“Music is constructed into Rebus. Early on he listens to jazz; then I assumed, ‘Why not give him my report assortment?’” Ian Rankin on the prog soundtrack to his fictional cop’s life

In 2011 – lengthy earlier than the newest incarnation of Inspector Rebus hit TV screens – creator Ian Rankin went by way of his report assortment with Prog, mentioning a number of the style giants who’d straight influenced his writing.

Crime writers are annoyed rock stars so we have a tendency to jot down about music so much. I’m drawn to the darkish, the theatrical, the proggy, and Scottish music.

Writing On The Wall had been one of many first Scots bands I favored – plenty of 70s Hammond – then Alex Harvey and now Mogwai, Errors, Remember Remember and Boards Of Canada. This is the music I take heed to as I write – music for considering, to close out the world.

I grew up in just a little city in Fife with no report store. We’d go to Bruce’s in Kirkcaldy – a terrific, grungey store. I despatched my mum in as soon as to purchase me a Jimi Hendrix album once I was about 11 and she or he felt like she needed to have a shower after; it was filled with long-hairs smelling of patchouli.

Sounds can be my music paper of alternative since you obtained a free poster. I might sit very proudly in my bed room with posters of bands I’d but to listen to like Deep Purple, Wishbone Ash and Alice Cooper. Then my mate Robert Findlay had entry to essentially transgressive stuff like early Zappa – Absolutely Free is my favorite Zappa album to at the present time – additionally Zeppelin and Aqualung.

There had been no gigs in my city, and once I did begin going it was a giant deal. I’d have to remain over with buddies in one other city and we might get the 10pm prepare again from Edinburgh, so we’d all the time miss the encore.

My mother and father rarely listened to music, so l had free vary. I had just a little Sanyo cassette deck and Id make them take heed to Stranded, Goats Head Soup, Close To The Edge and Billion Dollar Babies whereas we performed Scrabble. Four tapes. Poor buggers.

One of my first singles was Silver Machine. I nonetheless observe Hawkwind – I’ve simply seen Hawklords on this tour – however I solely noticed Hawkwind as soon as, on the Usher Hall in Edinburgh. It wasn’t nice. There was Brock, Calvert and somebody on keyboards, plenty of technical issues; a really unusual affair. It was a disgrace. I’d love any individual to seek out footage of them of their heyday and put out a correct live performance movie on DVD. Space Ritual is the good album; I should have it in a minimum of 4 totally different codecs.

I noticed Alex Harvey doing Next on Old Grey Whistle Test with a string trio taking part in in rubber masks. It was fairly intimidating and heavy. ‘I swear on the moist head of my first case of gonorrhea’ – Pardon? I had to purchase it. Harvey tapped into this time of mid-70s gangs, skinheads, spray paint. He was an extension of the stuff we’d obtained into with A Clockwork Orange.

You seemed exhausting if you happen to had been into Alex Harvey. I had the black and white stripy teeshirt and Doc Martens, hanging round avenue corners listening to him. This wasn’t the Ian that sat at dwelling writing poetry and track lyrics. That was simply a part of my persona – I wasn’t gonna get crushed up or bullied cos I had this Alex Harvey factor happening.

I got here to Edinburgh Uni for an open day and went dwelling clutching provider baggage of Roger Dean books, at ridiculous expense. I did find yourself right here at Uni, and there have been plenty of gigs, plenty of report outlets and a pupil grant to spend on records!

My first yr I had a summer season job in a rooster manufacturing facility and that gave me sufficient cash to purchase a hi-fi. This meant you needed properly produced prog albums to indicate off your stereo – Dark Side Of The Moon and Wish You Were Here.

Then I graduated, moved to London and obtained a job on Hi-Fi Review. It folded not lengthy after I left … I’m undecided if the 2 are linked. We championed vinyl, however that was an issue as advertisers had been specializing in CD gamers. Whenever we did an audio check, vinyl received.

We obtained lots of promoting from Linn – who made my turntable – and Naim. That’s the place I obtained my hi-fi separates from, between 1986 and 1990, they usually all nonetheless work fantastically.

Then I misplaced contact with all the pieces for six years. The spouse stated if l needed to be a full-time author we needed to transfer to rural France. There had been no gigs, report outlets, no music press and I couldn’t converse French. I listened to all my outdated albums so much. And wrote!

I just like the inventive cross-fertilisation of being in a small place – like me writing Mogwai’s newest press launch or going within the studio with St Jude’s Infirmary.

Music is constructed into my character Rebus. Early on he listens to classical music and jazz. I did not – I assumed that’s what loner existential cops would take heed to. Then I assumed, ‘Why not make it straightforward on myself: give him my assortment?’ A blue-collar man from my village however a bit older, so he hasn’t purchased an album since 1975.

“But his sidekick Siobhan additionally likes music, so she introduces him to stuff like Mogwai that he doesn’t get. In one e book there’s a pleasant wee joke the place she says, ‘Did you want that Mogwai album I gave you?’ And he says, ‘Yeah – actually good lyrics.’ There are not any lyrics, so he’s not listened to it.

Throbbing Gristle, Swans and Coil are all in my assortment too, and songs have an effect on my writing – if I need to write a automotive chase I’ll placed on Jesus And Mary Chain. But I can’t put coil in Rebus.

In one e book, Rebus is sitting up late at night time listening to a Jackie Leven album. Jackie’s a confrontational rockist turned people troubadour. He was born across the identical time as myself and can also be from Fife like different artistic varieties equivalent to Iain Banks, John Burnside, Val McDermid, David Mach and Jack Vettriano… it’s unusual. Maybe there’s some merciless genetic experiment in progress on this tiny bizarre little bit of Scotland. 

Anyway, Jackie was on a aircraft studying that e book and he went, ‘Bloody hell – there’s my identify!’ So he obtained in contact through my writer. We collaborated for Celtic Connections in Glasgow in 2005 on a 40-minute quick story with songs based mostly on his lyrics of masculinity, Scottishness, all that stuff. It went down a storm and have become Jackie Leven Said. For some time I might go into HMV and really see it within the chart racks. I don’t assume that’ll by no means occur once more!”

Plenty of bands I found again then I do nonetheless take heed to, like Hawkwind and Caravan. I went by way of an ELP/Genesis/Yes section, however I additionally listened to Quo and Eddie And The Hot Rods. In the top I got here again to those bands – properly, not Genesis.