MERCURY Music Prize winners Alt-J admit their new-found fame has one problem – they can't believe people want their autographs.

The quartet recently completed a successful run of shows in America, but were taken aback at how devoted the fans were.

"The fans there were more intense than we are used to," says drummer Thom Green, ahead of the band's Glasgow return at the O2 ABC tonight.

"They had no problem about approaching us for autographs, and that was quite intimidating, as that's not something we expected we'd ever get in this band.

"It's not why we do music, and having fans turning up hours before the show and greeting us as we get out the van is something we'll have to get used to."

Alt-J have had a lot to come to terms with in the past year.

A year ago they were releasing debut album An Awesome Wave and being tipped as an act to watch, before winning the Mercury Music Prize sent their career into overdrive.

An eclectic record, the album dashed through various styles while using plenty of smart guitar pop as a base.

For Thom, last year's Mercury win still stands out as an unbelievable moment.

"As time got closer and closer we realised how amazing it would be to win, and tried not to think about it, because it would have been even more disappointing to lose," he recalls.

"We thought all the other acts were brilliant, and it was easier to accept we weren't going to win.

"Then Lauren Laverne read our name out and I'll never forget it, as I was so surprised, I've never been that shocked.

"The 10 minutes afterwards are hard to remember, because we'd won and you're backstage doing interviews, holding the award and you are with your three mates. It was incredible and we are extremely proud. We think of ourselves as an album band, so it's such an amazing award – we can say we're a real band now."

Now the band is focusing on making sure they stay at the top, and don't vanish like some previous Mercury winners have done.

They are touring across the world until October, while also finishing off the soundtrack they have recorded for the upcoming film Leave To Remain, starring Toby Jones.

AND the foursome, who all met at university in Leeds, aren't going to rush their next record.

"We want to approach the second album like we did the first, we don't want to sit down for a month and make an album," he adds.

"If all four of us were sitting there together in a room it just doesn't work. We've all got different lives now and we are not at uni together any more, so we're adapting to that.

"When October does come we'll go full-time on writing and recording as we want to make the second album as good as possible and give the fans something to cherish."

That doesn't mean the drummer hasn't had some early ideas about what he'd like to see the band explore.

"We've been looking at strings," he reveals. "We've talked about getting cellists and violinists in to get some real sounds on it. But it'll always be distinctly Alt-J because simple things, how Joe [Newman, singer] sings, are unique.

"The first album was eclectic enough that we can afford to play around – we never aim for any particular genre anyway."

For now, though, the focus is still An Awesome Wave with their ABC gig part of the band's biggest headline tour yet.

Thom believes the quartet have grown nicely into playing larger venues, and have also avoided becoming too slick.

"People want to see things they have not seen before, you can't just play the album start to finish," he explains.

"I love improvising and I think the others are more confident with that now. We have fun on stage so it's not daunting playing bigger venues.

"We toured around the world and people love it when you mess up because they like seeing you are human and not just a pop band that's contrived and calculated. Being too slick would be boring for us."

l Alt-J, O2 ABC, tonight, sold out, 7pm