THEY'VE already conquered King Tut's and T In The Park - now Wishaw rockers Vigo Thieves want to steal even more attention.

The five-piece have become one of the most hotly tipped bands in Scotland thanks to an epic guitar-driven sound inspired by the likes of U2 and Simple Minds at their biggest and boldest.

And singer Stevie Jukes reckons that this Saturday's sold-out gig at the Arches is just the beginning - even if their straightforward anthems aren't considered cool by hipsters.

"Maybe we don't get some attention from people on blogs or hipsters because they're looking for the cool kids who are considered fashionable, and because we're doing big commercial music we get bypassed," he says.

"But our music is about the people and what they want - that's where we tend to shine.

"If anybody looks at being a big band as a bad thing then they've got out of bed the wrong way, because we want to be one of the biggest bands about, certainly in Scotland, in the next year or so, and then we'll want to progress from there as much as we can."

THE quintet - Stevie on vocals and guitar, Barry Cowan on guitar, Gordon Phipps on bass, drummer Al Jukes and new addition Chris Gorman on piano and synths - have certainly got their career off to the right start.

Earlier this year they became the first unsigned group to sell out two nights at King Tut's, while their two Heart & Soul EPs were heavily praised.

The band, who've been friends for years, have also supported fellow Scottish acts like The Fratellis and The View, and have recently been in London looking at possible deals for an album next year.

Stevie reckons the guys are building things the right way.

"We're doing it all at the right pace," he says.

"There's a lot of bands who progress the wrong way, as they get a lot of hype and then in three months they're never heard of again, but we've got that substance and that following behind us, so we have to keep building on that and having momentum.

"There's an amazing self-belief in the band, and that channels through us as people and through the songs, but while it's all very well saying these things and feeling positive, if you're not getting things like T In The Park or two nights at Tut's then you need to look at yourself.

"When you get stuff like that then you know you're heading in the right direction."

The biggest highlight for the guys so far was their two night stint at King Tut's in February.

"Two nights at Tut's was a huge highlight and it was special being the first unsigned band to do that," adds Stevie.

"It was incredible, the atmosphere was electric and everyone kept singing all the words back to us and crowd-surfing.

WE'RE now taking it up a step with a bigger stage at the Arches and a bigger audience and that's really exciting.

"The songs have an energy to them. They're not complicated, they're straightforward music for the people that strikes a chord, and we want to create that community type environment at our gigs."

They've already had experience of playing to bigger crowds though, as they supported The View at the O2 Academy last year and then opened for rowdy rockers The Fratellis when they headlined the Barrowland.

That gig provided Stevie with a chance to perform at Scotland's most legendary venue.

"Those shows were great experiences," he says.

"Ask any band in Scotland what venue they'd like to play at and top of the list is the Barrowland, so to get to play to a sold-out crowd was incredible, and The Fratellis are all lovely guys.

"The View at the Academy was sold out as well, and you can't ask for more than that."

It's not just Scotland the group are targeting, as they have already enjoyed some successful shows down South.

"We've done some great shows in London and that just shows that you can be an unknown band and still get the place going mental," says Stevie.

"About nine out of 10 people can tell you if music's good or not on the first listen, and we're getting new fans every time we play.

"We're very proud of where we came from and a lot of bands like Simple Minds and Big Country were inspirations to us, but Scotland's still just one step we want to take."

l Vigo Thieves, Arches, tomorrow, sold out, 7pm