St Andrews Folk Club with Rab Noakes 21 5 72 full concert

Based on an archived audio recording of Scottish singer/songwriter RAB NOAKES
performing at St Andrews Folk Club in the Star Hotel, St Andrews, Fife, Scotland on the 21st May 1972.

Rab was born in St Andrews in the spring of 1947 and grew up in nearby Cupar, where music grabbed his attention at a young age. His cousin Derek encouraged Rab’s musical interest with records of artistes such as Buddy Holly and the Crickets. His mother, herself a singer encouraged Rab’s musical passion.

In the 60’s Rab discovered ‘folk’ at the St Andrews Folk Club in the Star Hotel and it was there he put down the roots of what was to be his career in the music business. A career that would see him learning and immersing himself in the craft of songwriting, studying the mechanics of songs from the 1960s pop era back to the roots of Americana, through country, soul, rock ‘n’ roll and rhythm and blues.

At St Andrews he frequently performed with friends Davy Craig and Robin McKidd and soon became extremely popular on the folk scene - both for performing his own songs and for his musical genius as an accompanist and arranger. Besides being a prolific solo recording artist, he was an early member of Stealer's Wheel and worked with Gerry Rafferty, Lindisfarne, John Martyn, Barbara Dickson and Archie Fisher.

His first album “Do You See the Lights” was released in 1970 on the Decca label and this was followed by “Rab Noakes” on A& M in 1972.

He then spent some time in Nashville working with Eliot Mazer to produce his 1974 album “Red Pump Special” the third of his many albums. His time in Nashville gave him further insight into American music.

In total Rab has released some 20 albums with a further 10 singles and has featured on a futher 16 albums and compilations.

His vast knowledge of popular music became an invaluable resource, when he joined the BBC in 1988, subsequently becoming senior producer of music programmes with BBC Radio Scotland. On leaving the BBC, Rab and his wife Stephy set up Neon Media Production, a company specialising in Television and Radio production, this was followed by Neon Records, featuring a catalogue of re-issues, rarities, live recordings, tribute albums and always new and original material.

Rab continues to perform, playing solo or in creative combinations, the most recent of which is with
American Brooks Williams, a Georgia born Americana, blues, folk, songwriter-artist currently based in Cambridge, England