March 1 is World Book Day – and to mark the occasion my book Billy Rankin’s School of Rock will be available at a 25% discount price.
The RRP is £9 but on March 1 only you can get one for £6.75. Shipping is also discounted, so it’s the best offer you’re going to get out of that tightwad Martin Kielty at Noisewave Publishing.
Click here to buy it on March 1 only (the link will only work then) and ruin his day…
If you missed my spot on Fred MacAulay’s Radio Scotland show on Monday, here it is in glorious, em, mono as we talk about how we first met, my book, the rock’n’roll lifestyle and how everything has changed since oor day.
Now, Rock Radio was a family station so the BBC are even more careful, and I couldn’t quite tell my Ozzy story the way I did in Billy Rankin’s School of Rock. So here’s that wee bit from the book, told the way I’d prefer to tell it…
Once when Nazareth played in Little Rock, Arkansas, Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne were staying at our hotel, and came down to our concert.
Ozzy was meant to be on the wagon at the time, so Sharon wasn’t too happy when she caught him in our dressing room taking a swig of out of a Jack Daniel’s bottle. After a serious rammy, she stormed off back to the hotel.
Ozzy came back with us after the gig then went off to bed. Next morning at breakfast, he came down alone.
‘Where’s Sharon?’ we asked.
‘She’s gone, replied Ozzy. ‘But she was in bed when I got back last night’.
‘So how to you know she’s gone?’ we wanted to know.
‘Bit of a no-brainer really,’ he said. ‘There’s a massive great shit in my suitcase…’
I’ll be appearing on Fred MacAulay’s BBC Radio Scotland show on Monday, January 9 around 10.30am to talk about Billy Rankin’s School of Rock. Tune in and see if I’ve still got my radio voice…
For four years it was my pleasure (and job) to bring rock music to Scotland. I had a blast and so did some of you, hopefully. To wrap it all up we had the Rock Radio: A Night Oot Before Christmas gig at the Cathouse on December 16 – here’s my review of the event.
Me, finally getting to gie it laldy – thanks to Iain Freeman for the pic
Some would say it was a gig too far.
We’d had the Rock Radio Farewell Tour show at the same venue a few months ago, so when Ted Rock and Donald McLeod arranged this, I was slightly wary.
In the end, my involvement was to introduce opening act The Coffins, mingle with Rock Radio listeners (still nursing a semi for the sadly defunct station) and most importantly arranging a rendition of SAHB’s Big Louie to bring the night to a close.
This proved more difficult when headliners The Constellations (or whatever) refused my request to commandeer their guitar, bass player and drummer. Apparently their guitar used ‘Drop B tuning’ and, I quote, ‘we don’t have time to learn any new material.’
Now, I have little knowledge of ‘Drop B tuning’ but I do know how to operate things called ‘tuning pegs’ – and learning Big Louie? Gimme a break!
As luck would have it, second on the bill Estrella (Spanish for ‘Star’) were up for it and not only lent me a guitar, their bass player and drummer but also introduced me to their personal sound man who looked older than me. (No, really.)
Now it’s common knowledge to anyone who’s been to a gig with me, the bane of my life is a sound guy who doesn’t have enough guitars in the mix. From Buckcherry at the Garage, Ted Nugent at the ABC to the band at my son’s wedding, I just have to say, ‘Haw, Baws for Brains! There’s a guy smashing fuck out of that plank of wood and ah canny hear him! Turn it up or I’ll break yer fuckin’ nose!’
It worked for The Coffins. My advice resulted in Joe and the boys sounding pretty damn good. But when Estrella hit the stage, I couldn’t believe my ears.
There was no guitar in the mix. Not a sausage. Bugger all.
This was reported by me to the Cathouse sound guy who nodded sagely before adding, ‘That’s what happens when ye let someone’s faither dae yer sound.’
Right!
Up I goes to the auld bloke in a Val Doonican cardigan at the desk, who agrees there’s no guitar in the mix.
‘I can’t find the correct fader,’ says Father Time.
I look at the desk and suggest we try the one marked ‘Guitar’.
‘Tried it,’ say’s Granddad. ‘It’s not there.’
He was right. My ramming of the fader produced not a bit of difference.
Eventually the problem was fixed by the sound guy – who’d put the wrong mic in the wrong channel. Young upstart. Estrella rocked, finally.
After their set, I took the youthfully challenged bloke outside for a much needed cigarette… and guess what?
His name is Ashley Howe and he’s a world famous record producer. Uriah Heep, Billy Squier, Ted fuckin’ Nugent! He’s done the lot.
And I’d suggested he try the fader marked ‘Guitar’? Another ‘Rankin Moment’.
We finally managed Big Louie with Chris Glen on bass and then I had to run for my train.
In reflection, we probably should’ve left the Rock Radio farewell thing alone. But it was great to meet up again with the listeners who’d spent all night telling Tom Russell how ‘shite Real XS is’ and he’d spent all night reluctantly agreeing.
Move on, me-thinks…Or not? Let me know what you think.
A wee piece in Classic Rock last week and now a spread in the Daily Record… I’ll need to lose my job more often!
Wow, what a night! Just recovering from the launch party we had for Billy Rankin’s School of Rock at the Solid Rock Cafe, Glasgow, last night. Great to see all you Rock Radio friends, and I hope the Alex and Zal story doesn’t give you nightmares! Question is, who signed more books… me or Rock Radio’s biggest fan Ally McCoist?
