TYPE 'nosey parker' into any internet search engine and don't be surprised if you find the name Dougie Jackson cropping up on the results page!

For more than a decade I've travelled the globe interviewing the rich and famous and, thanks to my radio career, I've been able to stick my nose into other people's business without getting walloped!

It's the best job in the world.

Over the years I've had dinner with Mick Hucknall, lunch with the Spice Girls and even toured America with U2. Those were the days.

Now it's still great fun, but for the most part the acts do all the travelling and join me live, on my Smooth Radio Drivetime show, to chat about their new book/record/movie or TV show.

Whoever the guest, the format of my interviews is usually the same.

During the first few minutes of our chat, I'll ask my guest about their current 'project' and when that's out of the way, we can relax into the interview - my favourite part of the show.

This is where I begin to 'mine' the conversation for those little nuggets of information that are seldom mentioned. I'll explain.

Jim Kerr, from Simple Minds, and solo sensation Paolo Nutini, have both rolled past Smooth's studios to promote their respective new albums.

Simple Minds' latest is called Graffiti Soul, an album full of the sort of air-punching anthems that they've built their reputation on for more than three decades.

Paolo's Sunny Side Up, (named, he insists, after his favourite breakfast!) is a departure from the radio friendly New Shoes material, we're used to. However, it grows on you and I'm sure it will add thousands more to both his global fanbase and burgeoning bank balance.

So, what real life stories did I glean from two of Scotland's most talented musicians, I hear you ask?

Jim was hilarious.

Having taken a 'back-to-basics' approach for the preparatory work on their new album, Kerr, Charlie Burchill and Mel Gaynor checked into a multi-studio rehearsal facility in Glasgow; not surprisingly, word quickly spread that a certain stadium rock act was in the building.

Kerr picks up the story: "We found ourselves in the rather strange position of being 'checked out' by the younger bands and their girlfriends, who were also rehearsing at the complex that day."

Best overheard comment? "That came from the punk kid who uttered the killer line, "Who cares if they're millionaire stadium rockers with hit records all over the world, we'd still blow them aff the stage!"

"I love that attitude, that confidence; you only get that in Glasgow!" Kerr concludes.

Paolo didn't disappoint either. After battling his way through the adoring girls in the office, he told me about his own big break in showbiz.

Attending a David Sneddon (winner of the 2002 Fame Academy reality TV show) concert at Paisley Town Hall, back in 2003, Paolo took part in (and subsequently won) an impromptu talent contest, organised to cover the fact that Sneddon had been caught up in a traffic jam.

His singing style and stage presence immediately attracted the attention of a visiting record executive, who was actually in the audience to see Sneddon's act.

That record rep signed him up on the spot and the rest, as they say in all the best rock'n'roll rags to riches biogs, is history!

"I wake up every day thanking God that Davie was late for that gig," says 22-year-old Nutini.

"Without that traffic jam, I'd probably be serving behind the counter of a certain chip shop in Paisley. It should also explain why I believe in being super-punctual for every interview, meeting and gig I do."

Nuff said!