Bay City Rollers' "classic line-up", circa 1975 (L-R): Alan Longmuir, Les McKeown, Stuart ("Woody") Wood, Derek Longmuir, Eric Faulkner

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Rollers, Curlers

The Bay City Rollers were a Scottish Pop/rock band of the 1970s. Their youthful, clean-cut image, distinct styling featuring tartan-trimmed outfits, and cheery, sing-along pop hits helped the group become among the most popular musical acts of their time. more...

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For a relatively brief but fervent period (nicknamed "Rollermania"), they were a worldwide sensation. Since the band's quick rise to, and subsequent fall from fame, the members have endured numerous and varied struggles regarding royalty payments, substance abuse, and personal legal problems.

History

Early Days: Formation-1973

Bassist Alan Longmuir and his younger brother Derek, a drummer, founded the group in Edinburgh, Scotland in 1967, as The Saxons. Shortly afterwards, seeking a less English-sounding moniker, they chose a new name allegedly by throwing a dart at a map of the United States. The dart landed on the map in the state of Arkansas, but since "Arkansas Rollers" did not sound quite right, and might also lead to problems with pronunciation, they tried again and this time the dart landed near the community of Bay City, Michigan.

They received their first break when prominent record executive Dick Leahy caught their act by chance in an Edinburgh club. After signing with Bell Records, their first hit was "Keep on Dancing" (UK #9, 1971), a cover of a 1965 Gentrys hit, recorded at the suggestion of the now-disgraced pop impresario Jonathan King, who produced the Bay City Rollers' version and sang some vocal parts himself. Upon this release's success, they made guest appearances on the BBC-TV's lip-sync television show Top of the Pops. Following on the heals of "Keep on Dancing", the group won a Radio Luxembourg sponsored song contest with the song "Mañana", which was later popular in parts of Europe and Israel.

The Bay City Rollers went through several line-up changes (and non-charting singles) over the following two years. In late 1973 they narrowly missed the UK chart with "Saturday Night." This and many subsequent singles were written and produced by the highly successful songwriting duo of Scotsman Bill Martin and Irishman Phil Coulter, previously responsible for Sandie Shaw's "Puppet on a String," Cliff Richard's "Congratulations," and the England World Cup Squad's "Back Home," among others.

British Breakthrough: 1974-75

Beginning with early 1974's "Remember (Sha La La La)" (UK #6), the Rollers released a string of very successful hits on the British charts. Following in succession were "Shang-a-Lang" (UK #2), "Summerlove Sensation" (UK #3), and "All of Me Loves All of You" (UK #4). By the spring of 1975, they were one of the highest-selling acts in Britain. That year saw a successful UK tour (which prompted newspaper headlines about "Rollermania"), and a 20-week UK television series, Shang-a-Lang. A cover of the Four Seasons' "Bye, Bye, Baby", stayed at #1 in the UK for six weeks in the spring of 1975, shifing nearly a million copies to become the biggest seller of the year, and the subsequent single "Give A Little Love" topped the charts that summer, their second #1 hit. At the peak of their popularity in the UK, comparisons were even made to The Beatles.