Local Boy In The Photograph

The song originated from a newspaper article about a boy from Flint in North Wales, who committed suicide by jumping in front of a train. Lead singer Kelly Jones, who knew the boy, was moved by the news and the picture that appeared on the front page of the local newspaper and turned the story into a song. Speaking on the UK program Songbook, Jones explained: "I used to play county football, and there was a kid that used to play right back. I got to know him pretty well - he was a good looking kid who had it all. A few years later we found out he jumped in front of a train. There was a picture of him in the local paper, it was a picture of him smoking a joint, actually. That's the picture they used and he was the local boy in the photograph. I'd never known anybody our age to do that, to end his life. It was more about celebrating his life than his death, really, about the kid sitting on the bench drinking, with the imagery of the seasons and the clock going back and I think that descriptive writing is what people would stop and listen to."

The song has been a fan favorite for many years. Kelly Jones told HMV.com: "When I wrote 'Local Boy In The Photograph' sitting on my bedroom floor when I was 18 years old I didn't imagine I'd have 50,000 people singing it back to me."