One of the most fiercely loved singers in the world, Frankie Miller may have lost his voice after a stroke that he suffered more than 30 years ago, but the Scottish warbler’s following hasn’t diminished over the decades. With the likes of Rod Stewart and EAGLES recording his music and THE QUIREBOYS always waxing lyrical about their love for Frankie, one would assume there are volumes written about him, but in fact, there’s never been a book on Miller – until now.
“Long Way Home: The Frankie Miller Story” was penned by Davy Arthur, who used to run a fanzine for the artist and became friends with him, who later curated a tribute concert for him and handled his social media, who co-penned the sleeve notes for Frankie’s Eagle Rock remasters and helped select the bonus tracks for those, who assisted in compiling the "Long Way Home" album in 2006 and directed the artwork for and gave the title to the "Double Take" project ten years later. Who could be better qualified to take on the endeavor? What’s in there, though? Over to the writer.
Long Way Home:
The Frankie Miller Story
“I firmly believe Frankie Miller is up there with the best of the singers from his era in the world,” says Davy Arthur. “His live shows were, for me, particularly incredible. I always felt that he had never received enough credit – or publicity in Scotland – for his talent or his achievements and he seemed to “disappear” from the radar in the UK. One example was in 1982, when there was absolutely no coverage in Britain of his European or American tours. I have the USA itinerary and it included Red Rocks and The Pier in Chicago, where Frank Sinatra appeared on the bill. Surely a newsworthy story for the folks back home? Apparently, not.
“Because I had saved memorabilia, including photos and music magazine articles, from the Seventies onwards, I had enough material to think about a book. I never missed a headline tour since 1968, so it was twenty-five years of live shows under my belt! As important in my opinion are the unpublished photos from 1970’s Isle of Wight, and the three “WDR Rockpalast” shows from 1976, 1979 and 1982 – and from the soundchecks as well. I had written articles for their magazine in Germany and friendships grew from that, too. I also have a hundred images from San Quentin in 1975. That’s how, with my own collection and experiences, there was enough to build a story covering Frankie’s career.
“I met so many people over the years that I was able to either recount the conversations or ask for a paragraph for my book from people I knew, like Simon Kirke and Brian Robertson, who played in Frankie’s band from 1984 until 1993. Great friendships arose from these days! I met many fantastic people with, or because of, Frankie – among them Joe Walsh, Alice Cooper, Brian May, Ian Hunter, Terry Reid, Paul Rodgers, Glenn Hughes, Jeff Beck, Ronnie Wood, NAZARETH, SAHB and THE QUIREBOYS. Nobby Clark, who was original BAY CITY ROLLERS singer, also contributed, as did two of Frankie’s ex-colleagues from the Sixties.
“So here it is, the first book on Frankie Miller.”
