Charley Stone was recruited by Salad in 1997, to play keyboards and guitar and provide backing vocals on stage. She did not write any of the songs, or perform on the studio releases, but nonetheless had an influence on the band. The reason for recruiting Charley is explained by Pete: "The new guitarist is Charley. She also sings and plays keyboards. The reason for asking her to join is because many new songs recorded in the studio have extra layers which would prove impossible to play live due to the limits of biology. So we asked Charley to helps us out. I think she is going to make a big difference to our live sound"

Also by Marijne:

"I'm fed up with singing and playing keyboards at the same time because I enjoy running around on stage, I enjoy strutting my stuff although I will play the incidental bits. Charley plays guitar and keyboards and can sing backing vocals. She's funny, confident and really nice. It's much better than getting a session musician who has musical prowess but doesn't fit in."

Charley's high-pitched backing vocals and slick guitar licks helped to add a new dimension to Salad's sound on stage. The contrast between Marijne and Charley's voices produced some interesting effects, especially on song endings such as 'A Size More Woman than Her' and 'The Sky's our Terminal'.

Charley's equipment was a Kawai K1 keyboard (the same model as Marijne's) and a white Fender Jaguar guitar with digital delay and Flanger pedals. She could often be seen smoking cigars or drinking a cup of tea on stage when not playing an active role in the song.

Charley has probably become the best known of Salad's members since the band split, thanks to her being guitarist in popular indie-band, Gay Dad (who had a big hit with 1999's 'To Earth with Love'). She explains the rest in her own words:

"What am I up to? Well, I left Gay Dad, and am currently surrounded by guitars in three different tunings, doing a lot of writing & collaborating & slowly forming a band called Zusha. Also I'm in a band called Lies with my two flatmates, Andy and Caroline. Andy's in Linus and Lies is the band that plays all the songs that Linus can't/shan't/won't. Oh & I'm in a super-group covers band called Sportsbra, with Debbie Smith and about 5 other birds - mobile for discos and parties. I get to sing "Material Girl" and give it Stereolab chords."

The latest news from Ms Stone is that she's in a three-piece called SPY51:

"SPY51 first formed, wrote a set & rehearsed it just 3 weeks before playing their first gig at Reading festival. This spawned 3 singles on the Fierce Panda Label and so began a band that are now ready to take on the world.
Their intention: To write songs that your grandchildren will play long after you are dead.
Their gameplan: To spawn millions of tribute bands.

There will be gigs, radio, reviews, and pictures for your wall. SPY51 want to make you a fan. They will woo you and chat you up. You may even fall in love."

So why not visit their website at www.spy51.co.uk where you can view photos, download tracks and find details of all the latest stuff

Their most recent release, Sheila's Sister is available to buy from their website via Paypal. A new album is due for release in September.

Their next gig is at the Buffalo Bar, Highbury Corner, London on 27/08/03. They're playing alongside New Zealanders, Girlinky and will be onstage around 21:15.