Noakes was brought up in Cupar. He has performed with Lindisfarne, who recorded his songs "Turn a Deaf Ear" on their first album, Nicely Out of Tune, and "Together Forever" on their second, Fog on the Tyne. Barbara Dickson also recorded "Turn a Deaf Ear" on her album Do Right Woman, on which Noakes also performed. Noakes also sang backing vocals and played guitar on the first solo album by Gerry Rafferty, Can I Have My Money Back, and became an early member of Stealers Wheel, although he left them before they recorded their first album. Like Rafferty, he became an alcoholic but took his last drink in 1982. In May 1972, the Britishmusic magazine, NME, reported that Noakes was to appear at the Great Western Express Lincoln Festival on 26 May that year. Other acts to perform in the 'Giants of Tomorrow' marquee included Budgie, Skin Alley, Tea & Sympathy, John Martyn, Warhorse and Gnidrolog. Noakes best-known recording, "Branch", was released as a singlein the summer of 1974 from his album Red Pump Special, and attracted considerable airplay on BBC Radio 1, but without making the UK Singles Chart. The albums Restless, Rab Noakes and Under the Rain followed, but it was 1994 until Standing Up appeared. Noakes subsequently toured with the Varaflames, containing Pick Withers, Rod Clements, and the harmonicistFraser Speirs. Noakes became the senior producer for music programmes on BBC Radio Scotland.. He left to create the production company, Neon. In November 2007, his album Unlimited Mileage, again with the Varaflames, was released. In 2012 CDs of Standing Up Again made in 2009 and Just in case were made available those albums only having been available to Download up until then. In 2015 he released the album "I'm Walking Here". It was his 19th solo album and many of the songs tell the story of his working life as a songwriter and performer. It is a double album containing 26 songs. The first set consists of new compositions that show his gift for melody and love of Americana, and include "Out of Your Sight", influenced by Buddy Holly, a tribute to a 1920s minstrel singer and a poignant lament for Rafferty. The second album is dominated by "interpretations" of songs from early Cliff Richard to Garbage and Beck, along with the skiffle standard Freight Train, on which he's joined by Jimmy MacGregor and a finely sung treatment of the traditional The Two Sisters.
