Scots singer makes comeback after literally dying twice on stage

Onlookers told how paramedics had to kickstart his heart twice before being rushed to hospital.

He has since been fitted with an Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator (ICD) similar to that given to Christian Eriksen which allows the Denmark and Manchester United midfielder to keep playing at the top level of professional football.

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The device responds to life-threatening rhythms and can shock to reset the heart-rate and prevent sudden cardiac arrest.

The 58-year-old from Muirend in Glasgow's south side will lead his band for the first time on Sunday, April 23 for the first time in an evening of music and comedy in support of Chest, Heart & Stroke Scotland at legendary Glasgow venue The Clutha. He will be joined by other artists who have reason to be thankful they remain alive.

Dougie McLellan onstage before his horrific collapse

The band had been halfway through their early-afternoon set, on their fourth song and about to get to the chorus when Mr McLellan collapsed.

Event organiser, Clive Leighton, who is organising the Clutha Heart Beat event and was the festival stage manager at the Foodies Festival said during 40 minutes Mr McLellan "died twice, came back and amazingly had no issues or brain oxygen loss.

Ambulances raced to Inverleith Park after as Mr Hamilton tried to keep Mr McLellan alive.

Crew at the festival created a "dignity protecting barrier" similar to that created when Christian Eriksen collapsed during Denmark's Euro 2020 group game against Finland in the summer of 2021 at Parken Stadium in Copenhagen.

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"When the paramedics turned up they said they had lost him, stand back. He had gone," said Mr Leighton. "They got the jumpleads put it on and he came back and then he said he had gone again and to stand back and then they repeated the process and they got the heart going. Two occasions he had gone.

"Quick thinking and care brought him back. He’s on his feet and raring to play again."

"I had no history of heart issues whatsoever," said Mr McLellan, a senior programming manager with HM Revenue & Customs. "I had no underlying problems. I am fit and well. I would consider myself pretty fit. I am probably the fittest guy in the band. So this can happen to anyone.

"I didn't know what was going on till I woke up in A&E at the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary.

"Drummer Alan is a nurse and I am told he went over and realised what was happening and started CPR immediately.

"The heart wasn't for starting and thanks to the ambulance service, it thankfully eventually did.

"For me the critical thing is that people can suffer brain injury even if they survive a cardiac arrest and I was lucky I didn't because I got treatment so quickly.

"We want to raise the need for people to know how to do CPR. It saves lives and the brain."

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Mr McLellan whose rehab partly involves regular visits to the gym said: "I have to watch my heart rate. But the Clutha will be the first gig since it happened. I wanted to be sure I am well. It will be emotional. Hopefully I won't die on stage again. But whatever, it will raise money for charity.

"I now have a cardiac defibrillator in my chest. The idea is should anything happen again this kicks in.

The Tufty Club band

"I received great care from medical professionals and volunteers at the Foodies Festival. I probably wouldn’t be here now had it not been for the support on hand and the mobile defibrillators that were on site.

"It’s really important that we have defibrillators available for the community 24/7 to prevent what are avoidable deaths in the future”.

The Clutha show features an all-Glasgow line-up including performers who have had the experience of cardiac arrest or heart attack.

They included the 42-year-old even compere Scott Agnew (below) who suffered a heart attack after catching Covid in September 2021.

"After ten days of self isolation, my first day out the house saw me struggling to even get up the street and had to retreat to my bed where the chest pains got increasingly worse forcing me to the A&E at Glasgow Royal Infirmary where they confirmed I was having a major heart attack," said the comedian from Saltmarket in Glasgow."

He was treated at Golden Jubilee University National Hospital in Clydebank where he was treated with a stent - a short, wire mesh tube that acts like a scaffold to help keep an artery open.

"I couldn't be more grateful to all the staff that pitched in and saved me. I've been very lucky," he said.

"I'm delighted and excited to be involved with this event raising money for CHSS, because frankly none of us know the place or the time a heart attack may strike. Having been given a second chance at life I was keen to try and give a wee something back so someone in my situation gets the same chance."

A third performer Mark Maguire, from the Glasgow band The Memories, is also no stranger to the cause, as heart disease runs in his family. His brother was saved by the quick thinking of a passer-by who flagged down an ambulance.

“The defibrillator saved his life and will always give the best fighting chance of survival. We are forever in its debt.”

Three years ago, he personally suffered three heart attacks over 21 days, resulting in his continual efforts to raise awareness, particularly within the construction industry ensuring that contractors include the supply of life saving equipment on all sites and in all offices.

Louise MacLeod, events and corporate fundraiser with CHSS said: “We are incredibly grateful to all the performers who themselves have experienced heart conditions and have chosen to give back by raising funds for Chest, Heart & Stroke Scotland.

“Support from fundraising allows us to support the one in five people across Scotland who suffer from chest, heart and stroke conditions. We can’t thank them enough.”