Dougie Ritchie is an Ayrshire guitarist, singer and double bass player with several bands such as ‘The Three ’n’ Eights’, ‘In The Plughole’ and recently with ‘The Crochallan Fencibles’ with Ewin Murray and John C Grant. Dougie has also been involved with gig promotion over the years – currently doing this as part of the d.i.y. promotions collective putting on events under the banner of ‘Shrunken Head Promotions’.
Growing up in Ayrshire before moving to Glasgow as a teenager in the late 80’s, Dougie cites a love of music for connecting him to many of the people he considers friends – including folks he has enjoyed live music with for close to forty years. A return to living in North Ayrshire in the late 1990’s didn’t dampen Dougie’s enthusiasm for getting out to see as many live bands as possible and he still seeks out small gigs and festivals with unsigned bands as well as more established acts – ska, punk, psychobilly, rockabilly, indie and whatever else is on offer!
He reflects on being lucky to have played on the same bill as many of the bands he grew up listening to – The Meteors, King Kurt, 999 and Restless to name just a few - as well as loving the chance in recent years to play with international acts such as ‘The Courettes’ (Denmark/Brazil), ‘Kate Clover’ (USA) and ‘Big D & The Kids Table’ (USA).
Music is definitely a family thing in the Ritchie house with wife Gill (who Dougie met while DJ-ing in the ‘80s) and kids Gregor and Morven often attending music events together. Gregor plays lead guitar with ‘The Three ‘n’ Eights’ as well as his own band ‘Corrupt Intentions’ and Morven also guests on fiddle, on the Three ‘N’ Eights’ 2024 album – ‘Leopard Print Hearts’. Dougie says “I can’t explain how good it feels to share my love of music with the people I love most”
A guide track for ‘Dougie Ritchie’ is available below for listening: -
The track is additionally available within the following collections and sets: -
Associated Collections: -
2/4
Ayrshire Characters
Extended Bagpipe
Musicians
Not Yet Recorded
Polka
The Three Six Five Collection
