"Have a Nice Day" is the second single from rock band the

Stereophonics Stereophonics are a Welsh rock band formed in 1992 in the village of Cwmaman in the Cynon Valley, Wales. The band consists of Kelly Jones (lead vocals, lead guitar, keyboards), Richard Jones (bass guitar, harmonica, backing vocals), Adam Zind ...

taken from their third album ''

Just Enough Education to Perform ''Just Enough Education to Perform'' is the third studio album by Welsh Rock music, rock band Stereophonics. Released on 11 April 2001, the album topped the UK Albums Chart with 140,000 copies sold. and spawned three top-ten singles in the form o ...

'' (2001). Written by

Kelly Jones Kelly Jones (born 3 June 1974) is a Welsh singer-songwriter and a founding member, lead singer, and guitarist of the rock band Stereophonics. Early life and debut Kelly Jones was born youngest of three boys for Beryl and Arwyn Jones in the s ...

and produced by Bird and Bush, it was released on 11 June 2001. The song received negative reviews but reached number five on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

and went on to become one of the band's biggest hits. It also found success worldwide, reaching number 11 in Ireland, number 37 in New Zealand, and number 26 on the US ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

Adult Top 40 The Adult Pop Airplay (formerly known as Adult Pop Songs and Adult Top 40) chart is published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine and ranks "the most popular adult top 40 as based on radio airplay detections measured by Nielsen Broadcast Data Systems ...

, becoming Stereophonics' first song to chart in the United States.

Background and release

The lyrics for "Have a Nice Day" are based on a cab fare Stereophonics took in

San Francisco Bay San Francisco Bay is a large tidal estuary in the U.S. state of California, and gives its name to the San Francisco Bay Area. It is dominated by the big cities of San Francisco, San Jose, and Oakland. San Francisco Bay drains water from a ...

when they were touring in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. When the band got in the back of the cab the driver said to them, "I hate this place, it's full of tourists and processed fish". He explained to the trio that he was a poet who believes everyone in the world are alike; the only difference is the accents. At the end of the journey the driver ended the conversation with: "That'll be seven bucks, have a nice day". After the cab journey, lead singer and guitarist

took the conversation and placed it into the lyrics. Jones later put the words and music together in October 1999 in a hotel in Europe. The song was first released on ''

'' on 17 April 2001. It was later released as the album's second single on 11 June 2001. The song was also included in the band's first

greatest hits A greatest hits album or best-of album is a type of compilation album that collects popular and commercially successful songs by a particular artist or band. While greatest hits albums are typically supported by the artist, they can also be crea ...

compilation Compilation may refer to: *In computer programming, the translation of source code into object code by a compiler **Compilation error **Compilation unit *Product bundling, a marketing strategy used to sell multiple products *Compilation thesis M ...

album, '' Decade in the Sun: Best of Stereophonics''.

Music video

The first video for "Have a Nice Day" was directed by Jake & Jim, it features the band along with their touring musician Tony Kirkham on keyboard and twenty-one models. Throughout the video Kelly Jones is tied to a blue and white target with balloons round his wrists and ankles. The treatment was written by Kelly Jones, who was trying to do a mix between

Jimi Hendrix James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. Although his mainstream career spanned only four years, he is widely regarded as one of the most ...

's ''

Electric Ladyland ''Electric Ladyland'' is the third and final studio album by the Jimi Hendrix Experience and the final studio album released before Hendrix's death in 1970. A double album, it was the only record from the Experience produced by Hendrix. The ban ...

'' album cover and the

Clint Eastwood Clinton Eastwood Jr. (born May 31, 1930) is an American actor and film director. After achieving success in the Western TV series '' Rawhide'', he rose to international fame with his role as the "Man with No Name" in Sergio Leone's "''Doll ...

film ''

Bronco Billy ''Bronco Billy'' is a 1980 American Western comedy-drama film starring Clint Eastwood and Sondra Locke. It was directed by Eastwood and written by Dennis Hackin. Plot Bronco Billy McCoy (Clint Eastwood) is a stuntman performing in front of a mea ...

'' though when he went to the set and saw the half-naked models with glitter he ended up feeling like

Les Dawson Leslie Dawson Jr. (2 February 1931 – 10 June 1993) was an English comedian, actor, writer, and presenter, who is best remembered for his deadpan style, curmudgeonly persona and Mother-in-law joke, jokes about his mother-in-law and wife. Earl ...

Reception

Critical response

"Have a Nice Day" received negative reviews from music critics. When reviewing the album, John Dark from

Drowned in Sound ''Drowned in Sound'', sometimes abbreviated to ''DiS'', is a UK-based music webzine financed by artist management company Silentway. Founded by editor Sean Adams, the site features reviews, news, interviews, and discussion forums. History ''D ...

said it "has more sap than a Vermont maple." He was also critical of the song's narrative structure and signature line: "ba-ba-ba's". ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

'' summarised the song as a "beige smudge of a song".

