Bay City Rollers
The Bay City Rollers are a Scottish pop rock band known for their worldwide teen idol popularity in the 1970s. They have been called the "tartan teen sensations from Edinburgh" and are one of many acts heralded as the "biggest group since the Beatles".[4]
For the self-titled album, see Bay City Rollers (album).
Bay City Rollers
The Saxons, The Rollers, The New Rollers
Edinburgh, Scotland
1964–1981, 1982–1987, 1990, 1996, 1999–2000, 2015–2016, 2018–present
- Stuart "Woody" Wood
- Ian Thomson
- Mikey Smith
- Jamie McGrory
- John McLaughlin
- Neil Porteous
- Gregory Ellison
- Mike Ellison
- Dave Pettigrew
- Les McKeown
- Alan Longmuir
- Derek Longmuir
- Eric Faulkner
- Ian Mitchell
- Pat McGlynn
- Gordon Clark
- Keith Norman
- David Paton
- Alan Dunn
- Eric Manclark
- Billy Lyall
- Ray Weston
- Neil Henderson
- Archie Marr
- John Devine
- George Spencer
- Duncan Faure
- Marcus Cordock
The group's line-up had many changes over the years, but the classic roster during its peak in popularity included guitarists Eric Faulkner and Stuart Wood, singer Les McKeown, bassist Alan Longmuir and drummer Derek Longmuir. The current line-up (since 2018) includes original guitarist Stuart "Woody" Wood, singer Ian Thomson, bassist Mikey Smith, keyboardist/singer John McLaughlin and drummer Jamie McGrory.[5]
History[edit]
Early days and formation: 1964–1973[edit]
In 1964, a trio called the Ambassadors was formed in Edinburgh, Scotland, by 16-year-old Alan Longmuir on acoustic guitar, his younger brother Derek Longmuir on drums, and their older cousin Neil Porteous on acoustic guitar. The group never performed publicly under this name,[6] just a family wedding where they covered "Wake Up Little Susie". They changed their name to the Saxons, and Derek invited a friend from school, Gordon "Nobby" Clark, to be the lead singer. Porteous moved from acoustic to electric guitar, and Alan Longmuir followed suit by changing to electric bass.[7] The Saxons played occasional dance hall concerts while the band members completed their schooling or worked during the day (Alan apprenticed as a plumber). Porteous left the band in July 1965, with new guitarist Dave Pettigrew filling the spot after answering an advertisement placed by the band in an Edinburgh newspaper. Pettigrew was more advanced musically than the others, and pushed the band to improve. Their repertoire included American R&B/pop songs such as "Please Mr. Postman" and "Heat Wave". They played at least one gig at the Gonk Club as the Deadbeats, but they discovered a conflict: Another band was playing locally as Rock Bottom and the Deadbeats.[6]
While taking a technical class at Napier College, Alan met fellow plumbing student Gregory Ellison, who joined the Saxons on electric guitar, with Pettigrew shifting to keyboards. Gregory's older brother Mike joined as a second lead singer, allowing more complex harmonies, especially useful for the Motown songs they liked to perform. The band convinced Tam Paton, a former big band leader[8] and influential local band and club manager, to audition them at the Longmuirs' house. Paton booked them for a Thursday night at his club, the Palais, then assigned them to open for the Hipple People at Top Storey. More gigs followed.[6]
More successful now, the Saxons moved out of the Longmuirs' back room to practice in Hermiston at a church. They played a couple of contemporary Kinks numbers but favored American songs, including a new one: "C.C. Rider" by Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels. Desiring a better name for the band, they settled on "Rollers", but needed a more powerful American-sounding term in front of that. Derek Longmuir threw a dart at a map of the United States, landing first on Arkansas. This did not meet anyone's approval, so a second dart was thrown. It landed near Bay City, Michigan. The band agreed on the name, the Bay City Rollers.[9] Short-term members from this period included bassist David Paton (from 1969 to 1970) and keyboardist Billy Lyall (1969–71), who went on to be founding members of another Edinburgh band Pilot.
