Watch Out Madonna: Ritchie To Record Song

Guy Ritchie, Madonna’s ex husband who directed Sherlock Holmes, is set to record a song for the debut album of The Punchbowl Band, the first band signed with his new record label, Punchbowl Records, a subsidiary of Universal Music. The Punchbowl Band, an Irish folk group, is named after Ritchie’s London pub, Punchbowl, where he discovered them.

 "We were playing in the pub and Guy started singing his favourite song, ‘Rocky Road To Dublin.’ We were really impressed," the lead singer of the band, Willy Barr, told London’s Sun. "It’s difficult to nail but he knows all the words and how to sing it. There’s definitely room for a collaboration."

Ritchie has done a lot to help make the band’s launch a success. The Punchbowl Band worked alongside big-time composer Hans Zimmer for a track that appears on the soundtrack of Sherlock Holmes.

Even celebrities such as Stella McCartney and Robert Downey, Jr. have booked Punchbowl for private shows. “It’s exciting to venture into the music industry. It’s a tough place, but I’ve seen this band connect with people," Ritchie told the paper. "They have every chance of being embraced by a wider audience."  The band’s debut album, Journey, is due to be released on March 1. –MANDY COHEN in London