| Archive for fourgoodmen.myfreeforum.org Forum For Fans Of Scottish Band FOURGOODMEN |
| dforbes |
Dougie Cowan Simple Minds Boffin 1979 - 2007I can't believe that another stalwart Simple Minds crew member has left us.Big Dougie fae Space, the man with the Angel Long Fuzzy Hair has died of a heart attack. I was told tonight by a reliable source. He was our Boffin, friend and painfully loyal member of the family that was Simple Minds. I hope you are up there Dougie, with Billy Wharton, having a single malt to his X O Brandy. He will be sadly missed Slainte Big Man Dan 
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| mailme |
CondolencesSorry to hear of your loss, Dan. Seems once after you turn 40 your friends seem to go to heaven. Kinda of scary. That's why I'm using my stock fund to come see you in Rotherham. Life is too short to wait. !Terrorists will not stop me from traveling:-) Shannon with love from Texas Shine the Light on Your friend
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| Jean Genie |
So sad to hear of Dougie's passing - I remember him well.
RIP Dougie - you'll be sadly missed
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| dforbes |
Apparently it wasn't a heart attack but a stroke. By all accounts , Dougie went out like a light. He was 49 and died on Monday the 9th of July . The funeral is in Bonnyrigg on Monday.
Dan
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| Achmed yin McRingsting |
RIP Dougie, just goes to show the next day could be your last eh!
I spoke to a mate of mine this morning that's going along to the funeral in Bonnyrigg, Midlothian on Monday. Going by what people have said about the man, he should get an excellent turn out. |
| Loretta |
Just read the sad news. I remember him too. |
| happycat30 |
Sadly I didn`t know him but my thoughts are with his friends and family.
Have a nice way to heaven dear ! Kerstin |
| dforbes |
Well. That's me just back in from Big Ruggie McDuggies funeral, or as Jim calls him ' Dougie Bugliato '.
I got there in the nick of time and parked up across te road from the funeral parlour. I saw Charlie going in. I went inside and ended up in an ante room just of the main body of the hall. It was a short service, and at the end, everyone left for the cemetery. Again I saw Charlie in the car park. We slowly approached the cemetery and parked up. Jim, who had flown in especially from Italy, got out of the car with Charlie, who had cut short holidays with his kids, ( although they had fun destroying the Simple Minds office ), and shouted their hello's to me. I parked up and went to meet them. We had a right laugh reminiscing about Dougie, and I told them that Brian McGee was coming, and that we were going to hum the Star Trek theme as they lowered Dougie into the ground. Jim and Charlie were called for chords 7 and 8, then after a few words Dougie was lowered to his resting place. Brian and I did the 'humming orders' albeit quietly. We always did this when Dougie entered a room, and I am sure he will be smiling now at our antics. Lenny Love and Johnny Ramsay were there to see the Big Man off. It just proves that , no matter what we do with our lives, we will always be part of the family that is Simple Minds. Goodbye Dougie, and thanks for all you did for me, you will be sorely missed. Dan |
| AFARR |
I didn't know him either but it sounds like you all gave him a good send off. My thoughts are also with his family, such a young age too just shows we don't know the minute. Ruggie sounds like he was a real character. I'm sure he will be sadly missed.
Andrea x |
| traceyb |
Hey Derek
Well after reading your post above and also reading Jim's journal today it seems that Dougie was someone very special to the Minds and you all thought such a lot of him. It is such a shame when someone special is taken from us all too soon. I am sure he is laughing at you guys and that is probably the way you remember him! My condolences to all who knew him and will miss him Tracey |
| AFARR |
Here is the link to Jim's blog posted today http://simpleminds.com/tourdiary/?request=article&id=39 and the text
"Douglas James Cowan An emotional day, I write this partly en route from the islands of sun and volcanoes to the land of mist and rain. Less a homecoming, the purpose of my visit is to say a final good bye to a great friend and work mate named Douglas James Cowan who died in Edinburgh last week. Dougie’s death was brutal in the sense that it came entirely out of the blue, a man in his prime suddenly no longer within our midst, none of us who knew him can believe that anything so dramatic could our would occur to our good friend, especially as Dougie was anything but the dramatic type. He was far too sensible for histrionics. The genius tab is too often bandied about to the extent that the term has lost much meaning, but within the world of Simple Minds and among all who have dwelled there for any length of time Dougie was certainly considered a technical genius. A gentle giant, he was perhaps the shyest man I have ever come across. He was also the calmest, being totally unflappable even when chaos had kicked in and looked set to takeover. Cowan first turned up on our radar in 1978 (yes, that long ago!) when we went through from Glasgow to Edinburgh in a dilapidated mini bus, keen as mustard to have secured a support slot opening up the show for the band of the moment – “The Only Ones”. They were very good that night but they were not the only ones, as we ourselves played out of our skins and left the audience howling for more. During that gig I remember glinting over at the monitor desk at the side stage and seeing the tall frame of the boy I came to know as Big Dougie, nodding his head in time to the beat and concentrating thoroughly on providing me with a crystal clear sound. It was the start of a working relationship that was to last easily more than twenty years, as he became an extension to both Charlie Burchill and Mick MacNeil, working with them through countless tours and recording sessions, making it possible for them to be come the creative forces that they became. Dougie to be honest “baby sat” them through it all and both would readily admit that without his technical skills Simple Minds would have been a much lesser group. No exaggeration necessary! My sweetest memory was around the autumn months of 1980 when we were driving around Europe in the same style of cramped mini bus but with Dougie now sometime spending hours at the wheel as we criss crossed the continent. At that time we were supporting Peter Gabriel, an honour for sure, but for almost every night of the five week or so tour, we left the stage to resounding boos and jeers. Strangely enough none of us cared about that particularly. The sun was shining, we were young after all, and as a developing live group, we knew we were getting stronger each and every night. We kind of enjoyed the taunts of those who wished to see the back of us. We even enjoyed the hunger of the days spent trying to scramble enough money together to buy a sandwich and frites that would last us through to the next day. I guess it was as if we knew where we were going with our careers and we knew that nothing was going to stop us. But we were going nowhere in fact, least without a great crew by our sides each and every night and to that extent we relied so much on the skill and support of all around us. In particular we looked to Dougie to ensure us the best technical conditions that would let us perform to our best. Astoundingly he never let us down once in more than twenty years of service. I am entirely indebted to the people who put their life on hold for months – sometimes years even as with Dougie, and all in order to carry us as we trundle on in our fantastic voyage playing music worldwide. Douglas James Cowan above all dedicated most of his working life to Simple Minds and my fear is that is that I never really made my thanks obvious. My thanks is massive nonetheless." What a star Dougie was and we are in such debt to him too! Andrea x |
| Loretta |
Thanks for that Derek, I do remember him indeed.. such sad news.. did spider turn up at all? just wondering................
Bless you Dougie.. 
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| dforbes |
No Spider Loretta,but I'm sure his thoughts would be with Dougie.
 
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| Loretta |
I'm sure.  .. glad you were all there for him.
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| Edith |
Just back from my holiday and read about the sad news.
It's aweful to loose someone that close to you and at such a young age! It was a great thing you guys did at the funeral though, Derek! I wish you all much strength to cope with this loss. And my heart goes out to the family he left behind. |