THEY have sold more than 20 million records and had five number one albums in a row.

But Richard Jones of the Stereophonics said the secret to the Welsh band's success is no more complicated than friendship.

Richard grew up with frontman Kelly Jones and the group's former drummer, the late Stuart Cable, in Cwmaman, a small mining village in south Wales.

And the 41-year-old told Weekend that he and Kelly dreamed of being in a band even before they could play instruments.

"We used to draw the album covers of the hard rock bands of the early 80s in Kelly’s bedroom when we were kids," said Richard.

"I had a milk round when I was 12 so I managed to save up some money over the course of two years and bought my first bass guitar when I was 14.

"It was a Hohner and it cost about £160 and then my brother lent me some money to buy an amp."

The first song he learnt was Badge by Cream.

Richard added: "My father used to shout up the stairs: ‘Play a different song please!’

"Because I used to learn one thing and master it and then move on to something else and sometimes it would take me days."

Four years later, the trio were performing in working men's clubs and released their triple platinum debut album, Word Gets Around, in 1997.

They have not stopped since with their ninth record, Keep the Village Alive, due out in September.

Their popularity has not waned either – they sold out 16 arena shows on their Graffiti On The Train UK tour in 2013.

"I think you make it work by having a good relationship with your band mates," said Richard.

"Kelly and I have been great friends since day one really.

"Our mums went to school together. It’s a very small village in Wales we come from.

"When you’re in that type of environment you know everybody and you know everybody’s family.

"We went to the same nurseries and went through school together. We used to go on holidays together and our parents were friends.

"So when you’ve got that as a background for this kind of work, you know instinctively what the other person is going to think with a lot of the decisions

"It’s a very easy way of working but also we’ve got the same love of music. We’ve got very similar musical tastes and love playing music and entertaining people.

"When you’ve got all those things together it’s a great formula for making it work."

But do Richard and Kelly get treated differently now when they return to their close-knit village?

"Absolutely not," Richard said.

"We’re still the same people who come from that community.

"They’re always asking for stories from our travels and what have you but as soon as you get that out the way it is back to normal really."

Now Stereophonics are preparing to headline the MTV stage at V Festival on August 22 and 23.

The festival started life in Victoria Park in Latchford in 1996 but moved away from Warrington the next year as the event quickly grew.

Pulp, Paul Weller, Supergrass and The Charlatans were among those that performed in the town with Stereophonics making their V debut in 1997.

This year will be their eighth time at the festival.

"Richard Branson introduced us as we were the first band on one of the stages there," added Richard.

"That was one of the best moments because of the way the crowd reacted to what we were doing.

"To have the crowd so captivated by what you’re doing and to entertain that amount of people is a great feeling especially for a new band.

"It was a little overwhelming was but at that point we were so enthusiastic and open to all these new experiences.

"We just wanted to get out there and perform no matter what size the stage was.

"Back then we were doing pubs and clubs and then we were jumping on stage with The Who at Earl’s Court the next night. It was a great learning curve."

Richard said his highlight has been sharing a stage with some of his musical heroes.

He said: "For me it has been playing on the same stage as people like the Rolling Stones, going on tour with David Bowie and U2 and playing with Red Hot Chilli Peppers.

"Being able to warm up the crowd before them is a great thing to experience."

While one of Richard's most surreal experiences was partying with Red Hot Chilli Peppers drummer, Chad Smith.

He added: "We were having a bit of a party after we performed with them and we were playing AC/DC in the dressing room.

"Chad ran in and got really excited and he managed to kick our door down and rip it off its hinges. He was like a hurricane coming in and out.

"He left a hell of a mess but 10 minutes later we had their tour manager coming in saying: ‘What did you do to him? He’s not usually like that’.

"We were just having fun and he joined in..."

- Stereophonics perform at V Festival in Staffordshire and Chelmsford on August 22 and 23. Visit vfestival.com

DAVID MORGAN