McCafferty exclusively told Classic Rock last week that he'd retired from the veteran Scottish rock outfit after his lung disease left him unable to deliver a full-length live set.

His decision came after Naz were forced to cancel a Canadian tour after he collapsed on stage in July, then collapsed again during a run of bill-topping festival appearances in Europe in August.

Bassist Pete Agnew � now the sole original member � called with the offer after fan speculation ran wild online. Rankin tells Classic Rock: "My name was mentioned a lot and I laughed like a train. Right up until the phone rang.

"Pete said, 'We'd like you to replace Dan.' I said, 'No one can replace Dan. Why me?' He told me, 'Well, you can sing, and we've got history.' I had to give him that one.