Bay City Roller article
AngrieWoman
Les has got life as a Roller covered..
GINA DAVIDSON
TWENTY-FIVE years after quitting the band in the middle of a tour of
Japan, bad boy Bay City Roller Les McKeown is about to tell all for the
first time.
He is to lift the lid on life inside Britain's first mega-successful
boy band in a book.
Edinburgh band the Bay City Rollers were a major worldwide hit in the
1970s with a following of thousands of mostly girl fans.
The mobbing of the band members by huge numbers of fans even sparked a
new word - Rollermania.
The book - Shang-a-Lang, Life as an International Pop Idol - by the
former frontman is to be published next month.
But Evening News readers will be able to read extracts starting on
Thursday next week.
The News will be serialising the book exclusively. In it, McKeown
reveals the inside story of the girls, the gigs, the drugs and the fights.
The book from Edinburgh-based publishers Mainstream is a
no-holds-barred account of Rollermania and beyond, charting the rise and
fall of the celebrated former pop pin-ups.
"The book provides a candid insight into the less savoury aspects of
the music industry," said a Mainstream spokesperson.
McKeown, from Broomhouse in Edinburgh, was just 18 in 1973 when he
became the lead singer of the Rollers, who had already had one British chart
hit.
But over the next few years the band transformed into an international
supergroup, consistently reaching number one all over the world, selling an
estimated 300 million records with hits such as Shang-a-Lang, Remember and
Summerlove Sensation, and gaining a massive following.
The group provoked mass hysteria not witnessed since the days of
Beatlemania.
Their trademark short wide-legged trousers and tartan- trimmed outfits
even sparked an unlikely fashion craze.
Managed by controversial Edinburgh man Tam Paton - who was jailed for
sexual offences against teenage boys in 1982 - the band even hit success in
the United States and were biggest in Japan.
But by the end of the 1970s McKeown was homeless and penniless after
quitting the band.
Shang-a-Lang traces the story of how the teenager went from the back
streets of Edinburgh to the top of the charts, the wrangles that led to
McKeown leaving the band, and his subsequent solo career.
It includes the singer's true feelings about the tragic death of
Edinburgh woman Euphemia Clunie, who was hit by a sports car the star was
driving at Western Corner in the city in 1975. Two years ago the Evening
News helped McKeown research the book by tracking down members of his first
ever band to piece together memories from his most formative musical years.
The singer joined Threshold in 1973 after Rollers' manager Tam Paton
recommended him to band leaders Alan Wright and Alex Valente.
The group toured Scotland in an old Transit van as 16-year-old McKeown
honed the voice that later launched the Bay City Rollers to international
fame.
McKeown is still performing Rollers hits on the road, works as a top
DJ in London and Germany and is still writing and singing his own material.
McKeown will be launching his book in conjunction with Ottakar's at
Acanthus on Waverley Bridge on Wednesday, October 8, at 7pm.
Tickets are £2 and available from Ottakar's. The following day, the
star will be signing copies of the book at WH Smith at the Gyle at 1pm.
Christin
> McKeown will be launching his book in conjunction with Ottakar's at
> Acanthus on Waverley Bridge on Wednesday, October 8, at 7pm.
Sigh...boy, I had the biggest preteen crush on Leslie McKeown. I can admit
it, I was a Roller fan. Anyone else read "Bye Bye Baby" by Caroline
Sullivan?
Christin
http://www.geocities.com/trickbabe/
AGC keeper of the whole darned cast of TS
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~Lisa
"Christin" <chri...@columbus.rr.commerce> wrote in message
news:yk5db.34791$uJ2....@fe3.columbus.rr.com...
> "AngrieWoman" <sp...@home.not> wrote in message
>
> > McKeown will be launching his book in conjunction with Ottakar's
at
> > Acanthus on Waverley Bridge on Wednesday, October 8, at 7pm.
>
> Sigh...boy, I had the biggest preteen crush on Leslie McKeown. I can
admit
> it, I was a Roller fan. Anyone else read "Bye Bye Baby" by Caroline
> Sullivan?
Read the Sullivan book and didn't think it was that great.
In regards to the Rollers, aren't there millions of dollars in royalties
piled up somewhere that none of the Rollers can have because of something
argument or disagreement? For some reason, I thought it had to do with
McKeown.
mc
MC
Keeper of Giovanni Ribisi and Dennis Farina!
AngrieWoman
"~Lisa" <m...@myhome.com> wrote in message news:whfdb.24400
> In regards to the Rollers, aren't there millions of dollars in royalties
> piled up somewhere that none of the Rollers can have because of something
> argument or disagreement? For some reason, I thought it had to do with
> McKeown.
