IN 1990, the Manic Street Preachers were "all eye-liner, dead skinny and very scary", says DJ Jo Whiley, then working for a satellite TV music show.

They wanted to change the world - but then didn't possess much obvious musical ability, she says.

Tonight, the band is set to play an intimate gig at Blackwood's Miner's Institute hosted by the DJ and TV presenter who has had her own Radio 1 Show and fronted TV coverage of the Glastonbury Festival.

She admits she would never have dreamed the Manic Street Preachers would still even be friends 20 years after she first met them, let alone become one of the most influential bands of their generation who now "mean the world" to her.

Ms Whiley will be in Blackwood with the band all today, before hosting a special BBC Radio 2 gig from the 'Stute that she admits will be an "emotional" homecoming.

She first came into contact with James Dean Bradfield, Nicky Wire, Richey Edwards and Sean Moore in 1990 when she booked them to appear on music show Powerstation, where she worked as a researcher.

She said: "They were brand new, all eye-liner, dead skinny and very scary", adding: "They were very punky and I never thought they’d have any mainstream success."

She then booked them a year later to appear on TV show The Word, where throughout the day’s rehearsals, they practised ‘You Love Us’.

However, when the show went live, they launched into controversial song ‘Repeat’ - which is a diatribe against Queen and country.

"I was grinning ear-to-ear," she added. "They were anti-establishment, weren’t scared of anyone and wanted to be the best, but on their own terms."

Ms Whiley initially described them as "terrifying", saying she didn’t know what to make of Nicky Wire with his make-up and feather boa.

But, after interviewing him over the years, she says he has "the biggest heart", is very intelligent and is "a delight to talk to".

Of James, she said: "He’s always a challenge to interview. He always thinks you’re taking the mickey and is on the defensive, answering back with a question."

Ms Whiley added: "They now mean the world to me and so many other people", saying her favourite Manics songs are from the A Design For Life era.

She said: "It probably isn’t cool to say it, but I loved Australia and the whole of Everything Must Go. I was so fond of those years."

Her greatest memory of the band was when they appeared at London’s Astoria shortly before Richey’s disappearance in 1995, saying: "Whatever turmoil was going on with him, they were on fire, at their peak."

Ms Whiley rates them with Pulp, Blur and Oasis as the greatest of the last 20 years, adding: "They changed the way bands are perceived and got their music to the masses", laughing that they even performed on Strictly Come Dancing recently.

Of tonight’s gig- the band’s first performance in Blackwood for 25 years, she said: "It will be incredibly emotional and bring back a lot of memories for them."

  • You can hear the concert broadcast live on Radio 2 from 9pm tonight, with encores on Six Music at 10pm. Read a review of the gig in tomorrow's Argus.