Bassist Alan Longmuir, his younger brother Derek Longmuir, a drummer, along with school mate, lead singer Gordon "Nobby" Clark 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.
The Bay City Rollers were managed from early on by the imposing and controversial Tam Paton, himself a former big band leader. Paton was notorious for his rigid control over all aspects of the band's career, including the shuffling in and out of group members at a very high rate. Short term members from this period include David Paton (member 1969-1970) and Billy Lyall (member 1969-1971), who went on to be founding members of another successful Edinburgh band, Pilot.
The Bay City Rollers received their first break when prominent record executive Dick Leahy caught their act by chance in an Edinburgh club. After signing with Leahy's Bell Records, the band's first hit was "Keep on Dancing" (UK #9, 1971), a cover of a 1965 Gentrys hit, recorded at the suggestion of pop impresario and producer Jonathan King. (Singer Nobby Clark was backed on vocals on "Keep on Dancing" by King himself.) Upon this release's success, they made guest appearances on BBC-TV's Top of the Pops. The group then won a Radio Luxembourg-sponsored song contest with the tune "Mañana", which was later popular in parts of Europe and in Israel.
Several non-charting singles were released over the following two years. This period did see the addition of long term members Eric Faulkner and Stuart "Woody" Wood.
In late 1973 they narrowly missed the UK chart with "Saturday Night", one of many singles written and produced for the band by the highly successful songwriting duo of Scotsman Bill Martin and Irishman Phil Coulter.
By the end of 1973, Nobby Clark had become disillusioned by the band's lack of success and decided to move on. He was replaced as lead singer by Leslie McKeown.
The five members at the very end of 1973 - the Longmuir brothers, Faulkner, Wood and McKeown - are generally referred to as the "classic line-up". In early 1974 McKeown hastily re-recorded lead vocals of the group's forthcoming single, "Remember (Sha La La La)", which became a sizable hit and a lead in to a series of UK chart hits.
Beginning with "Remember" (UK #6), the Rollers' popularity exploded, and they 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 early 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, selling 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.
By this time, BCR fans had a completely distinctive style of dress, the main elements of which were ankle length tartan trousers and tartan scarves which they had copied from another Tam Paton Band "Bilbo Baggins".
As the group's popularity swelled to superstardom in the UK, a concerted effort was made by Arista Records (the record company that evolved from Bell) to launch the Rollers in America. New Arista head Clive Davis was instrumental in grooming and overseeing the project. His work paid off as in early '76, the Rollers reached #1 on the US Billboard Hot 100 with "Saturday Night", the song which had missed the UK chart completely two years earlier. A second US hit came with "Money Honey" which hit #9, and finally reaching a lackluster 62 with a cover version of Dusty's love power. Prior to that, they made their American TV debut on Saturday Night Live with Howard Cosell singing Saturday Night.
The dark side of the band's unending schedule of tours and appearances was the great amount of stress the band members felt. By early '76, the strain of success (and the discomfort of a mature man in a teen band) had taken its toll on bassist Alan Longmuir, who decided to leave the group. He was replaced for 7 months by 17 year old Ian Mitchell - the first band member born outside of Edinburgh, Scotland (he was from Northern Ireland). With Mitchell, the group released an album titled Dedication, and hit the charts with a cover version of the Dusty Springfield song "I Only Want To Be With You", which reached US #12, as well as "Yesterday's Hero" and "Dedication".
As the Rollers' popularity waned, the shuffling of personnel continued: Mitchell quit the band, replaced by Pat McGlynn. The group's commercial success began to decline towards the end of the 1970s. In 1977, they covered an unsuccessful 1973 single by String Driven Thing, "It's a Game" to give them their final UK Top 20 hit (#16 in the spring), but "You Made Me Believe in Magic" could only make #34 in the summer. It managed to just crack the top ten in the United States, but this would be their final major success there too. Summer of 1977 saw the group release the It's a Game album and world tour as a four-piece group - McKeown, Wood, Faulkner and Derek Longmuir.
In 1978, Alan Longmuir reunited with the band for the recording of Strangers in the Wind. The release of this LP was timed to coincide with the debut of the Rollers' US television show "The Krofft Superstar Hour" later renamed "The Bay City Rollers Show" on the NBC network. The show was a poor match for the band. Their time in the teen-idol spotlight was slipping away and their music had matured and become more sophisticated compared to the bubblegum hits they had released in '75-'76. The show and album were each dismal failures.
Les McKeown left to pursue a solo career after an on-stage fight with Faulkner in Japan.The Rollers fired Tam Paton in 1979. South African-born Duncan Faure was hired to replace McKeown as lead vocalist and the band shortened its name to The Rollers. Three albums were issued under this name, including Voxx (1980) and 1981's Ricochet, before the group disbanded.
During the 1980s and 1990s, there were various short-lived revivals featuring some of the original members, including a New Year's Eve 1999 concert. Interest was rekindled in Britain by television documentaries about the group and a television-advertised compilation of greatest hits, which entered the UK charts on release in 2004 at its #11 peak.
Currently, there is one touring version using the group's name: Les McKeown's Legendary Bay City Rollers.
