By JONATHAN GEDDES

If you had told a young Rab Noakes that he would be spending 50 years of his life making music, he’d probably have burst out laughing.

“I left school in 1963 and dabbled in what was supposedly a career in the civil service,” recalls the singer.

“Pop music was around but you didn’t have the role models that you have now and there wasn’t any career paths in it, so making music developed organically until I was thinking ‘oh, I’m quite good at this and people seem to like it’.

“Then people started paying for your shows and I’m of that generation where you had to wait for people to come along and say ‘I think you’re ready for a record’. It’s only when that started to happen, in the 70s, that I thought ‘hmmm, maybe I should take this a bit more seriously’.”

Now the Fife born songwriter is preparing to mark two anniversaries with a show at the Old Fruitmarket for Celtic Connections tomorrow night, celebrating both his 70th birthday and five decades of playing gigs.

Those 50 years have seen Rab acknowledged as a folk legend, from early days playing alongside the likes of Barbara Dickson and Gerry Rafferty (he was part of an early Stealers Wheel line-up) through to a string of solo albums that continue to this day, with I’m Walkin Here released in 2015.

His most recent release is an EP, The Treatment Tapes, centred around being diagnosed with tonsillar cancer and undergoing radiotherapy and chemotherapy two years ago. Instead of being a maudlin collection of songs, the tunes are packed with defiance and a sense of gallows humour.

“I would say it was a natural reaction,” says Rab.

“The diagnosis came in January, the treatment started in March and was finished by May, and it’s pretty brutal. As soon as I was able I was back in my music room and singing and playing the guitar – the first thing was to make sure I still had a singing voice, because it was close to the tonsil.

“Once I started singing a couple of song ideas, then it soon became apparent that these songs were directly related to what this recent experience had been. I was trying to be careful not to get into self pity, because I fully understand that if someone comes to you and says ‘oh, I’ve written half a dozen songs about cancer treatment, do you want to hear them?’ then people will go ‘oh, maybe another time’. There was a conscious attempt to avoid dragging anything into despair, I wanted a bit of wit and an edge in there.”

Rab’s voice has mostly recovered from the treatment, save for a couple of notes that he needs to be more conscious about. Already he is looking towards even more new material, some of which might be performed on Thursday.

“You don’t want to sit still, and if you do that then what are you going do, just sit around and congratulate yourself,” he laughs.

“My generation now has examples of older artists who keep on plying their craft, some as performers, some as songwriters and it’s been interesting to be part of that.”

Rab has also seen the rise of Celtic Connections, having been involved in the festival right from the very start. When he was working at BBC Radio Scotland as head of entertainment, a role he held in the 1990s, he heard of a new Scottish music festival on the way…

“Campbell McKenzie came to see us and said he’d been asked to help put something on in the Concert Hall in January because it’s a quiet time, and bounced the idea off us of a programme of Celtic music,” adds Rab.

“From these speculative beginnings it has just grown. It’s a terrific thing – everyone you talk to has heard of it so it has been great for the city and great for the music scene.”

Given that he has two milestones being marked, it’s fair to ask if there’s anything he would have done differently over the years.

“I don’t indulge in regrets,” he says.

“If your actions were a bit detrimental then you have to do what you can to make it right. If you meet someone with that ‘it could have been me’ attitude then I can’t get away from them fast enough.

“Life is a rich place to be, and it’s rich because it has those ups and downs, and learning curves. It’s always a voyage of discovery.”

Rab Noakes, Old Fruitmarket, tomorrow, £16, 8pm