition.
“I’m flabbergasted that, through all this, not one person has bullied Colby or made any sarcastic comments to him,” Jones told the Daily Star. “He looks like a cool little guy, too, with a messy haircut and Dr Martens – he’s found his own little style.”
Colby will continue his GCSEs at the all-girls school he attends before applying for sixth-form colleges. Jones said the school had been “very cool about it all”.
He continued: “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.
“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.
“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.”
In addition to Colby, Jones has a teenage daughter called Misty, with ex-partner Rebecca Walters, and a girl named Riley, with wife Jakki Healy.
Last month, Jones announced the release of new solo album ‘Don’t Let The Devil Take Another Day’, which sees him putting an intimate, acoustic spin on some of Stereophonics’ biggest tracks.
Meanwhile, Jones has spoken of how David Bowie inspired him to pen the band’s hit ‘Dakota’.
Released in 2005, the single featured on the Welsh outfit’s fifth album ‘Language. Sex. Violence. Other?’ and remains a staple of their live shows to this day.
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