YOU know you’ve made it, really made it, when you can denounce one of the biggest music retailers in the U.S. and not fear the consequences.

Jake Shears, flamboyant frontman for the band Scissor Sisters, recently did just that, publicly scolding Trans World Entertainment – the nation’s biggest record-store chain, including Strawberries, FYE and Sam Goody – for selling CDs, including his own band’s, at upwards of $20. Trans World responded by refusing to sell Scissor Sisters’ record in its shops.

What gave Shears such audacity? For one thing, the fact that the band’s new album, “Tah-Dah!” hit No. 1 on the U.K. charts in its first week. And that the band’s 2004 debut also topped the charts there, while singles “Comfortably Numb” and “Take Your Mama” generated major buzz in the States.

The group is from New York, but the neo-disco/glam-rockers hit it big in Europe. They’ll be back on their home turf Saturday, playing the Hammerstein Ballroom.

You guys are A-list celebs in the U.K. Is it weird being back here, where you’re considerably less famous?

It’s definitely humbling. You come back and it’s like, whatever, nobody cares. I think it’s good for us. And it’s more relaxed playing here, not as intense. It’s nice to feel like you’re getting a breather. So I’m really happy to be back.

Has there been much fallout from the Trans World incident?

We decided not to apologize, and they decided not to put us in their stores. That’s their prerogative. I would just urge people to shop elsewhere. It’s definitely not hurting us at all. I’d rather not be in their store at all than be priced at $20. Our record isn’t worth $20. I don’t think any record is, really.

With your first album, critics made a lot of comparisons to old Elton John. On “Tah-dah!” you brought him in as a co-writer, and he plays piano on “I Don’t Feel Like Dancing.”

Well, it’s not like we brought him in in a chariot or anything – we’ve been writing with him for a long time. We’ve been friends for a couple years now. We wrote quite a few songs together, and “I Don’t Feel Like Dancing” was the last song we wrote. We’re really happy with it.

You were all very hands-on with the production of the new album. Why not work with a producer, since you could have afforded the best?

That’s one of the things I think is kind of overlooked with this band – there’s nobody, no producers or anything. We make our records from scratch and do it all ourselves. We see it to the very end, and that’s the one thing I’m most proud of – we really take control. At the end of the day, we look at the final album, and it’s us through and through.

The first album became a runaway success. Was it a tough act to follow?

I think if you really care about something, there’s gonna be fear there. I’m really proud of where we’ve gotten to, as musicians. When we were starting out, we weren’t a good band. It was just me and [bassist] Babydaddy in the studio making songs. We were very ramshackle. The only thing that got us through that whole period was keeping the crowd entertained.

Your shows have a reputation for being over the top. What goes on?

There’s no pyrotechnics or anything ridiculous – we just put on a big show. That’s just our natural performance. It’s kind of what makes it big. But the new shows have been very fun.

You’re one of the few bands to have really survived the brief life and death of New York’s electroclash scene. How’d you manage it?

Yeah, I don’t know how we did that, but I was really thankful for that period. There should be more moments like that in cities, of creativity – where people feel free to make stuff and compete against each other, and write songs and perform them. It’s kind of too bad that faded away.

I hear you’re a voracious reader.

Every morning I usually try to go to a bookstore. That’s my favorite place in the world.

What’s on your nightstand right now?

I’ve been trying to read “Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell” – a friend gave it to me especially on a recommendation. I just finished a memoir on this guy’s friendship with Mr. Rogers, called “I’m Proud of You.” And I just read a book yesterday, “The War on Art,” and went right out and bought copies for every band member. It’s about creativity, and how we build up so much resistance to it, making excuses about why not to do something. That’s stuff I’ve battled with all my life.

You’ve traveled all over. Where are your favorite places to go dancing?

As far as going out, I love London and Barcelona, and weird places like Serbia.

Japan, oh my god, Tokyo – I found some amazing places in Tokyo that just rocked me and really inspired me. I found this incredible dominatrix-dance-routine bar. It was about the size of a public toilet, with a stage and Japanese women in bondage gear doing synchronized dancing to “Welcome to the Jungle.”

It, like, changed my life.