PLACEBO appear to be rather strange brew - with arguably the tallest bass player in history and a singer who has been described as sexually ambiguous and androgynous.

The band, who have just released their latest album Sleeping with Ghosts, are set to make a date at Birmingham Academy on Monday, April 14.

Brian Molko, glam goth singer with Placebo explains that the album's title is about carrying the ghosts of your relationships with you to the point where sometimes a smell, or a situation, or an item of clothing they bought you brings that person back.

"For me it's about the relationship that you have with your memories," he says.

" They inhabit your dreams sometimes.

"There can be a lot in the future that's going to remind you of the ghost of relationships past.

"So I see the album as a collection of short stories about a handful of relationships - most of them mine."

Brian believes writing helps him get a lot things out of his system.

"In a way, writing the songs helps me to get a lot of the nasty things off my chest and put them in a box a little bit more, and therefore have a bit more of an objective discourse with those emotions because you've done something positive with them. You've rid yourself of them," he says.

The dozen tracks on the album were written over the space of three years, and Brian describes the album as Placebo's most successful yet.

The band's past success is hard to ignore.

All previous albums have reached the Top 10 in the UK, and on their last tour the band played to over 500,000 people in 30 countries at their own headline shows (excluding festivals).

They have sold out shows globally including the US, Asia and Australia.

Placebo also played to over 6,000 people in Gorky Park, Moscow, two years ago in 2001.

"I think we have to prove ourselves again to a certain degree, coming back this time, because to come back and to be sloppy and lazy and all "rock star" about it would get us an immediate finger in the face," says Brian.

"I think the attitude we're coming back with this time is not taking past success for granted.

"We're coming out fighting".

For further details on tickets contact Birmingham Academy box office on 0870 7712000.