It’s always nice to get some help from your friends - and Rod Thomas has a few famous ones.

The pop singer, who goes under the name Bright Light Bright Light has just released his third album, Choreography.

He’s got a few well known faces onboard to help out, including Elton John, members of the Scissor Sisters and, most surprising of all, the Scottish actor Alan Cumming on the song Home.

“Alan’s a brilliant, brilliant performer,” enthuses Rod, who plays the Hug & Pint on Monday night.

“He’s a friend of mine, and most people don’t recognise that he’s a singer because they think of him from TV or film. But obviously he sings a lot when doing stage work like Cabaret, so I thought it’d be really cool to get him on the record as he’s a good singer, and then use him in a pop way.

“He’s not really ever had his voice used in that way, so it’s interesting.”

Then there’s the support of Elton John. He guested on Rod’s second album, too, and Rod supported the Rocket Man on a lengthy tour over the past couple of years. That meant that working together on a few tracks this time around was a lot easier for the singer to come to terms with.

“Working together before made it a lot more fun and easy,” says Rod.

“When you work with someone like that the first time, they’re such a legend that you can’t really predict how it’s going to go, but this time it was just awesome.

“I learned a lot from watching him play on the tour, including that you can still really enjoy music when it’s a job. He’s something like two and a half times my age but was so full of energy and happiness when he took the stage that it was inspiring to watch.”

He had plenty of advice for Rod, too.

“He always made sure he didn’t preach,” says the Welshman.

“Obviously the industry has changed a lot since he was starting out… but he’s very good at giving advice because he’s constantly listening to new music, constantly learning and the whole idea of keeping on learning and seeing everything as a challenge, not an obstacle, was an important thing for me to learn.”

Rod has had plenty of learning over the years. He first released a folksy record, Until Something Fits, several years ago. That proved an ironic title, because what Rod was keen to explore with his music wasn’t an ideal fit at all for the troubadour tunes he’d initially been working on.

Instead it was pure pop, disco and dance music that intrigued him more. He soon re-named himself Bright Light Bright Light and released two albums, Make Me Believe In Hope and Life Is Easy, that merged those poppy influences with indie music.

For Choreography, he’s gone even further towards pop, making an album that he admits was influenced by all sorts of 1980s and 90s films, including shooting accompanying dance routine videos for many tracks.

“There seemed more of a naivety there, and things were a little more shambolic than in films now,” explains Rod.

“There’s no reason for that dance sequence in Mannequin at all, it doesn’t add anything to the plot but it’s just cool watching the characters having fun, and those moments are brilliant.”

While the upbeat likes of Mannequin might provide some obvious inspirations, Rod also looked to some more obscure films to set the tone for the album.

“There’s one called Murder Rock, which is kind of dreadful and is set in a dance school where murders are taking place,” he says.

“But it has one of the best dance sequences I’ve ever seen. It’s like Suspiria (the classic gory Italian horror film) but a really bad version – it’s a cheap horror but the campness is very fun.”

The whole album has that sense of fun and energy running through it, although thankfully there’s less bloodshed. He’s hoping to recreate that dancefloor friendly sound when he visits Glasgow next week.

“Two of my best friends are from Clydebank, so I’ve heard many stories about there over the years,” he chuckles.

“When we played the SSE Hydro last year (supporting Elton John) that was absolutely amazing, because it’s such a cool venue and the crowd are always up for a good time.

“Glasgow’s one of the best cities in Britain so it’s awesome to be going back.”

Bright Light Bright Light, Hug & Pint, Monday, £10, 7.30pm