The Craig Mackay Playlist – Slydogg Memories

Music often connects us with certain people, memories, experiences and moments in our lives. This particular playlist is our musical memory of Craig, aka Sly, Slydogg, Slick, names that also are synonymous in some ways to his various musical tastes and identities.

When new came through of Craig’s passing, one idea I had to keep his memory alive was to create a collaborative playlist, with tracks suggested by his friends and family, that remind us of his personality and the memories we made together. I also invited people to give brief commentary on why that track connected them to him. These are included as quotes throughout.

Craig was big into Oasis in his teens, however I often used to wind him up, that he only later took serious interest in music to impress Louise after he moved up to Aberdeen! To my knowledge he never went to a single gig, certainly during term time, in his 4 years in Stirling, where his taste was largely Gangsta rap, and his dress sense was tracky bottoms and sweatshirts. During his time in Aberdeen he discovered / re-discovered indie music and even went as far as to get a hair cut and dress sense reflective of that. Using at times I believe, hair straighteners and having a wardrobe kitted out with Liam Gallagher’s ‘Pretty Green’ brand. Whenever I spoke to him during his time in Aberdeen, he was always going to gigs, indeed the odd occasion that we met up during this period was often because he was down attending gigs in Glasgow.

This is a commentary on some of the tracks on the playlist and some of the memories and reasons as to why they connect us with him. The playlist can be found here or by searching for Slydogg Memories on Spotify.

Smells Like Teen Spirit – Nirvana

Pauline, Pam and Craig would play Nirvana, Smells Like Teen Spirit. Usually after a few drinks they would turn it up loud and start throwing the cushions off the couch, jump on the couch and go crazy. The last time they did this was at my 60th a few years ago, when we went to Edinburgh for the weekend. Fond memories of fun times.

Margaret (Craig’s Mum)

Cigarettes & Alcohol

Live Forever

Champagne Supernova

Half the World Away

Roll with It

Don’t Look Back in Anger

Go Let It Out – Oasis

“I stuck a few Oasis tunes on there as we were in 2nd year at school when ‘What’s the Story Morning Glory’ came out, Sly idolised Liam and Noel back then and had some dubious haircuts as a result, then 4 or 5 years later he would always bang them on in the common room”

Gordon

Craig or Sly as he was more commonly known to his friends in this period, loved Oasis. He loved the style, the swagger and the songwriting of the Gallagher’s and identified strongly with them. Cigarettes and Alcohol in particular reminds me of him, because during his years in Stirling those two things were very much things he enjoyed. He loved a few drinks, be it 50p vodka’s in the Union, JD & Cokes, sometimes going FTC (F*** the Coke!) to drink it straight and of course a beer as well. He also loved a social smoke. Later on he and I grabbed the microphone at my wedding from the wedding band to belt out a few lines of Don’t Look Back in Anger and Oasis were also heavily represented in the playlist at his own wedding, notably in the first dance and of course poignantly, at his funeral, with somber piano editions of many of their best songs played before the service.

Lady Hear Me Tonight – Modjo

This was the Number 1 in the UK charts around the time we all started and met in Stirling in September 2000. It reminds me of those first few slightly awkward but enjoyable trips out to the Glow nightclub in the student union, or the Enigma night club in Stirling town centre. I seem to remember someone bought the CD single (remember them!) in the Andrew Stewart Halls. Most of all it reminds me of the start of the lifelong connections and friendships that have endured to this day, from those early, free spirited and care free days.

I Think We’re Alone Now – Tiffany

Did they play any other song in Glow (the nightclub in the student union)! It always seemed to be on whenever you first went down the stairs and onto the dancefloor, dressed of course in your finest shirt, trousers and shoes as was deemed the appropriate dress sense at the time. The plastic glasses, the sticky dance floor, 50p vodkas, ‘Diesels’ and Tiffany, all Glow staples. It reminds me of Sly and I’s last ditch attempts to put it in the mixer (the middle of the dancefloor) towards the end of the night, because of course awkwardly dancing whilst steaming, with the intention of ‘getting off’ with whichever girl whose heart would have melted by your very glance was always a good idea!

Silence – Delerium

I only have one song, it’s Silence by Delerium, it was huge when we were in 1st year when we lived together in Geddes Court, that year was a struggle in those halls and I’m not sure I would have made it through without him. I remember it was on Beat 106 radio station and we opened up my bedroom window, turned up the ghetto blaster (an actual ghetto blaster!) and sang our hearts out the window! Neither of us could even come close to achieving the pitch of that song, but we were crying with laughter and others around the horse shoe shaped halls also joined in. Such care free days. I hated that place, but what I would do to have one more day back there with him

Eilidh

Gin N Juice – Snoop Dog

Regulate – Warren G

Who am I (What’s my Name? – Snoop Dog

The Next Episode – Dr Dre

When “Next Episode” from Dr Dre came on, he used to put both hands up and shout “Heath Hall” instead of “Inglewood”

Ally Brown

“Next Episode” by Dr Dre brings back memories of hanging out in ASH halls in 1st year, the flat’s with the girls in Ally Pally and Bridge of Allan, right through to the various WAM trips.

Sarah

If Craig were to have had an alternate career as a gangsta rapper, he would have been called $!ydogg. A tracksuit wearing, Rangers supporting, white as pure driven snow gangsta. One of the songs I most associate about our first year living in the house in Park Road in Menstrie, is Regulate by Warren G, which he was capable of doing a fair rendition of, he also used his skillful word play to personalise the lyrics to his own life, such as the example in the quote above from Ally where by he subbed in his home neighbourhood of ‘Heath Hall’ in Dumfries, in place of the notorious Inglewood, in California. Sarah recalls that in one of the glamping trips they had to a Wig Wam site, that he turned up with his clothes in a washing basket rather than a hold all, he had a pair of male hair straighteners to achieve one of his infamous haircuts. Similarly I remember him turning up to move into the house in Menstrie in 2nd year with his clothes loosely piled in the boot of his car rather than having a suitcase! He used to love blasting these tracks whilst driving in his Renault Clio.