Alan Longmuir died on 2 July 2018 in an Edinburgh hospital after contracting an illness while on holiday in Mexico. He was 70.
Dedication
Bay City Rollers Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I kinda like the things they're playing
So I settled down to listen nice and easy.
The DJ plays our kind of music
He's asked us folk to choose it
But it all adds up to another
Night without you.
And anyone who's feeling lonely
Can call him up
And make a little conversation
And in the night there's music playing
Soft behind the words he's saying
Would I like to make a dedication
This song I want to dedicate to you
And to everyone who feels the way we do
As long as you're a part of me
The song will play on endlessly
I hope my dedication's getting through
I'm standing in this lonely city
There's not enough to keep me busy
And we can't meet til I can take
A short vacation
You'll never know how much I love you
Lying here thinking of you
And all I got is a late night music station
This song I want to dedicate to you
And to everyone who feels the way we do
As long as you're a part of me
The song will play on endlessly,
I hope my dedication's getting through
Dedication playing just for you.
This song I want to dedicate to you
And to everyone who feels the way we do
As long as you're a part of me
The song will play on endlessly
I hope my dedication's gettin' through
Dedication's playing just for you
The Bay City Rollers' song Dedication is a beautiful ballad about being separated from the one you love and finding comfort and connection through music. The song begins with the singer describing how they called the local radio station to listen to the music they love, hoping that it would provide some comfort and solace while they feel lonely and missing their loved one. The DJ plays the perfect music and even takes phone calls from listeners who want to connect by talking to someone else in the night. The singer then says they want to dedicate a song to their loved one, and to everyone else who feels the way they do, hoping that the song can be a source of comfort and reminder of their love. They express how much they love the other person and how important they are in their life, and that as long as they are together in their hearts, the music will always play on endlessly.
The song is a beautiful commentary on how music can bring people together, even when geography and circumstance may create distance and separation. The DJ becomes a stand-in for a friend or confidant to the lonely and the brokenhearted, giving them a space to connect and share their feelings through music. The singer's dedication is a way to express their love and longing for their partner and to let them know that they are in their thoughts and heart. The lyrics are simple yet poignant, capturing the emotional impact of separation and the ways in which music can create connections and emotional resonance in people's lives.
Line by Line Meaning
I phoned the local station
I made a call to the nearby music station
I kinda like the things they're playing
I am enjoying the type of music being played on the station
So I settled down to listen nice and easy.
I decided to relax and take it easy while listening to the music
The DJ plays our kind of music
The disc jockey plays the type of music that I like
He's asked us folk to choose it
He has requested listeners to pick and select their preferred tracks
But it all adds up to another Night without you.
Despite everything, it is still an evening in which I am not with you
Now and then he takes a phone-in
Occasionally, he invites callers to phone in and talk to him
And anyone who's feeling lonely
Any person experiencing loneliness
Can call him up
Is able to phone him
And make a little conversation
And have a brief chat
And in the night there's music playing
Music is playing in the background during the night
Soft behind the words he's saying
Gently accompanying his speech
Would I like to make a dedication
Would I like to dedicate a song to someone
This song I want to dedicate to you
I want to dedicate this specific song to you
And to everyone who feels the way we do
And to each individual who shares the same feelings as we do
As long as you're a part of me
For as long as you are connected to me
The song will play on endlessly
This song will be played non-stop
I hope my dedication's getting through
I trust that my dedication is being transmitted
I'm standing in this lonely city
I am located in this solitary city
There's not enough to keep me busy
There are not enough activities to keep me occupied
And we can't meet til I can take
And we won't be able to meet until I am able to take
A short vacation
A brief holiday
You'll never know how much I love you
You will never truly comprehend how much I adore you
Lying here thinking of you
Reclining and pondering about you
And all I got is a late night music station
And all I have access to is a music station that is broadcasting late at night
Dedication playing just for you.
This is a dedication played exclusively for you.
Dedication's playing just for you
This particular dedication is being played specifically for you
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: DOUG FLETT, GUY FLETCHER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@larobinson9145
I give Ian so much credit . He walked into that roller coaster of a job, at age 17... Nailed this song perfectly... Acted with a lot of poise and dignity on TV ... No ego trips... Got out when it was too crazy . Very cool guy and talented .
@pennyduncan6861
I am grateful he escaped. It was such a wise decision for such a young man.
@sharonkutz8272
Such a young man at the time.i am glad he escaped before it got too crazy.
@DeannaWalsh
❤️ Ian
@eyfjso
@Penny Duncan 但離開了BCR，有點懷才不遇，否則他名氣應該更大，好可惜！
@BeautifulSpirit-kf5ld
Hard to believe he's been gone two years.
Missed very much
@DeeVolpe1
Rest In Peace, Ian. You’ll live forever in our hearts. 🙏💔
@casey4602
RIP Ian, Allan and Les 😢
@catherinewalker3283
I loved this group as a teen, almost 50 years ago. Ian was my favorite especially singing this song.
@flockeohneschnee4629
Never forget this time when we were young, rest in peace Ian