Behind The Counter with Ian Rankin

Rough Trade Shops presents Behind the Counter with Ian Rankin, the second instalment in a compilation series inviting artists to curate mixes of the music that has most influenced them, sourced from records sold on the Rough Trade shop floor.

This compilation mix from Scottish writer and music obsessive Ian Rankin follows the first Behind The Counter mix from much-loved British composer Max Richter, released in 2017.

As a longtime vinyl enthusiast who has always dreamed of working in record shops, Rankin’s curation is inspired by some of the first singles he ever bought and songs which have inspired titles of his best-selling novels – Jackie Leven’s ‘Another Man’s Rain’ (which became ‘Another Man’s Grave’) and The Cure’s ‘The Hanging Garden’.

“I still haunt record shops and play vinyl and I still compose playlists, just in case the chance of working behind the counter arrives." Rankin says. “Here’s some of what you’d be hearing if you pushed open the door and walked into my emporium, tunes I never tire of listening to.”

Split across two LPs, the vinyl edition features a 23-track compilation complete with sleevenotes. 

A1) John Barry - Theme from The Persuaders
A2) Passions -I’m in Love With a German Film Star
A3) Brian Eno - Fat Lady of Limbourg
A4) Limananas - El Beach
A5) Carmel - Bad Day
A6) Magazine - The Light Pours Out of Me
B1) Joy Division - Atmosphere
B2) King Creosote - Ankle Shackles (Edit)
B3) Saints - No Time
B4) Swansway - Soul Train
B5) The Cure - The Hanging Garden
B6) Julie Fowlis – Blackbird

C1) Throbbing Gristle - United
C2) Isobel Campbell - Willow’s Song
C3) Kath Williams - Electric
C4) Roy Budd - Get Carter (Main Theme)
C5) Jackie Leven - Another Man’s Rain
D1) Scritti Politti - The Sweetest Girl
D2) Simple Minds - I Travel
D3) Aidan Moffat & Bill Wells - The Copper Top
D4) Anchoress, featuring James Dean Bradfield - The Exchange
D5) Python Lee Jackson featuring Rod Stewart - In A Broken Dream
D6) Isaac Hayes - Theme from Shaft