Lead singer of the Tindersticks. Born on 14 November 1965 in Nottingham. Like Tom Waits or Mark Lanegan, Stuart Staples has a ragged voice that sounds like it's been wrecked by years of cigarettes and alcohol. Whether singing his lyrics in a whispery croon or incoherent mumble, Staples captures the twilight atmosphere of a lonely, dilapidated pub, creating sorrowful music that has little punch in daylight but becomes cathartic for lost souls in the late evening.