Love them or loathe them, The Bay City Rollers were the teenage phenomenon of the 1970s. To all those of you who wanted to marry a Roller, screamed at a baseball boot that once belonged to Woody or cherished a piece of Les' old fag packet, this one's for you . . .
Five young lads from Edinburgh; Alan Longmuir, Eric Faulkner, Stuart "Woody" Wood, Derek Longmuir and Leslie McKeown, took their name by sticking a pin into "Bay City" on a map (the group had previously been known as The Saxons - Saxonmania just doesn't have the same ring, does it?).
Signing to Bell Records in 1971, their chart debut was a remake of The Gentry's 1965 hit Keep On Dancing produced by Jonathan King. The record hit Number 9 in the UK charts, but their subsequent releases (We Can Make Music and Manana) were not successful.
In 1974, after a struggling seven year career with only one Top Ten hit (Keep On Dancing), their manager Tam Paton enlisted songwriters Phil Coulter and Bill Martin and dressed the band in tartan. Remember (Sha La La) was a Top 10 smash.
The Bay City Rollers were born and, for some of us, life would never be the same. By the time the band toured in October 1974 they had scored two more Top Ten hits (Shang-A-Lang and Summerlove Sensation) and 'Rollermania' had the UK in its grip.
Their debut LP, Rollin', topped the UK chart and by this stage, fans would do anything just to catch a glimpse of their idols - stand out in all weathers, waiting outside theatres, TV and recording studios.
No-one could miss the fans in their bum-freezer jackets, tartan-edged ankle-freezers (trousers at half-mast), striped socks, baseball boots and tartan scarves tied around their wrists (with the name of their favourite Roller lovingly emblazoned on the back of their jackets). They would scream, cry and sing at the top of their voices the Rollers anthem ; B-A-Y, B-A-Y, B-A-Y C-I-T-Y etc etc.
Over the next three years, The Bay City Rollers would have 10 Top Ten hits (including three Number One's), five best-selling albums, and a clutch of US hits, including one Number 1.
In 1975, the Shang-A-Lang TV series premiered on Britain's ITV (running until August 17, 1977). In the same year during a BBC1 'fun day' at Mallory Park near Leicester, England, 40 female fans tried to swim across a lake to get to the band and had to be rescued (four of them were hospitalised). The Rollers were evacuated from the site via helicopter without performing.
In September of that year the band made their US TV debut, via satellite, on Saturday Night Live With Howard Cosell, and on January 3, 1976 - 13 weeks after being released in America - their single Saturday Night hit the top of Billboard's Hot 100. The Rollers were billed as the new Beatles and America was turning tartan.
In 1976, guitarist Eric Faulkner almost died after a drug overdose of seconal and valium at manager Tam Paton's house. In other incidents that year, Les McKeown was charged with reckless driving after allegedly hitting and killing a 75-year-old woman, and later found not guilty of firing an air rifle at a female fan. So much for being strictly non-smoking milk-drinking cherubs!
By the time the Rollers played a show in Shizuoka in Japan in 1978 things were falling apart within the band. Accordingly, when Les McKeown took to jumping around in a deranged fashion to attract attention, and invading other member's spotlights, Woody laid into him with punches and kicks. The Rollers' manic Japanese fans were horrified and the band split immediately.
These days the group are best remembered for their anthemic single Shang-A-Lang, press speculation as to whether the band actually played their own instruments in the studio (or on stage), and scandals involving their manager Tam Paton who was convicted on charges of drug dealing, dogged by allegations of sexual abuse and jailed for three years on a charge of gross indecency
More recently, drummer Derek Longmuir also found himself on the wrong end of the long arm of the law for alleged possession of child pornography.
Tam Paton died at his home in Edinburgh in April 2009, aged 70, after reportedly suffering a heart attack.
And it was really quite nostalgic to see them both back together doing a show on TV again. I remember watching 'The Donny and Marie Show' back in the 70's. It was a really good show actually. Now I will say that in the 70's I was not an Osmond fan, couldn't stand them actually. But, their show was good. Very entertaining. So on Saturday night it really took me back. I found myself singing along with 'Morning Side Of The Mountain' and 'Paper Roses' at one stage! Crumbs, never thought I'd see the day! Funny how songs that you loathed decades ago become strangely appealing as you get older and the 'nostalgia' gene starts to kick in! ("Cos he liv
ed on the morning side of the mountain, and she lived on the twilight side of the hill.....") Aah.... The only disappointment was that they didn't sing 'Make the world go away'. Back in the 70's, that was the only Donny and Marie song I had thought was anywhere near half decent! I actually liked that one. (Would have never admitted it to anyone though!) But despite this minor area of 'deprivation', the show was great. It was a pleasant surprise, I really enjoyed it. And judging by all the beaming faces and the applause throughout, so did the studio audience!
