RAP superstar Coolio was saved from an altercation with a crazy fan after a Larkhall bouncer stepped in.

John Knox (39), a door steward at Hamilton Palace nightclub, was on duty as normal on Saturday night when the Celebrity Big Brother star was performing live on stage.

The crowd became restless, forcing the security staff to form a chain around the stage.

However, one member of the audience broke through the side of the cordon and went for Coolio, but John intervened by diving and grabbing the man before he got near the rapper.

The former Larkhall Academy pupil held the fan on the ground until other security staff escorted him out of the nightclub.

John (pictured right) was later thanked by the hip-hop star in the Hamilton Palace VIP room.

Coolio told John that if he hadn’t intervened his performance would have been ruined and now calls the father-of-one “his boy”.

John, who also works the door at Franklyn’s Bar in Bellshill, said: “Coolio was over the moon with the support he got from us and he really enjoyed his performance.

“There was talk when he came in that if there was any hassle that he’d walk right off the stage.

“At other clubs he didn’t get the same respect that we gave him, so from that angle you can see where he’s coming from.

“He was a wee bit apprehensive – he brought his entourage and even a decoy guy to distract attention away from himself.

“I’m a fan of Coolio myself, so it was great to be thanked by him.

“In person, he wasn’t brash or abrupt at all.

“He was really nice guy and, to coin the phrase, very Coolio.”

“I’m the same age group as him, so the younger guys I work with were slagging me saying we were two 40-year-olds on stage proving we’ve still got it.”