Following on from this, you've been out to do stuff for troops in the Falklands and Kosovo on several occasions. You must have got caught up in some difficult situations at times?
Paul: Very. We went to Kosovo in April 2000 and, not only was it difficult personally because my father had died prior to that, but it was really heavy there. It was quite scary when you're driving through demonstrations and a mob is around your truck. For a minute it's quite exciting then suddenly you realise that you're driving the people off the truck. We were holed up in the hotel where all the journalists stayed and where most of the war was filmed from. We've done a lot of other things too. I've collected for prostrate cancer for years now. We've also worked for The British Heart Foundation, for cancer charities, Romanian children. My brownie points are going up here! We might get retirement homes free! Your life is an interesting thing and you must try and experience as much as you can.

Just to go back, when you joined JJ took a back seat for a while and he has explained that he suffered a lack of confidence at the time. He also wanted to support you in the taking over of the role. Was that important that he did that for you and did it add pressure?
Paul: It's difficult because it's a double-edged sword. It was a good concept but ultimately it put more pressure on me. Nobody would have known that because everyone was doing their best for me. I would have been foolish to try and mimick someone else; you have to do your own thing although I was constantly saying to JJ, 'Look, sing a couple of songs, because I need some help.'.

Did you ever consider changing your name at that stage?
Paul: We did toy with the idea of dropping a consonant from the name and I'll leave you to guess which one. Maybe adding another 'g' and taking out the 'n'. We certainly weren't going to call ourselves The Bay City Rollers.

How do you think the band has evolved since you've joined?
Paul: I think the band have always been able to do anything. Their albums were always slightly different. It was definitely different after I joined. It's become more adrenalised. It kicks arse on stage.

What is it that you attribute a band's success and longevity to?
Paul:Not being afraid to try something different. Not being afraid to recognise failure. Always coming up with a great melody and very interesting lyrics. Refusing to be fashionable. Of course everyone always want to hear 'Golden Brown' - that's not a fashion statement, it's just the way it is.

What are you working on next?
Paul: We've been writing for some time. We've been working on some old material which we've re-recorded and we're writing new material all the time. We're holed up together for four or five days a week at the moment, so we've set up a boxing ring and a hareem! We're just throwing ideas around and we're trying to get ourselves in a situation where we've got an album to release at the end of the summer. We're still touring and playing festivals.