With three brothers and three sisters and the family's sole income deriving from his father's wages as a truck driver, Dougie's childhood was never marked by an abundance of material riches. But his love for his family ran deep, and when, many years later, his father lay wasting away from cancer, Dougie presented him with a gift more precious than money could buy. It was a tape recording of a song called "Just Like Yesterday." In it, the artist tells his dad that he wishes he could take all the pain away, and that no matter what happens, the son wants to be "by your side every step of the way." The direct, heartfelt lyrics are so deeply moving, it is a challenge to hear the song without tears welling up in one's eyes as the listener's feelings for one's own family members are evoked. Music this intense and this powerful can only come from someone with a broad based life experience. Dougie has this in abundance.
As a youth in a low income area, he fell in with the mischievous trouble makers who characteristically roam such areas, indulging in childish pranks and acts of petty vandalism. School was not a particularly rewarding experience for the young Robertson. As he explains, "I was more concerned with making an impression on the girls than listening to the teacher. I never paid much attention to the school authorities, and they didn't pay much attention to me."
Dougie's experience as he reached puberty was typical of young working class Scottish men: he was encouraged to enter a trade. The option of higher education or an artistic career was simply not considered. At the age of fifteen, he left school and became a heating engineer apprentice. This line of work was terminated by the steel strike of 1979. There followed a period of unemployment, following which Dougie enlisted in the Royal Air Force. He found the regimentation and rigid authoritarianism of military life stifling and unendurable. He left after three months.
A series of jobs followed, including van driver, warehouseman, heavy goods driver, and sign painter. In the meantime, however, a new interest had cropped up in his life: music. Initially attracted to the sounds of the band Madness, Dougie took up the saxophone. He began singing as well, and found inspiration in the songs of Woody Guthrie and Tom Waits. Another big influence on him was the album "The River" by Bruce Springsteen. Dougie particularly admired the sax work of Clarence Clemons on Springsteen's recordings.
Soon, Robertson was gigging as a saxophone player with bands around Glasgow. A brief marriage during this period succumbed to the pressures of late night performing. Dougie began writings songs reflecting his life experiences and his concerns about the many social injustices he saw and found troublesome. He formed a band called the Diplomats and began performing in a style aptly described by one reviewer as "dark urban folk." One song in particular, "City of Shame," inspired by the despair Robertson felt over the way homeless people were regarded by passers-by on the street, received radio play in Scotland and had a video which was aired on STV in Glasgow. The Glasgow Herald newspaper described it as "a moving tribute to the homeless of the global village."
Along with his appearance in his own video, Dougie studied acting and landed parts in national television shows, including the detective series "Taggart;" various TV commercials; and feature film parts including an appearance in "Gregory's Girl 2" and a fleeting (and we mean fleeting!) appearance in the hugely successful Scottish film "Trainspotting."
As often happens, Dougie's appreciation for folk and traditional music led him to investigate country music, particularly the contemporary sounds emerging from Nashville in the 90's. He was intrigued by the way country now incorporated many pop style musical idioms, while retaining its ability to address lyrical concerns such as family relations and the plight of working class/rural people. In 1998, as Dougie was driving the streets of Glasgow, the idea for a song began to take shape in his mind. It concerned a man whose wife had passed away, and now, as he reached the later stages of his life, he had decided to join her rather than continuing without her. Rather than approaching suicide as a negative act, it celebrated the uplifting quality of a love that is "Greater Than Life."
Shortly after recording "Greater Than Life," Dougie had a chance meeting with local country radio DJ Pat Geary in a local health club. Geary is an American who has resided in Glasgow since 1988. "When I listened to the CD Dougie gave me, I knew immediately that I had stumbled across someone with an extraordinary gift," Geary says. "His words are simple and direct, but punch their way into your heart, while the vocal performances are breathtaking. I knew he was too good to be left languishing in obscurity."
Geary signed on as Robertson's manager, and set about the task of bringing his Scottish discovery to the attention of what he feels is Dougie's natural audience, the country music fans back home in America. Geary's belief in this regard is reinforced by the continuing evolution of Robertson's musical style, which has been increasingly influenced by contemporary Nashville songwriters and performers. Blending seamlessly with his urban/folk background, the result is a mind-blowing mixture of raw power, gripping emotional catharsis, and thoroughly contemporary country-pop instrumentation.
There has never before been a performer quite like Dougie Robertson. He brings the passion and originality to country music that it increasingly is sorely lacking. With his hip European sensibility, combined with a thoroughly American love of family and concern for the downtrodden and less fortunate in society, Dougie Robertson is a unique individual who stands ready to propel country music to new heights of creativity and acceptance. The new millennium starts here.
From the urban deprivation of Glasgow, Scotland's sprawling housing estates emerges Dougie Robertson, a singer, musician, and songwriter with a powerful and profoundly moving musical vision. His combination of tough, gritty vocals, underpinned by the tenderness and empathy of his lyrics, results in a shattering listening experience.