THE One Hit Only jibes can be laid to rest for One Night Only.

The Helmsley band return on Monday with new single Say You Don’t Want It, a title as winning as Just For Tonight, the Top Ten single that launched the 100,000 selling debut album Started A Fire in 2008.

“We have more of a plan on this new album; there are five or six singles on there,” says lead singer George Craig.

Even the album title, One Night Only, suggests this is the One Night Only the band always had in mind when signed in mid-teenage development in a mad record company scramble.

“We’ve been listening to other music and referencing things like Duran Duran and lots of Eighties stuff on some songs, because we wanted to make a record that sounded like a pop record but with something different about it,” says George.

The album was recorded in Brussels, produced by Suede and Pulp producer Ed Buller. “The keyboards have been a big factor on the record, and that’s because we’ve worked with Ed, who played with Psychedelic Furs in the Eighties. That had a lot of influence on us, introducing us to lots of keyboards, Sixties stuff, cool gear,” says George.

For all the developments apparent on Say You Don’t Want It, Chemistry and Forget My Name, One Night Only have not lost their original characteristics. Bring Me Back Down is a case in point. “I think being in Helmsley has a part to play in it,” says George. “We all still live here. It keeps us grounded, and playing the old songs while seeing how the new ones are going down has kept that One Night Only feel in the back of our mind.”

He anticipates the new album gaining momentum, the more the singles take a grip. “All the songs are like Just For Tonight’s bigger, stronger brother,” he says. “I think that Chemistry is the one that could really crack it for us, especially in America, as the market’s so much bigger out there.

“We’re already talking with record labels in the States, and the first album has just come out on iTunes over there and is going really well. We’re hoping to go to America early next year, which would mean being there for a long time, touring all the West Coast. That would be awesome!”

George is in mightily positive mood, just as he should be on the eve of One Night Only’s second coming. “The best thing about it is that people are expecting us to come back and make a c**p record and that’s genuinely not the case,” he says. “Even if everything failed and we got dropped, I know it’s a proper album, and it’s the album that we’ve been trying to make since we started when I was just 13. I was 16 when we made the first album; I’m 20 now.”

Twenty, and now he is as familiar for his clothes adverts and friendship with fellow Burberry model Emma Watson, alias Hermione from the Harry Potter film franchise.

He is aware of the possible negative response to his pin-up, model-boy status but takes it in his stride. “I like to think people would think positively about it, though I could imagine there might be some negativity, but I believe the album moves everything on. It’s about great tunes and great gigs,” he says.

The modelling will continue; maybe one more campaign for Burberry and then “something more edgy”. And yes, he does keep the clothes. “There are so many of them now!” he says.

George is aware of his front-man status and the spotlight that naturally falls upon him. “But I think the band members’ characters will come through as the album comes out and they get recognised from the songs’ exposure,” he says.

“Since the first album, there’s been a focus on me and Burberry and me and Emma and less about the band and that has been tough at times. They prefer sitting back, and sometimes there has been negative stuff that’s come my way, but it’s all cool. I really enjoy my job and I expect everything that goes with it. It’s fun!”

Fun indeed. Not least making the video for Say You Don’t Want It with Emma Watson in New York’s Lower East Side. “It’s got a really good storyline that James Lee, the director, came up with; this idea of a Lady And The Tramp thing, which Emma really liked.”

Did you ask her to be in the video shoot? “No, she wanted to be in it, so that was a definite yes! She’s amazing on camera and it was a joy to have her working with us.”

Just for tonight? Not any more. One Night Only are convinced they have the chemistry for more success.

One Night Only launch their second album, One Night Only, at The Royal Oak, Helmsley, on Tuesday; doors open at 7pm. Tickets are available for free only through the band’s website, onenightonlyonline.com, and will not be for sale. New single Say You Don’t Want It is released on Vertigo Records on Monday; the album follows on August 23.