Tuesday’s Gone – Lynryd Skynyrd

This is song is played almost in it’s entirety at the start of what is possibly the greatest film of all time, Happy Gilmore. We had this on video in our 2nd year house and watched it, and quoted from it relentlessly. Using phrases like ‘You can’t learn that on the hockey rink’ and ‘this is how we do it in the pros’ whenever an appropriate context arose in which to do so.

Crash and Burn – Automatic Black

Party Up – DMX

These are both tracks that were on the soundtrack of the XBox Game Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2003. When we moved into the 2nd flat in Menstrie for 3rd year, next door to the house we were in the previous year, Davie had replaced Mark in the line up and brought with him his Xbox. Which he had hooked up to a small TV in his bedroom, we used to love playing ‘Tiger’ as we knew it, sometimes sneaking into Davie’s room to play it when he wasn’t in, which led to him on occasion hiding the controllers so that we couldn’t do so! I’m not sure why we didn’t just connect it to the big TV in the living room. This was the same flat that had the infamous ‘Coco Pops Corner’ a pile of spilt coco pops in the kitchen that was never cleaned up and also the infamous leak that flooded some of the bedrooms with sewage due possibly, to someone dislodging a pipe by having amorous relations in the plunge bath in the bathroom. I would never stand any chance at competing with Sly at real golf, he was a very good golfer, but our games on the Xbox were always competitive and it was something all of the boys enjoyed playing.

Talkin’ About a Revolution – Tracy Chapman

This song reminds me of a hilarious drive up Dumyat Hill in Sly’s blue/purple, beat up old Escort (which he referred to as a shed on wheels!) The motor had no radio, no CD player, instead an ingenious addition of a CD Player/ Ghetto Blaster, strapped into the front passenger seat. I will never forget that car journey, at the bottom of the hill, Sly said: ” Right everybody, lean forward!” We did as we were told, laughing and giggling, carefree and so young. I vividly remember, Sly pointed his finger (one of his moves on the dancefloor) and put his foot to the floor, booted it up the hill with us all still leaning forward like we were the only reason that the car made it up the hill, I can still hear us all buckled with laughter!

Sarah

Miss Jackson – Outkast

This song makes me think of great times with Sly and the girls in the “Bat Cave” Living Room in our Bridge of Allan flat. That flat played host to many riotous parties and he was always there, always there during the day, always playing Monkey Target on Kate’s GameCube, always listening to our man troubles, always wanting the gossip and making us laugh with his famous “Dad Jokes”. Everytime I hear this song, it reminds me of blasting it out my three disc changer, thinking we were gangsters, Sly had the “I am for Reallll” line down to a T

Sarah

Theme from Black Beauty – Galloping Home

Music for Chameleons – Gary Numan

As far as Sly and I were concerned, the greatest TV show ever made was “I’m Alan Partridge”. These two tracks feature prominently in series 1 and 2. It was our shared love of the series, was one of the reasons we became such close friends, as daft as that may sound. We never missed an opportunity to quote from it in context. Buying a new house? ‘It was our 5 bedroom bastard house’. Seeing a hot girl on a night out? ‘She’s nicer than my wife’. I can hear his laugh in my head whenever he had a context appropriate opportunity to quote from the series. A year or two ago a mini metro was parked outside his house in Stonehaven and he sent me a WhatsApp with a picture of it with a caption saying “I’m not driving a mini metro, I’m not driving a mini metro!”

The Best – Tina Turner

A Rangers anthem, Sly had Rangers jammies, Rangers curtains, Rangers bedsheets and Rangers wallpaper in his bedroom growing up. He was a passionate fan, which often led to clashes between us, as I am similarly passionate Hearts fan. Many of his friends in Aberdeen seemed to be Gers fans as well and despite living in the North East, he somehow married into a family with a Rangers supporting father in law and brother in law! Any playlist to remind us of him has to include a Rangers song.

Sexy Eyes – Whigfield

This is a simple one, he used to love changing songs to fit his name, Sexy Eyes therefore became “Sexy Sly”, YMCA became Sly-M-C-A etc.

Paul Weller – Thinking of You

Have You Ever Seen the Rain – Creedence Clearwater Revival

Paul Weller ‘Thinking of You” was blasting in Craig’s Car for as long as I can remember and I can’t listen to it without hearing his voice, after a call during lockdown where Craig gave me a pep talk, he sent me ‘Have You Ever Seen the Rain” and the impression I got was that it was to cheer me up, one of his quirks!

Iain

Sunshine – Seargent

The last time I saw Craig was in a pub in Elgin, he described as the ‘perfect boozer’ and blasted Sunshine by Seargent, playing pool and in his element with his mates is how I will remember him.

Iain

I hope some of these stories and memories and the songs connected to them have brought a smile to the face of anyone who knew him who may be reading this. As many reading this are all too aware, Craig tragically took his own life on October 4th this year. He was a huge presence in the lives of anyone who knew him and will be sorely missed. His family have invited donations to Scottish Action for Mental Health (SAMH) in his memory, the link should you wish to make a donation in his memory can be found here SAMH.

If anyone wants to add any additional tracks to the playlist with reasons as to why they connect them to Craig, please get in touch and I will happily update both this blog and the playlist on Spotify.