Mad times of Bannockburn man

A new book tells the rollercoaster tale of a rave culture pioneer, from Bannockburn, who took the scene to a new level before crashing into drug abuse and addiction.

DJ and music producer Stuart ‘Scooby’ Cochrane ran a string of sucessful nightclubs and was headhunted to manage the famed Tunnel in Glasgow soon after it opened in 1989.

He had transformed ‘Love’ at Glasgow’s Plaza into one of the country’s premier dance venues before being run out of town by gangsters who wanted the business for themselves.

Stuart, a former pupil at Bannockburn Primary and High schools, wrote the book with Daily Record journalist Gary Ralston, who lives in Stirling, after a chance meeting in Cafe Ava in St Ninians.

Following cocaine abuse and hash addiction, Stuart has been clean and clear-headed since 2009 and has turned his life around by managing his mental health with the help of Buddisim and a simpler life in Stirling.

He described the book, which took two-and-a-half years to put together, as a cathartic experience.

Stuart added: “As a Bhuddist I believe that meeting Gary that day was not a coincidence. He’s been a firm friend since. Writing and researching the book over the last few years has been an incredible voyage.”

Stuart is also known for his talks to school pupils in the Stirling area highlighting the dangers of drugs – a message he has been sending out to youngsters for four years.

The book is entitled Scooby – The Glory of the Ride and includes Stuart’s role in establishing Cafe Mambo in Ibiza with friends Javier and Caroline Andanon; taking Rozalla’s Everybody’s Free into the top 10 in the dance charts, and fighting a legal battle to be declared the true mastermind behind Dario G’s worldwide smash ‘Sunchyme.’

Stuart lost everything in the financial collapse of banking giant BCCI in the early 1990s.

In September 1993, he arrived for a round of golf at Gleneagles wearing Hawaiian shorts and baseball boots and carrying only two clubs.

Later that day, after being chased from the course, he was sectioned, the first of 23 psychiatrc admissions totalling 1286 days over 16 years as his world fell apart.

The book is published by Sonrisas Publishing priced £10.99.

It will be launched on Friday August 24 at the Fubar in Stirling, 7.30pm to 10pm.