FROM THE LAND OF CASTLEMILK TO HONEY

If proof were need that there is a god of rock and roll, look no further than the fairytale story of Glaswegian band Cosmic Rough Riders.

In this cynical age of premeditated teeny pop stardom, it's great to come across a band leader who not only believes in the mystical power of music, but who can back it up with songs that elevate him to the pantheon of greats.

That man is Daniel Wylie and this is his story.

Based in the run-down Glasgow council estate, Castlemilk, Wylie spent several years trying to get bands off the ground. Getting nowhere, he reconsidered his future. Working initially as a solo artist, he decided to pursue the very un-rock and roll route of community arts grants. A local community studio, C Sharp, became his new base and with the participation of resident engineer, Stephen Fleming, things started to come together.

A list of Wylie's influences only tells part of the story. The Beatles, Eagles, Steely Dan and 60s Californian West Coast rock are all cited as heroes and the music of the Cosmic Rough Riders is a fair approximation of these bands. Unlike other Britpoppers who have the same bands in their record collections, Wylie's songs are more than able to hold their own when played alongside these classics.

If there's a better songwriter in Britain at the moment, I've yet to hear him.

Funding for the band - by now a fully fledged five piece - was swift to follow the demos, with the local arts board bowled over by what they heard. Two albums Deliverance (1999) and Panorama (2000) followed, each one a gem packed with shimmering guitars and soaring harmonies. It was just a matter of time before the word got out.

This is where former Creation boss Alan McGee enters the story. The designer of the band's album sleeves, David Wells, was once in a band with McGee and sent the mogul - in the process of setting up his Poptones label - a copy of Panorama, which was duly ignored. A second recommendation came from another old friend who just happened to be the wife of the band's manager. An audition was arranged in Glasgow's Nice 'n' Sleazy club.

At this point the band were receiving interest from several major labels, but the canny Wylie was wary of being caught in the corporate trap. His music means too much to him to risk interference from a clueless A&R lackey.

Needless to say, the audition went down a storm, with McGee jumping around, swearing and offering the Cosmics a deal on the spot. "It was completely bizarre," says Wylie. "It was a closed audition with just five in the audience. Afterwards, I spent hours talking to McGee about music."

And that was the deciding factor. McGee, like Wylie, is a complete music freak and the pair hit it off immediately. The Poptones boss is a great believer in fate and both he and the band believe that the deal was destined to happen.

"There's a great vibe at Poptones," says Wylie. "They're going against current trends and Alan McGee is once again showing the world that he knows what he's doing. He's a music lover and he's out to prove a point to the big boys. Everyone at the label shares his enthusiasm. They're married to music."

The first fruits of the deal is the album Enjoy the Melodic Sunshine, a distillation of re-recorded and remixed tracks from the first two albums and some new material. As expected, it's a classic. Pure pop gems such as Radio 1 single of the week Melanie and country tinged numbers such as Glastonbury Revisited. Lyrically, such gems such as "Walking home one day, I pulled out a gun and blew you away . . . in my mind" sum up the often dark nature of Wylie's songwriting. But as a 40 minute masterpiece it's as compelling as anything issued by REM in their heyday.

Talking to Wylie is a joy. There's no rockstar pretensions, just an unshakeable belief in his band. He knows that they are the best there is at the moment, yet he's also bemused by all the attention. When you've got the likes of Paul Weller on the phone asking for tips, you know that something's happening.

Outspoken but fair, Wylie has no time for the miserablist tendency in rock which has emerged riding on Radiohead's coat tails. Wylie would rather listen to the Eagles. "Can you explain to me why it's OK to like Gram Parsons but uncool to listen to the Eagles?" he asks. "Their greatest hits is one of the best albums ever."

In an ideal world, Wylie would like to issue two half hour-long albums a year, like his heroes the Byrds. "I take my songwriting very seriously and if you're competing, you have to do so at the highest level and that means competing with the past. The 60s were the golden age for songwriting and so many of those albums stand up today."

As for the future, Cosmic Rough Riders are not about to turn their backs on Cast-lemilk. Although tours of America and Japan are in the diary, they intend to carry on financially supporting the community studio where it all began.

"There are some brilliant musicians in Castlemilk and the studio is their only outlet. Without it there would be nothing. Our recording industry is one of our biggest exports, yet no-one is willing to back it up. You still get laughed at if you tell your careers officer you want to be a rock star. It's crazy."

The best band in Britain? No doubt about it.
Andrew Cowen, Birmingham Post Jan 24 2001