Alan Rankine (17 May 1958 – 3 January 2023) was a Scottish musician and record producer best known as keyboardist and guitarist for
rock
Rock most often refers to:
* Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids
* Rock music, a genre of popular music
Rock or Rocks may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...
band
the Associates, which he co-founded with lead vocalist
Billy Mackenzie in the late 1970s.
Early life
Alan Rankine was born in
Bridge of Allan
Bridge of Allan ( sco, Brig Allan, gd, Drochaid Ailein), also known colloquially as ''Bofa'', is a town in the Stirling council area in Scotland, just north of the city of Stirling. Overlooked by the National Wallace Monument, it lies on the ...
,
Stirlingshire
Stirlingshire or the County of Stirling, gd, Siorrachd Sruighlea) is a historic county and registration countyRegisters of Scotland. Publications, leaflets, Land Register Counties. of Scotland. Its county town is Stirling.
It borders Perth ...
. He lived in "the posh part of
Dundee"
until around the age of 11, followed by
Glasgow
Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...
and then
Linlithgow
Linlithgow (; gd, Gleann Iucha, sco, Lithgae) is a town in West Lothian, Scotland. It was historically West Lothian's county town, reflected in the county's historical name of Linlithgowshire. An ancient town, it lies in the Central Belt on a ...
. His father, Jim Rankine, was a school inspector and his mother was a secretary.
As a youth, he was a national-level tennis player, but as racket technology developed, he knew that he was too short (5ft 8in/1.73 m) to continue competing. After he heard the guitar sound in "
Spirit in the Sky
"Spirit in the Sky" is a song by American singer-songwriter Norman Greenbaum, originally written and recorded by Greenbaum and released in late 1969 from the album of the same name. The single became a gold record, selling two million copies f ...
" by
Norman Greenbaum
Norman Joel Greenbaum (born November 20, 1942) is an American singer-songwriter. He is primarily known for his 1969 song "Spirit in the Sky".
Early life
Greenbaum was born in Malden, Massachusetts. He was raised in an Orthodox Jewish househol ...
, he said, "I want that". Once Rankine stopped playing tennis, he practised the guitar up to five or six hours a day.
[
]
Career
Rankine began his career with the cabaret band Caspian, which became the Associates.[Strong, Martin C. (2003) ''The Great Indie Discography'', Canongate, , p. 473] Together they recorded three album
An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records co ...
s: ''The Affectionate Punch
''The Affectionate Punch'' is the debut studio album by Scottish post-punk and new wave band The Associates. It was released on 1 August 1980 on the Fiction label.
The song title "Even Dogs in the Wild" became the title of a novel by Scottish ...
'' (1980), the singles compilation '' Fourth Drawer Down'' (1981) and '' Sulk'' (1982). Rankine left the band in 1982 on the eve of what would have been the Sulk tour.
While Mackenzie continued with other associates, Rankine established himself as a producer, working with artists such as Paul Haig, Cocteau Twins, and the Pale Fountains. He signed a recording contract with Belgian label Les Disques du Crépuscule in 1986 and embarked on a solo career. He recorded three solo studio albums: ''The World Begins to Look Her Age'' (1986), ''She Loves Me Not'' (1987), and the fully instrumental
An instrumental is a recording normally without any vocals, although it might include some inarticulate vocals, such as shouted backup vocals in a big band setting. Through semantic widening, a broader sense of the word song may refer to inst ...
''The Big Picture Sucks'' (1989).
Rankine later worked as a lecturer in Stow College
Stow College was a college in Glasgow in Scotland.
History
The college was named after David Stow, whose primary teaching seminary was founded close to the college at Dundasvale. Stow was the first purpose-built Further Education college in G ...
in Glasgow
Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...
until 2010, when he left to return to music production. While working as a lecturer he helped students to set up their own inhouse record label Electric Honey, which went on to launch the careers of bands such as Belle and Sebastian, Snow Patrol and Biffy Clyro
Biffy Clyro are a Scottish rock band that formed in Kilmarnock, East Ayrshire, composed of Simon Neil (guitar, lead vocals), James Johnston (bass, vocals), and Ben Johnston (drums, vocals). Currently signed to 14th Floor Records, they have r ...
.
Death
Rankine died on 3 January 2023, at the age of 64.[Alan Rankine, founding member of the Associates, dies aged 64](_blank)
''STV News''. Retrieved on 3 January 2023. The musician died peacefully in his home after spending Christmas with his family.
Solo discography
Albums
* ''The World Begins to Look Her Age'' (1986), Les Disques du Crépuscule
* ''She Loves Me Not'' (1987), Virgin
Virginity is the state of a person who has never engaged in sexual intercourse. The term ''virgin'' originally only referred to sexually inexperienced women, but has evolved to encompass a range of definitions, as found in traditional, modern ...
/Les Disques du Crépuscule
* ''The Big Picture Sucks'' (1989), Les Disques du Crépuscule
Compilation album
* ''The Big Picture Sucks/The World Begins to Look Her Age'' (1989), Crépuscule au Japon/ JVC Victor
Singles
* "The Sandman" (1986), Les Disques du Crépuscule
* "Last Bullet" (1986), Les Disques du Crépuscule
* "Days and Days" (1987), Les Disques du Crépuscule
* "The World Begins to Look Her Age" (1987), Virgin/Les Disques du Crépuscule
* "The Sandman" (1987), Virgin/Les Disques du Crépuscule
References
External links
*
*
*
1958 births
2023 deaths
The Associates (band) members
Scottish keyboardists
Scottish new wave musicians
Scottish record producers
Scottish rock guitarists
Scottish male guitarists
Scottish songwriters
Musicians from Edinburgh
{{UK-guitarist-stub