Comment: Funny - I was thinking about Dougie Knight not that long ago. He taught me a lot about music. I went to school round the corner and started going to Dougie's when I was 13 or 14. I liked folk - Joan Baez, Dylan, Buffy Sainte Marie etc. - but Dougie always tried to broaden my horizons. He lent me the first Elektra records when they came out - Love and The Doors. He was a trad jazz fan and always tried to get me interested but I thought it was a bit old-fashioned. However, it's thanks to Dougie that I like blues. He used to book acts for Queen's and other places.
He was a modest man, too. Although he used to mention Van Morrison occasionally, it wasn't until I read a book about Van years later that I realised that Dougie had played a big part in his early career.
When I was very young, I remember that the shop was originally in Great Victoria Street and was then a bicycle repair shop but he later moved to Botanic Avenue and gradually there were fewer and fewer bikes and more and more records. I still have some vinyl I bought there.
(6 October 2011)
Comment: My friends and I used to go to Dougie's shop in Great Victoria Street and always went to the back section of the shop where he kept all the Chess albums, great blues artists. That and going to the Maritime and Sammy Houstons gave me my love for blues music.I used to go to his shop too when it was in Botanic Avenue and checked the albums he had downstairs.
(25 October 2011)
knights record library
October 05, 2011, 07:07:41 PM »
Does any one remember knights record library on Botanic.
I used to walk from school Ballygo with my mate over to botanic to renew my LP's for the weekend.
There was a joining fee and a charge for each LP when you brought them back Dougie would check them under a lamp for scratches and you would be fined if there was a new scratch I think he kept a wee diagram of the scratches. Spent many a happy hour there.
Re: knights record library
October 06, 2011, 05:24:19 PM »
Funny - I was thinking about Dougie Knight not that long ago. He taught me a lot about music. I went to school round the corner and started going to Dougie's when I was 13 or 14. I liked folk - Joan Baez, Dylan, Buffy Ste. Marie etc. - but Dougie always tried to broaden my horizons. he lent me the first Elektra redords when they came out - Love and the Doors. He was a trad jazz fan and always tried to get me interested but I thought it was a bit old-fashioned. However, it's thanks to Dougie that I like blues. He used to book acts for Queen's and other places.
He was a modest man, too. Although he used to mention Van Morrison occasionally, it wasn't until I read a book about Van years later that I realsied that Dougie had played abig part in his early career.
When I was very young, I remember that the shop was originally in Gt. Victoria Street and was then a bicycle repair shop but he later moved to Botanic and gradually there were fewer and fewer bikes and more and more records. I still have some vinyl I bought there.
Re: knights record library
December 25, 2014, 10:43:05 AM »
I've just been reading the sleeve notes of the remastered Rory Gallagher 'Irish Tour 74' and saw Dougie's name. It is with great fondness & appreciation that I remember both him & the one & only Knights Records. I practically lived in the shop from 1970 through to the decline of vinyl. Whilst it was always a pleasure to go into Dougies it was never the same somehow when CDs became popular.
My first visit to the shop was around the spring of 1970 - Hazel & Gerry were working for Dougie at that time (does anybody remember them?). I bought the Argent LP 'Ring of hands' & some obscure jazz record by a piano led trio that Dougie advised me to listen to. Two things happened that day. One was the start of the long association I had with visiting the shop & the second was the start of a musical journey listening to jazz although that took years to develop.
Over the years I borrowed & bought records by, amongst others, Colosseum, Nick Drake, John Martyn, If, John Mayall, Keef Hartley, Joni Mitchell, The Band, Cat Stevens, Edgar Winter, The Pretty Things, The Jeff Beck Group, Ten Years After, Terry Reid etc etc. 'Dougies' as my friends & I called Knights, became my musical education, an education that is entering its 45th year & one which endures daily.
If anyone is in contact with Dougie or Paul who hopefully are both still with us, please reply &/or show them this post. Very best wishes to all music lovers for 2015. Ronnie White
Dougie plays the closing down blues
