Bay City Rollers
S-A-T-U-R-D-A-Y NIGHT!
I was totally in love with Tony DeFranco when I was a little girl. He and his family were kind of a one hit wonder from Canada, and Tony was just gorgeous. When he started to get older (17 or 18), he started to become less of a teen star. I noticed his pictures weren’t as big on the cover of Tiger Beat. There were these other people with bad teeth starting to overtake the covers of the teen magazines. By 1975, The Bay City Rollers had invaded the U.S. Whatever. Bring back my Tony.
The Bay City Rollers were a pop band from Scotland who wore lots of plaid and pants that were too short. The group was formed in 1966 with brothers Alan and Derek Longmuir and another guy named Nobby Clark. Nobby (what the hell kind of name is that?) left before the group hit it big. Loser! The group started hitting it big in the U.K. in the early 70’s and comparisons were made to The Beatles. Yeah, right.
The Rollers became a hit in the U.S. in 1975 with the single Saturday Night. This is about the time my Tony DeFranco started disappearing from my teen magazines. I hated seeing these plaid boys with bad teeth all over my magazines. Gross. When Alan Longmuir decided to leave in early 1976 (he was old at 27), he was replaced by 17-year-old Ian Mitchell. It was then I decided the group wasn’t so bad after all. I thought Ian was just adorable. Sadness came to me just seven months later when Ian quit after deciding it was all too much. He was replaced by Pat McGlynn, another boy with bad teeth. They fixed his teeth pretty quickly and he was kind of cute, but I didn’t like the group any longer since my Ian was gone. Leif Garrett was on the scene now anyway. Yeah, baby!
The group’s success was waning by the late 70’s. Pat McGlynn left after only a few months. I don’t know if he was fired or if he quit. There were rumors that he was raped by manager Tam Paton (which is very believable). At the very least, I’m sure perv Tam made a pass or two. After Pat left, the group stayed as a foursome for a bit. Old guy Alan joined the group again in 1978 but then lead singer Les McKeown left in 1979 and was replaced with Duncan Faure. Eric Faulkner, Stuart “Woody” Wood, and Derek Longmuir were the only constants during the 70’s.
Some of the members of the BCR are still active in music. I saw my baby Ian Mitchell about ten years ago at the state fair with a bunch of other teen idols (Leif Garrett, Barry Williams, The Cowsills, Bo Donaldson & the Heywoods, and some other people.) Ian looked good and seemed like a super nice guy. He seemed like someone I would want to hang out with. Barry seemed to like himself a lot, Leif was high and couldn’t remember the words to Surfin’ USA, Bo was quite chubby, and The Cowsills seemed way cool (I didn’t know much about them before attending the concert).
Eric Faulkner continues to write and record and still looks good. He almost died a few years ago from viral encephalitis. Woody Wood is a successful record producer. Pat McGlynn is still involved in music and looks pretty hot. Les McKeown is an alcoholic and his appearance reflects that. He is still involved with music. I believe Alan Longmuir is retired and just trying to stay alive. He suffered both a heart attack and a stroke in the 1990’s. Derek Longmuir is gay and now a nurse. That sounds funny, but I’m totally cool with that.
The Bay City Rollers were pretty popular in the 1970’s but like many boy bands, their time has passed.
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