After signing with Bell Records, the band's first hit was "Keep on Dancing" (UK No. 9, 1971), a cover of a 1965 hit by the Gentrys.[9][10] Upon this release's success, they made appearances on BBC One's Top of the Pops.
Several non-charting singles were released over the following two years. This period saw the addition of long-term member guitarist Eric Faulkner. In mid-1973, they narrowly missed the UK Singles Chart with their fourth single, "Saturday Night". By the end of 1973, Clark had become disillusioned with the band's musical direction and decided to leave just when his recording of "Remember (Sha-La-La-La)" climbed the charts to No. 6. He was replaced as lead singer by Les McKeown. A couple of months later, in early 1974, what became known as the classic line-up[9] was completed; guitarist John Devine was replaced by Stuart "Woody" Wood.
In 1987, Les McKeown was a guest on Jonathan Ross's chat show where he told Ross that The Bay City Rollers did not perform on the first four singles.
Breakthrough: 1974–1975[edit]
In late 1973, McKeown recorded lead vocals on "Remember (Sha-La-La-La)", and a lead-in to a series of UK chart hits. 16-year-old Stuart Wood completed the "classic five" line-up in February 1974, a week after the band had debuted the "Remember" single on Top of the Pops. (John Devine had mimed the piano part). By early 1975, the band was well on the way to achieving global success. The "classic five" line-up consisted of: Alan Longmuir, Derek Longmuir, Stuart "Woody" Wood, Eric Faulkner and Les McKeown.
Beginning with "Remember" (UK No. 6), the Rollers' popularity exploded, and they released a string of hits on the UK chart. Following in succession were "Shang-a-Lang" (UK No. 2), "Summerlove Sensation" (UK No. 3), and "All of Me Loves All of You" (UK No. 4).[4]
By early 1975, they were one of the biggest-selling acts in the UK. The successful 1975 UK tour prompted newspaper headlines about the rise of "Rollermania"[10] (alluding to Beatlemania a decade before). The Rollers were the subject of a 20-week UK television series, Shang-a-Lang.
A cover of the Four Seasons' "Bye, Bye, Baby" stayed at No. 1 in the UK for six weeks in March and April 1975, selling nearly a million copies and becoming the biggest seller of the year. The subsequent single, "Give a Little Love" topped the charts in July 1975, achieving their second No. 1 hit.[4][9] Two albums were produced during this period: Once Upon a Star (1975) and Wouldn't You Like It? (1975). Faulkner and Wood undertook the majority of the songwriting duties.
By this time, Bay City Rollers fans had a completely distinctive style of dress, featuring calf-length tartan trousers and tartan scarves.[9]
English singer-songwriter Nick Lowe wrote a "jaundiced" (in Lowe's words)[11] paean to the band titled "Bay City Rollers We Love You". The track was "carefully sculpted" to be poor enough to get Lowe out of a recording contract with United Artists. The strategy backfired. UA issued the record as by the Tartan Horde,[12] which was the name given to Rollers fans in England, and it became a substantial hit in Japan.[11] Lowe was obliged to record a follow-up song called "Rollers Show", which did not meet with the same commercial success. This follow-up song was included on the U.S. release of Lowe's first album Pure Pop for Now People.
Sexual abuse allegations[edit]
Members of the Bay City Rollers have accused former manager Tam Paton of sexual abuse. In 2003, McGlynn accused former Bay City Rollers manager Tam Paton of trying to rape him in a hotel room in 1977.[43] However, the police decided there was insufficient evidence to prosecute Paton. Paton had previous arrests for sexual misconduct with underage boys.[44] In 2009, McKeown accused Paton of raping him.[45] In the 2023 documentary Secrets of the Bay City Rollers, potential band member Gert Magnus claimed that Paton offered him a place in the band in exchange for sex.[46]
Studio albums
Christmas Single 2021
EP 2023