Today’s post is about Bay City Rollers Songs.  The original boy band the Bay City Rollers were from Edinburgh, my home town. I will list their singles and albums. I will also add a bit of the history of the band.

 

Bay City Rollers Songs

Bay City Rollers – History

Bay City Rollers 1978The Bay City Rollers had their biggest success during 1974-1975 with 7 top 10 hits in the UK. In total they had 12 top 40 hits here. They also had limited success in America, but they did get a number 1 there.

The boys began life as The Saxons formed by The Longmuir brothers who were still at school. At the time. Alan Longmuir (born on the 20th June 1953) and Derek Longmuir (born on the 19th March 1952 had their first break in 1969 when Alan persuaded local dance band leader Tam Paton to come and listen to them. Paton had become tired of having his coffee breaks interrupted by the persistent 15 year old.

 

He went to see them in a back bedroom of an Edinburgh council flat where the boys played the usual schoolboys versions of Beatles songs. Their enthusiasm though convinced Paton to take them on. Up until then they had only played a few local gigs first as The Saxons and then as The Bay City Rollers.

Paton who had no managerial experience, managed to get them a residency at the local Top Storey club. Dressing them up in pink suits and black bow ties. They spent the next 2 years playing around Scotland, were they gathered a large following. The only thing was they were not making any money.

 

The Breakthrough

In 1971 Dick Leahy who was head of Bell Records in the UK, found himself with a few hours to kill in Edinburgh. He had missed his plane and was persuaded to go and watch the group. He was amazed by the teenage fans reaction to the Rollers bouncy pop tunes, he then signed them up.

By now the band consisted of Derek Longmuir (drums), Nobby Clark (vocals), Alan Longmuir (bass), Dave Paton (guitar) and Billy Lyall (keyboards). Despite Bell’s offer, Paton and Lyall left the group ( later to re-surface as members of Pilot). Keyboard player Archie Marr and guitarist Neil Henderson were added. Then a 2nd guitar player Eric Faulkner (born on the 21st October 1954) was brought into the line up and Marr was dropped.

In June 1971 The Bay City Rollers released their first single called Keep On Dancing, it made no impression to start with until the radio stations picked it up and extensive airplay helped the single reach number 9 in the charts in the UK.

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Their three follow up singles We Can Make Music, Manana and Saturday Night all flopped. Saturday Night though topped the charts in the US in 1976.

The groups final chance with Bell in February 1974 was the song Remember (Sha-La-La). In the week that Remember was bubbling under the charts they appeared on Top Of The Pops. They wore the soon to be famous outfits of rather short trousers with tartan stripes up the side and around the bottom. Eric Faulkner suggested they wear their exaggerated outfits as they seemed so popular with the kids in Scotland.

After four years on the road the band were on the verge of splitting up. Even a hit record didn’t stop new guitarist John Devine or singer Nobby Clark from leaving. By the time their next single Shang-A-Lang reached number two, the band now had the more famous line up. The Longmuir Brothers, Eric Faulkner, rhythm Guitarist Stuart “Woody” Woods (born on the 25th February 1957) and singer Les McKeown ( born on the 12th of November 1955) was complete.

 

 

 

Rollermania

The band were screamed at by thousands of adoring teenage girls wherever they went and the word Rollermania entered the newspaper headlines. They were really taking off by now with Summer-love Sensation reaching number 3 in August 1974 and All Of You Loves All Of Me reaching number 4 two months later.

In 1975 in their first session with new producer Phil Wainman, who went on to be their regular producer, they got their first number one single in the UK with Bye Bye Baby. This was followed to the top in the July of 1975 by Give A Little Love.

The ratings for the TV pop shows were soaring and the Bay City Rollers made frequent appearances on these shows. They even had their own pop show called Shang -A-Lang which they did from Scotland.

Let’s move on to their discography.

Bay City Rollers Songs – Singles

I will name the song, the year of release and chart position reached in the UK and where applicable the US.

  1. Keep On Dancing (1971) (9)
  2. Remember (Sha-La-La) (1974) (6)
  3. Shang-A-Lang (1974) (2)
  4. Summerlove Sensation (1974) (3)
  5. All Of Me Loves All Of You (1974) (4)
  6. Bye Bye Baby (1975) (1)
  7. Give A Little Love (1975) (1)
  8. Love Me Like I Love You (1975) (4)
  9. Saturday Night (1976) No. 1 in the US
  10. Money Honey (1976) (3) (9)
  11. Rock And Roll Love Letter (1976) No. 28 in the US
  12. O Only Want To Be With You (1976) (4) (12)
  13. It’s A Game (1977) (16)
  14. You Made Me Believe In Magic (1977) (34) (10)
  15. The Way I Feel Tonight (1977) No. 24 in the US

 

 

 

Bay City Rollers – Studio Albums

The Bay City Rollers had 5 studio albums in the charts in the 70’s plus two greatest hits albums in the 2000’s. I will list the album name, year released and chart position reached in the UK and if applicable the US.

