ROCK/POP

‘I wasn’t prepared for the sublime genius of Sergeant,’ says Alan McGee, who believes the Glenrothes band is carrying on a great tradition of perfectly-crafted sunny Scottish pop songs. ‘They have that slight tinge of anxiety and excitement that makes a good song great and will break any cynic’s heart of stone.’

Singer Nick Mercer admits that at first he worried that the music mogul would think he was ‘just a silly little kid that’s in a band’. He graciously accepts the McGee seal of approval. ‘It’s always nice when anyone likes your music, but when it’s somebody of that calibre it really humbles you.’

It’s not the only big name they’ve been attracting, recording their debut album with John Leckie at Abbey Road, touring with the likes of Supergrass and playing T in the Park and Glastonbury last year.

Nick adds that they’ve always had a serious work ethic. ‘We had that ambition from the moment we first started. There’s no point doing it half-heartedly and we’ve always stood on our own two feet.’

A fan of the Fife music scene, he praises the Fence Collective and says that locally there’s a core of people ‘who are always prepared to go out and see new, unsigned bands. It’s a brilliant atmosphere.’

So why should someone come down and check out Sergeant live? The fact that they’re already part-way through the tour, the 23-year-old points out, means that ‘it’s sounding pretty good. And it’s getting better every single day.’