Former Rascal Miles Kane has emerged from the shadows, and, says Tim Hughes, is out to prove he’s a natural frontman.

AFTER playing second fiddle to Arctic Monkey Alex Turner and former Oasis star Liam Gallagher, Miles Kane is ready to take his rightful position in the limelight.

The ex-frontman of The Rascals has made an impact playing with Alex’s side project The Last Shadow Puppets and supporting Liam’s latest venture Beady Eye on tour. But he is now once again taking centre stage, heading out on a solo tour to accompany the release of his own album The Colour Of The Trap.

And, he says, this time he has a point to make.

“There will be people who don’t think I’m talented, so I guess I want to prove something to them,” he says.

They include, he admits, fans of The Last Shadow Puppets, whose 2008 debut album The Age Of The Understatement was nominated for a Mercury Music Prize.

“Alex, with Arctic Monkeys, had sold millions of records when that came out, and I hadn’t,” he says. “Of course people were thinking, ‘Who’s this guy?’ But I’ve made a record that I can play to anyone who didn’t think I had it in me and show them they’re wrong!”

And that it will. It’s fortunes won’t be harmed by the presence of another Gallagher, this time Noel, who appears on backing vocals. The involvement of the more talented of the Oasis brothers has obviously proved an issue; to the point, it seems, of irritation.

“It’s been blown up out of proportion,” says Merseyside man Miles, 25. “But yeah, Noel’s on there. He came over to the studio one afternoon to see what I was up to and I was just about to record some more backing vocals because I thought the song was a bit flat.

“He ended up going in and singing instead. It was one of those great afternoons – having a coffee and a Kit Kat with Noel before he went and sang on my album.”

A few of the songs were co-written with Alex, of whom Miles comments: “He’s obviously great with words and writes really quickly, whereas I find coming up with melodies easy. That’s why we work so well together.”

As for further celebrity endorsement? Well, there’s also a sultry contribution from French actress Clemence Poesy, best known as Fleur Delacour from the Harry Potter films, who sings on the tune Happenstance.

“I love Lee Hazelwood and the songs he did with Nancy Sinatra, or Serge Gainsbourg’s duets with Brigitte Bardot,” says Miles. “I wanted a moment like that on the album, something sexy or sensual, and it wasn’t until after I’d written and recorded Happenstance that the duet came about.

“I didn’t know who she was, but someone from my record label was at a party in Paris and met Clemence, and they got talking about me. Before I knew it, she was coming over to the studio.”

Instead of insisting on her re-recording after she giggled on the track, he decided to keep it in. Though, he confesses it was his fault for making her laugh in the first place.

“There’s not enough stuff like that in music now," he says. “Clemence thought we’d have to re-record it, but we had to keep it. It totally made that moment on the album I’d been looking for.”

And Miles, who started off at 18 in Hoylake band Little Flames, in 2004, is finding it satisfying once again lashed to the helm.

“To an extent I feel more responsible for this album than I have done in the past, but I also feel more comfortable than ever,” he says. “I took my time with this record, to get everything right and in its place.

“I know that I couldn’t put any more effort into this – singing, writing, playing... everything – so knowing that, and then going out to play gigs and do interviews, gives you a lot of confidence.

“I know this album is as good as it can be, so if the album’s going to do well, it’s up to other people now. I believe in it completely and I can’t do any more.”

* Miles Kane plays the Oxford O2 Academy next Friday.

Tickets are £9 from ticketweb.co.uk. Album The Colour Of The Trap is out on Monday.