Rab has been at the cutting edge of contemporary songwriting for over 30 years. From his first album in 1970 to his most recent releases, he has firmly established himself at the forefront of Scottish pop music as both a prolific and gifted writer of hook-laden songs and an original and affectionate interpreter of the American popular music back-catalogue. With material ranging from blues to country, from early Motown to Beck, from Sam Cooke to Radiohead, and from Felice Bryant to the inimitable Rab himself, it is easy to see why his repertoire has been described as "a roots festival in itself" (The Herald).
With a career spanning over fifteen albums and major collaborations with Lindisfarne, Gerry Rafferty, Stealers Wheel and early Dylan producer Bob Johnston, Rab displays "the expertise of someone who's done it all" (Living Tradition). In the 1990's Rab formed the Varaflames, whose members have included such luminaries as Rod Clements (Lindisfarne), guitar wizard Jerry Donahue, Ewen Vernal (Deacon Blue), Pick Withers (Dire Straits) and harmonica ace, Fraser Speirs, with whom Rab still occasionally performs.
After working for some years as Head of Entertainment at BBC Radio Scotland, he left to form his own successful media production company, Neon, with his wife Stephanie Pordage. Rab's production skills have been much in demand and his portfolio includes albums by John Watt, macAlias, Karen Dunbar and the award-winning Karine Polwart, whose Neon Records-released CD 'Faultlines' won the Best Album Category at the BBC Folk Awards in 2005.
Rab tries to get on the road as a performer at least once a year, either with harmonica player Fraser Speirs, or solo. They have developed a unique act which covers a broad range of popular styles. As well as a helping of original Noakes material, they play a rich mixture of Blues and Country and cover often hard to access material from the like of Beck and Radiohead |
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