‘Rod Stewart tracked me down after hearing my song on Celtic TV – and now I’m touring with him’, says Scots songwriter who worked with Busted and Westlife
The legendary singer turned detective to find John McLaughlin when he heard his Hoops tune
SIR Rod Stewart went from singer to sleuth to track down the Scot who wrote a song he liked — then invited him on his latest tour.
The rocker, 74, became hooked on a melody he heard being played as background music on Celtic TV while writing his latest chart-topping album at his LA mansion.
It set the legendary performer off on a detective trail as he chased down leads across the globe before he finally found Glasgow-born record producer and songwriter John McLaughlin.
Sir Rod then wrote a song called Julia based on John’s Celtic ditty before inviting him to open his summer concerts across the UK.
John jokes: “I told Rod there was just one slight problem with that — I didn’t have a band.
“I had only played about three gigs in the last 30 years so I was a tad rusty to say the least.
“But Rod was determined I should open his shows because he was convinced his fans would like my music.”
John has worked almost exclusively behind the scenes for the last three decades after launching the boyband 911 with writing partner Gordy Goudie in 1992.
Since then he’s written hits for Westlife — including their 2001 No1 Queen Of My Heart — before going on to create chart-toppers Busted and reforming 70s pin-ups The Bay City Rollers in 2015.
But bizarrely the 54-year-old managed to catch the ear of his idol Sir Rod without even trying.
John, who lives in Glasgow with wife Sharon and their two kids Cara, 15, and Cody, 13, explains: “Throughout the years I’ve made songs for Celtic.
“But about 18 months ago my friend Tam McKinley, who is head of production at Celtic TV, called me up saying ‘I need a bit of rock music — have you got anything?’
“He wanted a bit of background music for a segment on player training. That’s all it was for.
“I told him I was working on a song and that he could use it for a day, to help him out of a hole.
“But the gods of rock ‘n’ roll must have aligned for me, because 5,000 miles away in Los Angeles Rod was writing his album while watching Celtic TV when he hears my melody.”
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However, that was only the beginning of a tough case to crack for the rocker.
John continues: “Rod contacts Celtic and asks them about this bit of music and he’s given a name of a song they think it might be, but it turns out a band in Australia had a hit with the same title.
“Rod contacts this Australian band who come back and say ‘nothing to do with us Mr Stewart,’ so he goes back to Celtic again and explains that was a dead end.
“Celtic then figure out it might have been Tam that’s added that bit of music and they track him down and he says, ‘Yeah, that was from John McLaughlin’.”
But when the Maggie May singer got in touch, John thought it was a wind-up.
He says: “I ended up getting this email out of nowhere and, of course, I think someone’s at it — I mean why would Rod Stewart be emailing me?
“But he’d started by saying, ‘For f*** sake — I’ve been round the world trying to find out where this piece of music comes from, and I believe it comes from you?’.
“There was something about his email that told me it was genuine, so I confirmed it was indeed mine.
“Rod then replies, ‘Hallelujah — I hope you don’t mind but I’ve written words to your tune and I would like to include it on my album’.
“He’d written about his first love when he was very young and it was just incredible.
“I don’t think he ever gets the credit for what an amazing lyricist he is but all you have to do is check out the amount of amazing songs he’s done like Maggie May, Mandolin Wind, Gasoline Alley, The Killing Of Georgie.
“But now there’s a song called Julia on his latest album Blood Red Roses, written by Rod Stewart, Dave Thomas and yours truly.
“It went to No1 in the UK and was top ten in America. It’s been a hit all around the world. It’s hard to take in.”
John has now become part of Sir Rod’s inner circle, with the singer meeting John’s missus Sharon and them being introduced to his wife Penny Lancaster and their sons, Aiden, eight, and 13-year-old Alastair.
He says: “Rod and his family along with his close-knit pals have made us feel part of the gang.”
But the multi-millionaire star hit the Scot with a double whammy when he asked him to join his 11-date UK tour, which kicks off later this month.
John says: “At first I was thinking ‘Are you a roadie down or something?’
“To be honest it was during a night out with Rod — the type you wake up the next morning wearing just one shoe - so I didn’t think he’d mention it again.
“Then a few weeks later he was like ‘So have you got your band together yet?’. And I was like ‘You were serious about that?’”
Now the record producer has formed the seven-piece group Johnny Mac And The Faithful, which is full of seasoned musicians.
He says: “We’re a mix of The Pogues, Bruce Springsteen and The Waterboys.
“But Rod has really stuck his neck out and taken a chance on me. It has actually cost him money to have me on tour as record companies would have paid a fortune to have their acts on the bill with him.
“So I really appreciate the opportunity he’s given me — although at 54 I may be a bit old to be competing with Lewis Capaldi for the best breakthrough act at the Brit Awards next year.”
However, the Celtic diehards have one date on the calendar that they simply can’t wait for.
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John says: “We’ll be playing Cork on May 25 which is the anniversary of Celtic winning the European Cup and Scottish Cup final day.
“Rod and I have been invited to watch the game at the Cork Celtic Supporters Club but we fear we may not make it out in time for the gig.”
He adds: “It was our passion for Celtic and music that made us click — but none of it would have happened unless Rod just so happened to click onto Celtic TV that fateful day.”
Rod Stewart, supported by Johnny Mac And The Faithful, play Aberdeen’s AECC on June 12. For tickets visit ticketmaster.co.uk
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