Chart performance

"Have a Nice Day" debuted at number five on the

, making it the band's fifth single to chart in the top five and it remained in the charts for nine weeks. In 2020, the

British Phonographic Industry British Phonographic Industry (BPI) is the British recorded music industry's Trade association. It runs the BRIT Awards, the Classic BRIT Awards, National Album Day, is home to the Mercury Prize, and co-owns the Official Charts Company with th ...

awarded the song with a Platinum certification. On the

Irish Singles Chart The Irish Singles Chart is the Republic of Ireland's music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association (IRMA) and compiled on their behalf by the Official Charts Company. Chart rankings are bas ...

the single peaked at number five and remained in the charts for eleven weeks. In New Zealand, the song debuted at number 42 on 5 August 2001 before reaching number 37 the following week and remained in the chart for four weeks. The song appeared in the

Dutch Top 40 The Dutch Top 40 ( nl, Nederlandse Top 40) is a weekly music chart compiled by ''Stichting Nederlandse Top 40''. It started as a radio program titled "Veronica Top 40", on the offshore station Radio Veronica in 1965. It remained "The Veronica ...

charts on 16 June 2001 at number 95, it ascended to number 87 for the next two weeks until it reached its peak position at number 84. It remained in the charts for the next six weeks until it dropped out. In the United States, "Have a Nice Day" is the only Stereophonics single to chart on the ''

, peaking at number 26.

Track listings

Credits and personnel

Credits are taken from the ''Just Enough Education to Perform'' album booklet. Studios * Recorded at

Real World Studios Real World Studios is a residential recording studio complex founded by Peter Gabriel and situated in the village of Box, Wiltshire, England, near to the city of Bath. It is closely associated with the Real World Records record label, Real Wor ...

(

Bath, Somerset Bath () is a city in the Bath and North East Somerset unitary area in the county of Somerset, England, known for and named after its Roman-built baths. At the 2021 Census, the population was 101,557. Bath is in the valley of the River Avon, ...

, England) and

Monnow Valley Studio Monnow Valley Studio is a recording studio in Rockfield, Monmouthshire, Wales. History In the 1970s, Monnow Valley was the rehearsal facility of the famous Rockfield Studios. It became an independent studio in the 1980s owned by Charles Ward after ...

s ( Rockfield, Wales) * Mixed at Soundtrack Studios (New York City) * Mastered at Gateway Mastering (

Portland, Maine Portland is the largest city in the U.S. state of Maine and the seat of Cumberland County. Portland's population was 68,408 in April 2020. The Greater Portland metropolitan area is home to over half a million people, the 104th-largest metropol ...

, US) Stereophonics *

– vocals, guitar * Richard Jones – bass *

Stuart Cable Stuart James Cable (19 May 1970 – 7 June 2010) was a Welsh rock drummer and broadcaster, best known as the original drummer for the band Stereophonics. Early life Cable was born in Aberdare, Rhondda Cynon Taf, on 19 May 1970. When he was 10 ...

– drums Additional personnel * Marshall Bird – piano, backing vocals,

Wurlitzer The Rudolph Wurlitzer Company, usually referred to as simply Wurlitzer, is an American company started in Cincinnati in 1853 by German immigrant (Franz) Rudolph Wurlitzer. The company initially imported stringed, woodwind and brass instruments ...

* Bird and Bush –

production Production may refer to: Economics and business * Production (economics) * Production, the act of manufacturing goods * Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services) * Production as a stati ...

engineering Engineering is the use of scientific method, scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad rang ...

* Andy Wallace – mixing *

Bob Ludwig Robert C. Ludwig (born c. 1945) is an American mastering engineer. He has mastered recordings on all the major recording formats for all the major record labels, and on projects by more than 1,300 artists including Led Zeppelin, Lou Reed, Qu ...

– mastering

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

Appearances in media

"Have a Nice Day" was briefly used in '' Dawn of the Dead'', in an episode of ''

The Naked Chef ''The Naked Chef'' is a BBC Two television cooking programme starring Jamie Oliver. It originally ran for three series plus three Christmas specials, and was produced by Optomen Television for the BBC. The show was Oliver's television debut, an ...

'' and in the ''

Veronica Mars ''Veronica Mars'' is an American teen noir mystery drama television series created by screenwriter Rob Thomas. The series is set in the fictional town of Neptune, California, and stars Kristen Bell as the eponymous character. The series prem ...

'' episode "

Drinking the Kool-Aid "Drinking the Kool-Aid" is an expression used to refer to a person who believes in a possibly doomed or dangerous idea because of perceived potential high rewards. The phrase typically carries a negative connotation. It can also be used ironicall ...

". It was also included in the 2002 '' Roswell'' TV soundtrack. The song plays in

Black Mirror ''Black Mirror'' is a British anthology television series created by Charlie Brooker. Individual episodes explore a diversity of genres, but most are set in near-future dystopias with science fiction technology—a type of speculative fictio ...

episode '' Shut Up and Dance''.

References

External links

Have a Nice Day
at Stereophonics.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Have A Nice Day (Stereophonics Song) 2001 singles 2001 songs Songs written by Kelly Jones Stereophonics songs UK Independent Singles Chart number-one singles V2 Records singles