AS singer with ’70s boy band The Bay City Rollers, heart-throb Les McKeown could barely move without being mobbed by a tartan-clad army of teenage girls.

And four decades on, he’s still going strong, with his new band Les McKeown’s Legendary Bay City Rollers (of which he is the only original “Roller”).

But he admits life now is a bit more reserved.

“In the early days I suppose it was hard to keep level-headed,” he said.

“We were in a position where roles were reversed. Instead of chasing girls they were chasing us. I can’t say that was a bad thing — I’d recommend it for every young man. I don’t think I abused my position, though. You could say I took advantage of what was offered!

“Of course, now that I’m more mature I appreciate the more fundamental things that got me involved in the music business in the first place — that’s the actual music, writing it, composing and performing. I love going out to entertain people and trying out new things all the time. As a musician you’re always developing your stage persona, working on new little jokes to tell the audience, and over the years you get better.”

Les joined the Bay City Rollers in late 1973 and has been famous almost all his adult life.

“I joined the band two days after my 18th birthday and a couple of weeks later I was on Crackerjack singing Remember (Sha-La-La),” he said.

“But although I’ve not had a normal life, I’ve had just as many problems as anyone else — maybe more so, because of the kind of work I do and the kind of people I get involved with. My mistakes are in the public eye too. I’ve been very, very low and very, very high.”

The struggles Les talks of include his widely-publicised battle with alcoholism.

In 2008, the 53-year-old was offered a free place at Passages, a radical rehab clinic in Malibu, California, by a reality TV company.

His liver was badly damaged after years of him downing two bottles of Wild Turkey bourbon a day and his marriage was on the rocks. His GP had told him in no uncertain terms he had to quit boozing or he wouldn’t live six months.

But the stint in rehab turned his life around and now he’s back on the straight and narrow.

“I’ve found there’s a big common theme in everyone who gets themselves in psychological trouble. We’re all singing off the same hymn sheet here. It doesn’t matter if you’re famous or not,” said Les.

“Good and bad things happen in everyone’s life.

“Nowadays I’m completely consumed by my work. 100 per cent of my waking time is spent either eating or working and I absolutely enjoy it. I even enjoy arguing with agents these days.”

And after years of being looked after by tour managers and various staff, Les has taken control of his own life.

“I do everything, right down to booking my own hotel and organising the PA system,” he said.

“I’d never done anything like that before and I wanted to know all the little things involved and to know that I was capable of doing these things.

“I think it’s absolutely fascinating and it gives me a great sense of pride to do these things and do them right. I like getting better at it and it gives me a sense of pleasure when the I's are dotted and the T's crossed.”

And he has a word of advice for young musicians hoping to make it big.

“It’s a great life but it has terrible consequences if you get involved in drugs and stuff like that,” he said.

“If you are able to keep your head and realise those things are there to destroy your life, not to help it, you’ll have an absolute bal. Everybody in the business has a ball. You don’t have to be the main character. You could be a stage hand, a sound engineer, a lighting guy, or a tour manager — everyone has a good time.”

l See Les McKeown’s Legendary Bay City Rollers at the Manchester Arena on Friday, June 25. For tickets call box office on 0844 847 8000 or visit www.men-arena.com.