USER() function returns hostname

[D Green]

Hi,

Can anyone tell me how to return the username of the currently logged in user without the hostname included.

e.g. at the moment:-
SELECT USER() AS username
->
root@localhost

but I really want
SELECT (USER) AS username
->
root

Is there a function to do this, or is there a string search (and chop up) set of functions I'd need to use?
Thanks,
David