  1. Rollin’ (1974) (1)
  2. Once Upon A Star (1975) (1)
  3. Bay City Rollers (1975) No. 20 in the US
  4. Wouldn’t You Like It (1975) (3)
  5. Rock n’ Roll Love Letter (1976) No. 31 in the US
  6. Dedication (1976) (4) (26)
  7. It’s A Game (1977) (18) (23)
  8. The Very Best Of (2004) (11)
  9. The Greatest Hits (2010) (10)

 

Bay City Rollers Songs

 

 

Did this post bring back some memories for you? If yes leave a comment below and let me know what your favourite Bay City Rollers song was. Maybe you saw them in concert. It would great if you shared your experience with us.

 

If you get a minute could you please pop over to my Facebook Page and join us. I plan to build this page this year as I have more time on my hands since retiring.  I am trying to get people to share their favourite 70s music.  As you know we do not all like the same songs and it would be great to hear page members favourite 70s songs.  I hope to see you there soon.

Thanks For Visiting Today. Make sure you come back as I build the site, leave a comment below if there is any singer or group you think I should add to the site.

Frank

Music Of The 70s

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

frank@musicofthe70s.co.uk

 

12 Replies to “Bay City Rollers Songs”

  1. I have to be honest, I’ve never heard of them. Maybe because I was a baby back then.

    However, listening to their songs, I like it. Very refreshing to hear songs that I can actually understand.

    Some artist now that are so popular I can’t understand what they are saying.

    Too much bass or music that the lyrics are drowned out. Very cool story to boot.

    1. It is good that you are listening to music from when you were a baby Kelyee, I was the same with 50’s music. I loved those songs from then too. You are right about being able to hear the words from songs years ago. I am forever thinking when I hear new songs what is he saying. If you can’t make out the words it spoils the song for me.

      Thanks for visiting today,
      Frank

  2. Cool story about how they’ve got together. Thanks for sharing the list of Bay Roller’s singles. There’s a lot to learn about the history of this musical era from your website.

    1. Hi Ivan, glad you like the site, there is a lot to learn about music from a different era. The Bay City Rollers were part of my youth, especially as I lived in Edinburgh where they were from.

      Make sure you come back and check out the site as it grows,
      Frank

  3. Loved this article, very well written and relatable. I joined your facebook page and look forward to seeing more from your site. Thank you.

    1. Hi Kimberly, thanks for dropping by today. I am happy that you enjoy 70’s music and that you joined the facebook page. I am just starting to build the page slowly but surely.

      Make sure you come back as the site develops,
      Frank

  4. OMg I love the Bay City Rollers! Honestly, I love all the music from the 70’s and the BCR version of “I only want to be with you” was a favorite of mine. And “Saturday Night” was the ultimate party song of its day. Such fun music.

    I also remember the tartan craze! It was a fun time. Thank you for reminding me 🙂

    1. Hi Irma, so you were a Rollers fan, they did have some great songs like the 2 you mention. They fitted right in with music scene in the UK at the time. The tartan outfits made more people aware of Scotland, which is a good thing.

      I think my favourite was bye bye baby, I also liked their first hit keep on dancing. I have a story about that, the guy who owned the local sweet shop was a session drummer and he said it was him who played the drums on that recording not Derek Longmuir. He said he had the option of a percentage of the takings or £50, which was a lot of money at the time. He opted for the money and missed out on a good pay out. I don’t know if this was true or not, but it is what he told us.
      Frank

  5. Ah the Bay City Rollers… The song I most remember is Saturday Night and it plays every so often on the Sirius XM 70’s Channel… Memorable song for sure…
    Seems they kind of left the limelight after 1977. What happened?

    1. Hi Colleen, It is good that they still play that song over there, it was not a hit in the UK but made number one in the states, strange!

      They split up after a lot of arguments among the band and had a big bust up with the manager Tam Paton, who has been accused of keeping most of the money made, for himself. There are still a couple of versions of the band doing the circuit. I know Les McKeown has one version and I think Eric Faulkner has another. Les McKeown’s version always turn up at the 70’s weekends we have over here.

      Frank

  6. Hi Frank,
    I always find it so interesting how these groups start out. This group seems to have undergone many changes over a short time.
    But it must be hard to have such a passion, and not get ahead as quickly as you’d like.
    They seem to have been a hit in Scotland though.
    Personally, I’ve heard of them but didn’t listen to their music back then. But it was great fun watching the videos with all that hair! Oh my, those were the days, lol.
    And the outfits! Wow! We wore strange stuff in those days, haha.
    Cheers,
    Suzanne

    1. Hi Suzanne, I am glad you enjoyed this look at the Bay City Rollers. Yes the outfits were weird back then, and as you mention the hair styles were pretty bad too. I even had hair in those days:)

      Thanks for visiting,
      Frank

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