Alan Rankine (17 May 1958 – 2 January 2023) was a Scottish musician and record producer best known as keyboardist and guitarist for rock band the Associates, which he co-founded with lead vocalist Billy Mackenzie in the late 1970s.
Alan Rankine was born in Bridge of Allan, Stirlingshire. He lived in "the posh part of Dundee"[1] until around the age of 11, followed by Glasgow and then Linlithgow. His father, Jim Rankine, was a school inspector and his mother was a secretary.[2] 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" by Norman Greenbaum, he said, "I want that". Once Rankine stopped playing tennis, he practised the guitar up to five or six hours a day.[1]
Career
Rankine began his career with the cabaret band Caspian, which became the Associates.[3] Together they recorded three albums: The Affectionate Punch (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.[3] He signed a recording contract with Belgian label Les Disques du Crépuscule in 1986 and embarked on a solo career.[3] He recorded three solo studio albums: The World Begins to Look Her Age (1986), She Loves Me Not (1987), and the fully instrumentalThe Big Picture Sucks (1989).[3]
Rankine later worked as a lecturer in Stow College in Glasgow until 2010, when he left to return to music production.[3] 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.[3]
Death
Rankine died on 2 January 2023, at the age of 64.[2][4] He died peacefully in his home after spending Christmas with his family. The cause of death was later confirmed to be heart disease.[5]
alan, rankine, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jstor, january, 202. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Alan Rankine news newspapers books scholar JSTOR January 2023 Learn how and when to remove this template message Alan Rankine 17 May 1958 2 January 2023 was a Scottish musician and record producer best known as keyboardist and guitarist for rock band the Associates which he co founded with lead vocalist Billy Mackenzie in the late 1970s Alan RankineBorn 1958 05 17 17 May 1958Bridge of Allan ScotlandDied2 January 2023 aged 64 GenresPost punksynth popexperimental popnew waveOccupation s Musiciancomposerrecord producerInstrument s KeyboardsguitarYears active1970s 2023LabelsLes Disques du CrepusculeVirginFormerly ofThe Associates Contents 1 Early life 2 Career 3 Death 4 Solo discography 4 1 Albums 4 2 Compilation album 4 3 Singles 5 References 6 External linksEarly life EditAlan Rankine was born in Bridge of Allan Stirlingshire He lived in the posh part of Dundee 1 until around the age of 11 followed by Glasgow and then Linlithgow His father Jim Rankine was a school inspector and his mother was a secretary 2 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 by Norman Greenbaum he said I want that Once Rankine stopped playing tennis he practised the guitar up to five or six hours a day 1 Career EditRankine began his career with the cabaret band Caspian which became the Associates 3 Together they recorded three albums The Affectionate Punch 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 3 He signed a recording contract with Belgian label Les Disques du Crepuscule in 1986 and embarked on a solo career 3 He recorded three solo studio albums The World Begins to Look Her Age 1986 She Loves Me Not 1987 and the fully instrumental The Big Picture Sucks 1989 3 Rankine later worked as a lecturer in Stow College in Glasgow until 2010 when he left to return to music production 3 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 3 Death EditRankine died on 2 January 2023 at the age of 64 2 4 He died peacefully in his home after spending Christmas with his family The cause of death was later confirmed to be heart disease 5 Solo discography EditAlbums Edit The World Begins to Look Her Age 1986 Les Disques du Crepuscule She Loves Me Not 1987 Virgin Les Disques du Crepuscule The Big Picture Sucks 1989 Les Disques du CrepusculeCompilation album Edit The Big Picture Sucks The World Begins to Look Her Age 1989 Crepuscule au Japon JVC VictorSingles Edit The Sandman 1986 Les Disques du Crepuscule Last Bullet 1986 Les Disques du Crepuscule Days and Days 1987 Les Disques du Crepuscule The World Begins to Look Her Age 1987 Virgin Les Disques du Crepuscule The Sandman 1987 Virgin Les Disques du CrepusculeReferences Edit a b Martyn Ware 17 September 2021 Electronically Yours with Martyn Ware anchor fm Podcast Spotify Retrieved 5 January 2023 a b Alan Rankine obituary The Guardian 5 January 2023 Retrieved 5 January 2023 a b c d e f Strong Martin C 2003 The Great Indie Discography Canongate ISBN 1 84195 335 0 p 473 Alan Rankine founding member of the Associates dies aged 64 STV News Retrieved on 3 January 2023 Associates co founder Alan Rankine dies aged 64 BBC News 3 January 2023 Retrieved 4 January 2023 External links EditAlan Rankine at AllMusic Alan Rankine discography at Discogs Alan Rankine at IMDb This article on a British keyboardist is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte This article on a UK guitarist is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Alan Rankine amp oldid 1144378301, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
