CHEEKY Scots tried to blag their way into Culture Club gigs for free by claiming they were related to members of the 80s group - because of their Scottish surnames.

Culture Club star Mikey Craig laughed off the bold move by Scottish fans ahead of their new show with Boy George at the SSE Hydro on Thursday, November 22, and admitted their manager always received a few suspect calls whenever they played in Scotland.

“It is funny actually because three of us have got Scottish names, my surname is Craig, Jon’s is Moss and Roy is Hay.

“So we used to get people phoning up our manager saying I am Roy or Craig or Jon's cousin and I want to come to the show.

"We used to get tons and tons of calls whenever we got to play in Scotland. People always saying they were relatives to us," he laughed.

He continued: "The shows in Scotland were always amazing and the Scottish audience is great, absolutely great.

"Glasgow and Dublin are two places I really look forward to playing because the audiences are just so warm and receptive. At times, you can just hold the mic out and let them sing."

The band who first burst onto the scene in 1981 with Boy George as their singer will be giving the fans plenty to sing about when they take to the stage at the Hydro.

Mikey said:"We have something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue – is that how that phrase goes?

"You are going to hear some tracks from Life, our new album, which has taken God knows how long. We have been pregnant with an album now for three years or more, and finally now it has come out.

"You are going to get the old hits that everybody wants to hear, you are going to get some covers, and something blue, I am not sure what exactly that might be."

He added: "It is nice that we are able to get some of the new tracks into the set.

"We just recently toured America and we kept it mainly to the hits.

"There weren’t as many new songs in the set but we are going to add a few more for the UK dates which I am really looking forward to. I mean that is the kind of thing you live for, that is what keeps you going, to be able to write new material and showcase it."

In their heyday, the band ruled the 80s airwaves with hits including Do You Really Want to Hurt Me?, It's A Miracle, Church of the Poison Mind and Karma Chameleon, and that era is one Mikey, now 58, looks back fondly on.

"You are often reminded of it (the 80s) when you go round touring.

"People come out of the woodwork and say I fell in love to your songs and all that kind of thing. So yeah you are often reminded of the 80s you know."

He added: "Of course now it is very different. We still get fans here and there outside hotels and venues, and stuff like that. But it is much more relaxed, we talk with them and they tell us about how long they have been following the band.

"It is lovely to hear them sometimes say that if it wasn’t for the band they don’t know what they would have done. They were sort of lost and excluded from society in a way then along came the band that sort of made them feel included in something. Moments like that makes it all so worthwhile doing what we do."

The band's new UK tour is bound to be filled with fans old and now especially with their timeless hits proving to be still popular to this day - and Mikey thinks he knows why.

He said: "Whenever we go into rehearsals before a tour and start playing Do You Really Want to Hurt Me? – it always feels fresh, it doesn't feel jaded you know?

"That song has got its own vibe, it is simple which gave it a magic - and that magic stays with it until this day."

Mikey seems content with the band's current direction and the new album, and admits he wouldn't change a thing proudly claiming: "I am who I am because of what I have been through.

"To change that would change me altogether so I am quite happy in the skin I am in and I wouldn’t change anything to be honest."

He, however, still has ambitions and with the sound of determination in his voice, it might just achieve those.

He said: "There is lots of things I would love to do including (playing) the half time show at the Superbowl. I would love to play Glastonbury, it is those sort of things sort of moments that I would like to do."

Catch Boy George and Culture Club at the SSE Hydro on November 22. Support includes Belinda Carlisle and Thompson Twins' Tom Bailey.

For tickets visit, WWW.EVENTBRITE.CO.UK or WWW.CULTURECLUB.CO.UK