Brit-Rockers The Cooper Temple Clause came to a signing at Virgin Megastore.

BBC Wiltshire correspondent, Kelly Stooke had a chat with the guys tipped for stardom in 2002.

Meeting up with six good-looking men for a chat... I can think of worse ways of spending a morning, but I would be lying if I said I wasn't apprehensive because these were no ordinary lads. They were members of rock band 'The Cooper Temple Clause' and they were on Swindon turf for their album signing at Virgin Megastore.

Their debut album, 'See This Through and Leave', was only released on the 11th of February, yet it has already steadily crept up the charts and that's not where the success story ends. Their following is growing by the day, they are constantly being compared to some of the greatest rock artists of our time and they're only in their early twenties. Phew, it's enough to make you jealous.

It hasn't always been plain sailing though. They have spent many years in Reading and looking like the rockers that they do, they weren't exactly the most popular kids on the block.

"It was a struggle being there," said Dan, who plays guitar and sings in the band.

"I suppose in a way it kind of fuels you to go out of your way to be as individual as possible, if you have got the guts to do it. You do risk the grief that comes with it. People say our music sounds very angry and pent up so I think it certainly influenced a lot of our music."

With song titles 'Let's Kill Music' and 'Murder Song' and lyrics like 'We dare you to mean a single word you say' on the album, angry and pent up sound like pretty fair descriptions of their music. It's great angry music though. It's not merely about a group of lads having a rant, it's about messages that we could all do with having a listen to.

So what has influenced them to produce their particular sound, which some say compares to Pink Floyd and Primal Scream and others say is more like Led Zeppelin and the Stone Roses?

You wouldn't take them home to meet your mother...

"We all like different bands. That's why we sound eclectic," said lead vocalist Ben whilst the other five gave me their own list of bands they love and loathe.

Needless to say, when someone disagreed with someone else's tastes the sparks began to fly.

"How can you say that?" Ditz, the bass player, and Ben shouted at drummer Jon when he said he didn't like 'A'. Tom, all round performer in the band, didn't look too pleased with Jon's statement either. The poor bloke, he was outnumbered and looked like he really wished he hadn't spoke!

There are sounds that they all highly approve of though.

"Bands like Radiohead, Massive Attack and Portishead are the standard," added band member Kieran "Keys" Mahon.

Like any band, it was important for this one to make sure they worked with the right people on their album and that's where producer Paul Corkett, whose credits include Suede, Placebo and Nick Cave, came in.

"He was the only one who came to us with actual ideas for the individual songs," said Dan.

"He had taken the songs away, listened to them and thought about how he could approach them as opposed to other music producers who said 'I am capable of doing this and that'. Also because we have got six people in this band who are full of ideas, I think every now and again you need someone like Paul to just settle it down a bit."

Studios aside, one place this band loves being is on the stage and whilst there they give it their all. "We try and connect with the audience through the songs," said Kieran.

"Sometimes there is an element of putting on a show when performing but we try and enjoy it and we definitely feed off the audience. If they are having a good time then we are having a good time and it just builds and builds so the gig does get to the point where you are working with the crowd as opposed to playing at them."

One thing is for sure, when on stage, they like to really get into playing the part of proper rock stars. You know, throw a few things around and make some noise. That's not where it ends though.

"Ditz started to graffiti a hotel wall and he finished it but it backfired and he had to pay nearly a grand in damages." Said Kieran.

Sat next to him with the face of a proud man was Ditz himself. "I broke a till the other day as well," he said.

"Also, we went to a football match and we were lucky enough to be in the box. We just turned the televisions upside down and left them. It was so subtle but it will mess with people's minds."

The mind boggles thinking about how much mischief they would have got up to during their recent 22-date UK tour, which by the way didn't stop off in Swindon or anywhere else in Wiltshire.

"If Swindon's got a venue and they want us to play then we will play there." Said Ben.

There's hope on the horizon at least. These rockers are hot property. They have the bad boy looks, the naughty, arrogant yet very humorous attitude but most importantly they have got the talent and anger driven drive needed to make it big. This year they are setting their sights on Europe but they promise there will be many more UK tours to come our way.

Wherever they go though, their mission remains the same 'Let's kill music before it kills us all.'

Go for it lads.

Kelly Stooke