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.
[2] As a youth, he was a national-level tennis player, but as racket technology developed, he knew that he was too short (5 ft 8in/1.73 m) to continue competing.
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 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] 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.