Singer Callum Beattie: 'The Scotland bus pulled up and that was me till 7am'

John McGinn pulls Callum Beattie into the team's World Cup qualification celebrations on Tuesday night

The first thing that strikes you when you meet Callum Beattie is just how 'normal' he is. A bloke from Edinburgh with a guitar and a book full of songs who would, quite humbly, like to sing them for you.

But the more you speak to him, the more obvious it becomes that he is far more than just another guy.

The singer-songwriter has had a life - and not an easy one. He's been through the depths of depression, had his battles with booze and self-doubt and he's come out the other side with a deep understanding of himself and a burning desire to help others.

Tonight he'll walk onto the stage at the Glasgow's OVO Hydro, in front an adoring army of fans, for the gig of his life.

Beattie will play his dream gig at the Ovo Hydro in Glasgow on Saturday night

Playing Scotland's biggest indoor venue was merely a dream to be worked towards, until one day his manager pointed to it and told Callum he had booked it for a night in November.

With the concert now just days away, his focus is on keeping his emotions in check.

"That's something that I need to watch, because I'm highly emotional person – so, I mean, I'm going to cry on the stage", he told BBC Scotcast.

"Your family are there - and they know your struggles that you've had to try and make it happen."

Callum's preparations, however, were temporarily derailed this week when he found himself in the company of Scotland's triumphant men's team.

Scotland men's team manager Steve Clarke with Callum Beattie after the team's heroics on Tuesday

"I went down to the pub because I'd finished late at the studio and so I'm watching in the pub and I never planned on being too late", he said.

"As I'm walking back down the road and stumbling away to myself with a big smile on my face, the team bus pulled up outside one of the bars in Glasgow and the boys jumped off the bus and I know a couple of them.

"So, that was me till seven in the morning".

Despite originally wanting to stay out of the way and "not bother them", the singer eventually loosened up with his footballing heroes.

"After like three drinks - it was a free bar - you start relaxing and the next thing we're all jumping and dancing on the tables together".

With Saturday, comes the next step for a flourishing career, boasting two consecutive number one albums on the Scottish album chart, and amassing more than 50 million global streams.

Sitting in the Scotcast studio, just across the River Clyde from the venue that awaits him, he says football joy aside, the week has been "full of anxiety".

"It's just that feeling in the stomach, but I know once I get to the day it's going to be special, you know, I've waited for that for my whole life."

You would be forgiven for thinking that a musician making his way in such a competitive industry would possess a selfish drive to succeed. But this is where Callum is found to be a little different.

When his manager asked him what he'd like to be remembered for apart from his music, his answer was influenced by his upbringing, which he admits had been "difficult" at times.

"I said I'd like to maybe help people that have been through some similar situations as me."

That empathy, which he says he shares with his "kind" father who raised him in a single-parent household, resulted in volunteering in soup kitchens for the homeless.

But as his music career took off, so too did his charity work.

"I became the patron of four or five different charities - and long story short, I'd basically be offering house concerts to really wealthy people who had kids that were fans.

"I'd say, I'd come and do your house concert, but I need you to give forty grand to the charity."

Callum's about to exceed his dreams, but what's next? He's set his sights on creating another massive night at the home of Scottish football.

"I'm just visualising Hampden Park," he said.

"I'm going to die a happy man now anyway, right, but that would be beyond my wildest dreams."