At this point, I think that most of the money is probably tied up by
lawyers. If they settled the issue they did it quietly. At one time, I
believe that Les refused to be in the same room as Eric aand that was the
hold-up, but about 5 years ago the band actually had an international tour
booked. It did not happen because Alan had a major heart attack, and Derek
decided to stay in town with him. It all kind of fell apart then. I would
think that indicates the personality thing is somewhat shelved.
There's a Planters Peanuts commercial running, using Saturday Night, the
original version. Nobody I know knows if the band members received any
royalties from it.
Angie
AngrieWoman
"Velouria" <ohcla...@aol.com> wrote in message >
> While I was *never* a Rollers fan, I absolutely loved the book. She
> did an excellent job of capturing what it's like to be obsessed with
> your favorite band. I must admit, rather painfully, that I saw a lot
> of myself in her story. Ahhh, youth.
I should probably read it. To my Mom, August 16, 1977 is the date Elvis
died. To me, it is the day that I saw the BCR at the Ohio State Fair. I
still have terrible pictures.
Angrie
AngrieWoman
"mc" <mcsqu...@netzero.net> wrote in message
news:3F759C28...@netzero.net...
> Sa Sa Sa Saturday Ni--ight!
>
> MC
> Keeper of Giovanni Ribisi and Dennis Farina!
To this day, I still think "The Way I Feel Tonight" is a really pretty song.
A
Christin
> I should probably read it. To my Mom, August 16, 1977 is the date Elvis
> died. To me, it is the day that I saw the BCR at the Ohio State Fair. I
> still have terrible pictures.
Definitely read it if you were a Roller fan. It sure wasn't as sweet and
innocent as my pre-teen mind thought it was!
LOL, I saw them about that same time at the Kentucky State Fair, and have
the terrible pictures to prove it. They went on about 90 minutes late and it
was hotter than Hades.
Thank heavens for my Rollermaniac phase, because that's how I finally
discovered the Beatles. Ever read all of those 16 and Tiger Beat
comparisons of Rollermania to Beatlemania? In my 10 year old mind, those
Beatles were okay but certainly not as wonderful as the Roller boys.
(Insert hysterical laughter here!) Yes, I saw the light, but I still have a
soft spot for the Bay City Rollers.
--
Christin
http://www.geocities.com/trickbabe/
AGC keeper of the whole darned cast of TS
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Christin
>
song.
Definitely! So is Dedication. Skating rink flashbacks!
Tina
>
>> I should probably read it. To my Mom, August 16, 1977 is the date Elvis
>> died. To me, it is the day that I saw the BCR at the Ohio State Fair. I
>> still have terrible pictures.
Christin wrote:
>LOL, I saw them about that same time at the Kentucky State Fair, and have
>the terrible pictures to prove it. They went on about 90 minutes late and it
>was hotter than Hades.
<snip>
And I saw them that summer at the Michigan State Fair and have my own bad
photos to prove it too.
"some days you're the bug and some days you're the windshield"
maryanne kehoe
1975 Fox Theater, Atlanta Georgia (and still have the plaid scarf I wore
that night!)
Did Tam Paton pass away recently? I wonder if Les will talk about Derek
Longmuir's subseuent problems and conviction for sex offenses? Someone
mentioned about missing royalities---I think Tam hid it in offshore
accounts, I doubt that it "would be tied up with lawyers" as a lot of
rock managers of the time were funneling money offshore, in fact, Bill
Nelson (another UK star of the 1970's) estimates he's lost millions and
is still trying to track down the money 25 years later.
Karen M
atl...@webtv.net (maryanne kehoe) wrote:
IIRC, the claim is that millions in royalties never even got to Tam, who
was also (accused of) skimming off the top, bottom and middle. Again
IIRC, the BCR either settled or dropped their claim against him several
years ago.
Karen
Tina
> I wonder if Les will talk about Derek
>Longmuir's subseuent problems and conviction for sex offenses?
I was so shocked and disappointed when I heard that Derek was a pedophile. I'm
guessing Les probably is too. Was he convicted for molestation? I thought he
was only convicted of possessing kiddie porn. Not that it makes it any less
repulsive.
maryanne kehoe
No, I think Les was the one who tried to commit suicide, I can't
remember if it was over the breakup of a marriage or girlfriend.
Did Derek ever get sent to jail over his pedo charges? I recall it was
right around the time Gary Glitter had been in jail for awhile (or had
just been convicted? can't recall timeline offhand), but I remember it
was the same police op that snared Pete Townshend also.
Tina
>Did Derek ever get sent to jail over his pedo charges? I recall it was
>right around the time Gary Glitter had been in jail for awhile (or had
>just been convicted? can't recall timeline offhand), but I remember it
>was the same police op that snared Pete Townshend also.
I believe Derek's arrest was in the late 90s. I don't know if he did any real
jail time for possessing the kiddie porn.