Me and Ally outside the Solid
Ex Nazareth guitarist Billy Rankin spent the last five years entertaining Rock Radio listeners with his School of Rock feature every weekday morning on the cult station.
Buy it now via Noisewave Publications
Over 4000 hours of live broadcasting he shared tales of wine, women and song starring big names like Ozzy Osbourne, Guns n’Roses, Iron Maiden, Aerosmith, Metallica, Status Quo, Ted Nugent, the Who, REM, the Beatles and many others.
With the end of Rock Radio in October 2010 came the end of Billy’s broadcasting stint. But he decided to leave his listeners with a written memento of his audio lessons, in the shape of his book, Billy Rankin’s School of Rock, stuffed with hundreds of his favourite anecdotes. The foreword is written by award-winning Scottish rock broadcasting legend Tom Russell.
Buy it now via Noisewave Publications
Billy Rankin was a member of Nazareth from 1980 to 1983 then again from 1990 to 1994. Before finding fame with the Fife rock heroes he played with the Sensational Alex Harvey Band and went on to a successful solo career. He worked and/or drank with many of the stars of his book and became the host of cult station Rock Radio’s breakfast show from its launch in 2007 until its “rebrand” this week.
After the heat of my Naz departure had cooled a little, Karin at Polydor was keen on me doing a third solo album.
She had done promo work for Growin’ Up Too Fast with me in 1984. I began writing and demoing the songs required. Despite her positive opinion of them being “some of the best songs you’ve ever written,” market changes in general meant rock was not being heard, played or signed any more.
Eventually I decided to give it one year of concentrated effort, using every contact I could and exploring alternate possibilities: Tony Rocker, gigs with The Spiders From Mars (which led to a single deal for All The Madmen being offered and knocked back) and even an audition for The Wildhearts, which I was particularly crushed to lose out on, being too old. Eventually I took an HGV driving test and got a ‘real’ job.
Shake has been made possible by various advances in technology enabling the artist to record and deliver their product to the public without record company involvement or financial support. Barry and Kenny were my record company for Shake and without them….
Hopefully, future recordings will be made available in this way (past and present recordings too!) In the meantime, it’s great to finally see all the hard work come to such a perfect album – I’m well chuffed!
Shake track listing:
Goodbye Miracles
Nobody Home
Hammer Comes Down
Take My Hand
Friend
Nobody Calls Me That
Do It!
Colour My Love
Walk Out
Money & Girls
Don’t Keep Me Waitin’
One In A Million
Get Inside Of You
Bonus track: Dream On (1979 demo)
Fans and staff at Glasgow’s Rock Radio have hit out at the station’s owners following a decision to re-brand it, leading to the loss of around nine jobs.
One fan described the move to rebrand 96.3 Rock Radio as Real Radio XS as “the death of the station”.
And one of the DJs who will be let go has criticised owner Guardian Media Group (GMG) for what he calls a “massive cost-cutting exercise’.
A source inside Rock Radio, who asked not to be named, revealed four of the station’s “Rock Jock” DJs and five digital staff will lose their jobs as part of the rebranding.
The digital staff work on Rock Radio’s sister website RockAAA.com, which GMG has confirmed will be shut down.
Legendary DJ Tom Russell, however, will be kept on.
Rock Jock Donald MacLeod, who is also boss of CPL which owns The Cathouse, Garage and Tunnel nightclubs in Glasgow, hosted his final show for the station on Friday night.
He has taken calls from big-name fans –including Rangers FC manager Ally McCoist – concerned about the future of their favourite station.
Donald, 50, said: “People are very disappointed about this and fans know they won’t hear the same kind of music on the station when it becomes Real Radio XS on October 21.”
ROCKER Billy Rankin has seen it all – and done even more. He has toured the world “with every band on the planet”, played in front of crazed audiences of thousands and met all his music heroes.
ROCKER Billy Rankin has seen it all – and done even more. He has toured the world “with every band on the planet”, played in front of crazed audiences of thousands and met all his music heroes.
Now the former guitarist with Nazareth has come full circle as a DJ on 96.3 Rock Radio, Scotland’s first classic rock station and the first in the UK to be broadcast on FM.
The station has just marked its first birthday with a mega bash at The Garage, starring the Sensational Alex Harvey Band, Gun, Thunder and others, raising over £12,000 for Nordoff-Robbins Scotland, a music therapy charity.
Scots legend Frankie Miller was guest of honour at the gig, which may now become an annual event.
Kirkintilloch-born Billy is delighted to join such Rock Jocks as Tom Russell and Wild Willie – playing, as he puts it, “tracks by all the bands I’ve got the dirt on”.
“I was invited in by Jay Crawford, the programming director, on a totally different matter.
“I lent him a tenner about 20 years ago and thought I was going to get it back – instead he offered me a position as a presenter.
“But I’m having a great time here. I was a musician for 30-odd years and I’ve got a lot of interesting stories.
“I know my music, so I’m able to say more than just here’s another one from Van Halen’. I can actually tell you what I did to Van Halen.”
Our ears prick up. What did you to Van Halen?
“Not half as much as what I did to Iron Maiden,” he laughs.
Billy Rankin 