Billy Ritchie (musician)
| Billy Ritchie | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | William Edward Ritchie |
| Born |
20 April 1944 Lanark, Scotland |
| Genres | Progressive rock |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, songwriter, arranger |
| Instruments | Keyboards, piano, |
| Years active | 1966–71 |
| Labels | Island; Chrysalis; Deram; BGO Records/EMI |
| Associated acts | The Premiers, 1-2-3, Clouds |
| Website | cloudsmusic.com |
| Notable instruments | |
|
Hammond C3 Hammond M102 Hohner Clavinet |
|
William Edward Ritchie (born 20 April 1944, Lanark, Scotland) is a British keyboard player and composer. Formerly a member of The Satellites, The Premiers, 1-2-3, and Clouds. He is generally acknowledged as being the first keyboard player in rock music to stand and take a leading role, thereby providing a model for others such as Keith Emerson and Rick Wakeman. He is also credited as being responsible for rewriting standard songs and arranging music in a style that later became fashionable as progressive rock. During a Saville Theatre concert in 1967, he introduced a then-unknown David Bowie to Jimi Hendrix.
Ritchie grew up in the Scottish village of Forth in Lanarkshire. He began playing harmonica at an early age, and when a neighbour threw out a piano, and Ritchie's parents took it in, Ritchie, at the age of 8, began playing semi-seriously, but as an almost secret activity. In 1960, Ritchie's friends, Johnny Moffat (vocals), Robert 'Flam' Fleming (guitar) (b. December 1943), William 'Big Wull' Ritchie guitar, he is also Billy Ritchie's cousin), Jim Stark (drums), and Duncan Blair (bass), formed a band called The Satellites. When asked what he would play, Ritchie decided to play electric organ, much to the bemusement of his friends. Organs were not in common use in guitar-orientated bands of that time.
In 1964, a band called The Premiers, based in Edinburgh, whose members were Ian Ellis (vocals), James 'Shammy' Lafferty (rhythm guitar), Derek Stark (lead guitar), Bill Lawrence (bass), and Harry Hughes(drums), decided to recruit an organist to augment their sound, and Ritchie joined. The addition prompted more changes than was intended, and despite an early success in being recorded at Radio Luxembourg in London by Cyril Stapleton, the band quickly fragmented. Derek Stark left because he felt that the organ had supplanted his role as lead musician; Bill Lawrence left following a dispute with Ian Ellis; James 'Shammy' Lafferty left because of family problems. The three remaining members, Ian Ellis, Harry Hughes, and Billy Ritchie decided to take the music in a radically new direction, and renamed the band 1-2-3.
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