Speaking with a refreshing honesty ahead of his Weymouth gig, Les McKeown tells Joanna Davis about life as a Bay City Roller heartthrob and why he's now so happy just being himself and letting his songs being heard.

IN THE middle of what to him is a ‘light’ UK tour (a mere 50 dates!), Les McKeown is relaxing between gigs and watching our new(ish) PM Theresa May deliver her speech to the Conservative Party conference with an approving eye.

“She’s got some sensible things to say. I think she’s trying to get better deals for the British parliament,” he says.

This Bay City Rollers frontman, 60, airing his political views down the phone seems a world away from the teen idol who whipped teenage girls into a frenzy and had them fainting in his wake while belting out hits like Shang-a-Lang and Summerlove Sensation.

It would appear as though Les is very much engaged in politics as he tells me: “I’m glad we’re out of Europe. Theresa May has been saying some strong words about the divide within the union and as a Scottish person I feel that we should stay together.”

It doesn’t take long for me to realise that Les isn’t going to hold back in this interview.

He’s had some dark times, a criminal record he’s not proud of and has spoken openly about his trysts with men as he struggled with his sexual identity and with stress and depression.

Les tells me: “I’m okay as long as I can plan things and know what’s happening in the future such as arriving at the theatre at the right time and making sure we’ve got all the right equipment. I try very hard to be organised, but unfortunately I’m associated with some people who aren’t so organised.”

In the 1970s Les experienced intense popularity with the Bay City Rollers, equivalent to the hysteria caused by One Direction and the Beatles. The fever pitch generated by the band became known as ‘Rollermania’.

But fame at that level is fleeting and can be disorientating and led to Les turning to a stint in a rehab clinic in a bid to overcome his drug and alcohol addiction.

“I lost my way a bit in 2008 after my parents died and ended up going into rehab.

“That was a bit of a shake-up and it put me back on the right road, that was when I decided I would do positive things and remember all the good things in my life.”

The Scot, who is well known for his sense of humour and on stage banter, gives me possibly my favourite ever answer to a question when I ask what advice he’d give to today’s young heart-throbs who are by-products of a fickle industry?

“I would tell them that I think they should back off so that I can sell more records!” he says.

I can almost see the twinkle in those smiling Scottish eyes.

Les muses: “I think things have changed a lot in the industry. These people have huge amounts of money behind them and they are making huge amounts of money at the moment. I don’t have that behind me and that level of promotion and I’m hoping my songs will speak for themselves.”

As a young man Les had an enthusiasm for songwriting that was never fulfilled, having the band’s songs chosen for him by record executives.

Despite this, in various hotel rooms around the world, he would record tracks onto a Bush tape recorder and stored them in a suitcase. These songs, known as ‘the lost songs’ have been released on Les’s new album Les McKeown...The Lost Songs. Les teamed up with award winning writer and producer John McLaughlin to make the album after John was ‘blown away’ after hearing the songs.

He said: “Essentially they have a very ‘roller’ twist to them. There has been a great response to them from the fans. People have left great reviews for them in iTunes. There are more songs that are in the process of being modified and I think I will get three or four albums out of them.”

As Les has aged the fans have also matured, but they remain just as passionate, he says - and they’re still donning the tartan.

“I think they’ve stayed with us because we have such a special place in history.

“I often shout out to the audience ‘I remember this when I was 18’ and they shout back ‘I was six’ or ‘I was 14’ or ‘I wasn’t born!’“A lot of the fans bring their husbands along and they even bring their children along who wouldn’t have been born the first time we were around.”

Things are very harmonious in his band, Les says. He has known two of the members for more than 20 years and isn’t anticipating any fall-outs.

He said: “Not only are they highly skilled musicians, it’s very important when you’re spending 22 hours together that you all get on.

“When we come to the Weymouth gig I expect I shall come on the train arrive about 1, then go down for the gig at 3 and do the sound checks.

“Then we tend to go somewhere to eat which is recommended by a fan.”

After this tour Les has some Shang a Lang Christmas concerts lined up and is planning to take his tour to Canada and Japan, followed by some possible US dates.

But for Les, the US proves a massive headache. “It’s so difficult to get organised for America. There’s a lot of paperwork to show and you have to have an interview at the embassy.

“And then they ask if you have a criminal record, which is a bit of a problem for me,” he says.

But show Les a problem and chances are he’ll get round it.

He tells me he’s just been to see his doctor because he had a scare with his liver and has had problems sleeping.

“I went in for some blood tests and they found me something that would help me get to sleep. It’s so important for me to sleep and I’ve found that the trick is to keep everything organised, something I know I’m good at.”

And Les is so organised that he’s already arranged for me to come see him in Weymouth and give him a ‘VIP hug’.

I tell him I’ll be joining the huge queue of female fans who still find themselves drawn to this straight-forward yet complex soul-baring star.

n Les McKeown’s Bay City Rollers are at Weymouth Pavilion next Saturday, October 15 at 7.30pm. Contact the pavilion for tickets.