Ryan Hassan, who grew up in Paisley, Scotland, is very hard to get away from the drums. Ryan has been an enthusiastic drummer since his earliest childhood and even performed on stage with Rod Stewart in 2019. Now the 37-year-old has opened a studio to share his passion for drumming with other people.
Klein-Ryan first picked up the sticks that now mean the world to him at the tender age of eleven. When he met drum teacher Collin McGibbon, who worked as a drummer for Scottish singer Susan Boyle, it was clear to the boy that this would later become his profession.
McGibbon took the boy on and turned him into a brilliant drummer. “I took lessons from Collin until I left school at the age of 17,” Hassan recalls. “I still get advice from him from time to time”.
Today, a good 20 years later, Hassan passes on his tips himself. In Johnstone, a small town about 15 kilometers west of Glasgow, he has now set up a studio where he wants to give lessons to the new generation of drummers.
“Playing drums has been my passion for decades now and has allowed me to travel the world, make incredible memories and build a successful career,” he says in an interview with Scottish newspaper The National.
In May 2017, he met superstar Rod Stewart as part of Celebrate 67 - the celebration of the 50th anniversary of Celtic's European Cup win in 1967. Both performed at this event at the SSE Hydro in Glasgow. “I met Rod Stewart backstage,” Ryan recalls. “He said he liked our band and the music we were playing. Then he mentioned his tour and said it would be nice if I could be there. At first I only thought about a concert in Glasgow or something. And I was completely perplexed when it turned out to be a full summer tour”.
Hassan still remembers his first performance with Sir Rod in 2019 like it was yesterday. During the afternoon soundcheck, Ryan was warned by other band members that Rod likes to play a few tricks on his band from time to time. “Everything looked normal at first, but when the show started, I saw that Rod had scribbled some obscene things on my drums with a permanent marker,” laughs the 37-year-old. “And it wouldn't wash off, so I had these 'works of art' on my drums for the whole tour.”
The chemistry between the drummer and the superstar was right, partly because they both share a love of Celtic FC. “Celtic played Hearts in the cup final and had the chance to win a third consecutive treble. Rod made sure nobody missed that game. At the soundcheck in Cork, I thought I'd never make it to a pub in time to watch the game. But then Rod invited us all to his hotel room and we watched the final together,” Ryan recalls. ”When Hearts scored, Rod hid behind the sofa, but when Celtic scored, he celebrated like mad.
Today, the drummer looks back on that summer with pride and gratitude. “The tour was incredible, especially the audience in Ireland was sensational. Let's be honest, there aren't many artists in this world who manage to fill an entire stadium. Rod is one of them”.
Hassan wants to use his experiences from the 2019 summer tour to make an even bigger name for himself in the future. “The tour with Sir Rod solidified my credentials,” says Ryan. “I want to use the contacts I've made and play in London and Los Angeles in the future.”
With the opening of his drum school, Ryan has now taken another step in his career and can certainly tell his students one or two more anecdotes from the 2019 tour summer, which was the greatest experience of his career to date.
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