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Ray Elrick started out playing Drums for his dad (also Ray Elrick) at the age of 10 and has continued to play Jazz with many bands and vocalists ever since.

Ray is a Multi-Instrumentalist who currently plays Piano, Organ and Bass with Havana Swing. He wrote the following memories of his musical life.

'My Father(Ray Elrick) had a successful decade before rock and roll took over in the sixties, and disco in the seventies. He played more on the North East side of Fife, and up North of Dundee as there were already many bands in the West of Fife. They played seven nights a week, mostly dances in village halls, and on Sunday night, they would play at Ceres hall, then play at Leuchars officers mess from 1am when the officers came off duty.
                 

When his band days were over, he came off piano, and started to play organ. The Marine hotel in Elie installed a Hammond for him to play alongside my mum on piano, and a drummer, for Saturday night dinner dances in 1969. In 1972, the Golf hotel a few doors along, also installed an organ, (a Philicorda! 😂),  for he and my mum to play Saturday night dances after the Marine changed their format. It was then at the age of ten, l joined them on drums. Over the years as I grew up, we were hso fortunate to be playing in lots of different venues for dancing, dinner dances were popular at this time. We played four years in the Golf at Elie until 1976, then upon that ending, dad and I joined a Dunfermline band called Nightfall, doing charty stuff plus ballroom, Eagles and Beatles etc. The singer was fantastic, very good vocalist. Dad was still on organ, l had moved over to bass. Played with them for three years until 1979, and when the band folded, dad got us, (himself, mum, me back on drums, and the guitarist from Nightfall), a resident Saturday night dinner dance in the Pompadour restaurant in the Caledonian hotel in Edinburgh. We were there for nearly four years.
                    

By 1982/3, mum called it a day, and dad and I played with George Keillor in the clubs and dance halls. I was either on bass or drums, which ever was required. Gigs were plentiful, and so much fun for me as a young lad! George noted that I could play the organ to a fairly reasonable standard, and in 1983,  invited me to take on a job that had been offered to him at the Leven golfing society, as a duo, and thanks to his kind offer, that's where my playing the organ playing started off... carrying round a Yamaha B35 full sized console, plus speakers! I was very young and fit!
                     

After a few years playing as a duo, as well as band work, l met Jimmy Murphy, tenor sax player from Kinghorn, in 1991. Jimmy had work pouring in all the time, (he was a very well known "character!"), and we played together almost exclusively until we parted in 2010. We had loads of fun over the years, played a handful of jazz festivals, including Perth where we supported the Terry Lightfoot band.


                      In 2016, I was invited to join the Spatz and co show band, formed by Roy McGregor, playing theatres between Aberdeen and the borders, to much larger "listening" crowds as opposed to just people dancing. This was an eye opener! Slightly scary! Unfortunately, after a year or two, my inability to read music was becoming a problem, and I resigned from the band, which was absolutely necessary for the band to move forward and upwards.
                   

Just at that point, l was invited to play bass with Havana Swing, and very much enjoyed doing that until l was asked to move onto keyboard again!

COVID wiped out everything, including all gigs, music etc. After it died down, l got a call from Roy McGregor to suggest forming a trio which resulted in three years of doing a show at the fringe, last one being in 2024. I'm no longer part of Spatz trio, but still with Havana Swing... although at 64 now, burnout is approaching!...ha ha.'  

Ray Elrick(Jnr) 2026