In our first guest of the Great Glasgow Albums series, we sat down with music journalist Billy Sloan to discuss his career and life through five of his favourite Glasgow albums.
Billy has been working in the music industry for decades and interviewed some of the biggest names in the business such as David Bowie, Paul McCartney and Mick Jagger - he has fond memories of going to gigs back in the day at Green’s Playhouse and then The Apollo.
His new autobiography, ‘One Love, One Life: Stories from the Stars’ is set to be released at the end of September which is set to be a cracking read as he reflects on interviewing Grace Jones in the bath, candid conversations with Rod Stewart, football in Brazil with Simple Minds, a tour of the White House with Paolo Nutini and close encounters with U.
Our video with Billy speaking about the legendary Apollo can be watched at the top of this article.
1. New Gold Dream (81–82–83–84)
New Gold Dream (81–82–83–84) is the fifth studio album release from Simple Minds who Billy has had a long friendship with.
2. The Mafia Stole My Guitar
The Mafia Stole My Guitar was the final album Alex Harvey released during his lifetime.
3. Rattlesnakes
Rattlesnakes is the debut album from Lloyd Cole and the Commotions who were formed whilst Lloyd Cole was studying at the University of Glasgow.
4. Taking On the World
Another outstanding debut album which Billy chose was Gun’s 1989 album Taking On the World. Classic Rock included the album on their list of 150 Greatest Debut Albums of All Time.