The Daily Telegraph: a refined newspaper

Was it really necessary, Daily Telegraph, to accompany the report of Stuart Cable's inquest with a boxout of 'other rock stars who choked on their own vomit'?

And was it really appropriate to start that boxout with a giggling reference to how it was parodied in Spinal Tap? An inquest into the death of a real person who, clearly, was loved by a lot of people, isn't really the place to start laughing 'hee-hee, it's just like that funny movie', is it?

Ex-Catatonia drummer replaces ex-Stereophonics drummer in Killing For Company

Aled Richards, who used to be doing the dubberdubberdubber behind Cerys Matthews, is going to fill the gap in Killing For Company left by the death of Stuart Cable, the band have confirmed.

Singer Greg Jones told Wales Online they were so all over the place, they nearly forgot they'd need a drummer:

"It may sound corny, but that’s how it feels to us because writing and playing these songs with Stuart is all we’ve really known for the last five years," said the 36-year-old, "replacing Stu was the last thing on our minds and, because we’d been ploughing all our time and energy into promoting the charity single in his memory, it hadn’t dawned on us that we’d need someone to drum for us if we got the call to go on TV and radio to promote it."

Richards had filled in for Cable in the past after a sports-related injury; since leaving Catatonia Richards had been working as a music lecturer.

Gordon in the morning: Cable news

Steel yourself before embarking on Gordon's queasy 'it's what he would have wanted' piece on the death of Stuart Cable this morning:

TRAGIC STUART CABLE died after a huge drinking binge - in an eerie copy of his AC/DC idol's fate.
The former STEREOPHONICS drummer had been on a bender lasting THREE WEEKS to mark his 40th birthday, pals revealed yesterday.

And he apparently choked to death on his vomit - exactly as his hellraising hero BON SCOTT did 30 years ago.

Who wouldn't want to die in exactly the same way as their hero, right?

To make it even more ghoulish, the AC/DC tribute band who played at Cable's birthday are dragged in to plump the idea that this was some sort of Twilight Zone tribute death:

Last night shocked Bons Balls drummer KEV SMITH said: "It was a brilliant gig. Stuart was fantastic fun. He got up and drummed with us, which was amazing.

"He idolised Bon Scott, who was his absolute hero. Stuart said he was Scott's reincarnation - that they could have been twins.

"For him to have choked to death, just as Scott did - well, it sends a shiver down my spine. It's spooky."

Isn't a young man dying in a horrible way enough? Do we really need to try and find a wacky, Fortean Times 'angle'?

If Gordon really wanted to write something about Cable's death, perhaps he could try coming up with something which squares his own encouragement of people to over-indulge - the infamous Caner Of The Year prize and the fawning over those who photographed falling over - with the actual consequences of where that can lead. But that might be a bit too based in reality.

Drummerobit: Stuart Cable

Stuart Cable always had the air of a nice bloke who made the best of his opportunities. Having been a founder member of The Stereophonics, the subsequent dumping by his erstwhile friends might have bred bitterness in many - I think I'd have been bitter, for a start - but Cable just sought out new opportunities.

He picked up bits and pieces of presenting work - the punningly titled Cable TV for BBC Wales came before he was kicked out the band, and was one of the sores which led to his departure. His radio programmes for Radio Wales proved more durable, but he left to join the short-lived Cardiff variant of XFM when that launched. Stuart had recently returned to the BBC.

He had drummed on, as well: Stone Gods as a fill-in, and Killing For Company, who'd picked up a date opening for The Who.

There was also an autobiography, Demons and Cocktails - My Life with the Stereophonics, where he admitted having been hitting it heavily during his Stereophonics days.

Kelly Jones, true to form, managed to include a slightly sour reference to Cable's problems in what otherwise might have been a warm remembrance of his old mate when talking to the BBC:

“Me and Stuart have been speaking for the last five years. I mean we played together at our sound engineer’s wedding.

“The split was done and we all held our hands up about who was responsible. Stuart would probably be the first to admit what happened in the split."

It's true that Jones wasn't being unfair, but when someone's just died perhaps it might be better to use the moment to reflect on your own failings, rather than those of the deceased?

Stuart Cable was 40; no cause of death has yet been confirmed.

Breaking News: Stuart Cable found dead

BBC and Spinner are reporting that Stuart Cable, former Stereophonics drummer turned (briefly) TV presenter, has been found dead at his home.

More top talent for commercial radio

The Welsh branch of XFM has announced which local presenters will be called upon to provide a semblance of not being beamed from a London HQ when it goes live at the end of next month: two of Goldie Lookin' Chain and Stuart Cable. Who, you know, are nice enough people but further confirm that XFM has long since abandoned any semblance of being in any way associated with new-edge music and are, instead, content to cater to the Young Dads market.