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.
Please Stay
Bay City Rollers Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And pleaded with you
Not to go but to stay in my arms
Would you walk out the door
Like you did once before
This time, You'll be different
Please stay, don't go
If I called out your name
Would you leave me alone
In my fear
Knowing I need ya so
Would you still turn and go
This time, you'll be different
Please stay, don't go,
Please stay
I loved you before
I even knew your name
And I wanna to give you my heart
Well then you came back after me one time
Oh, I knew, oh how I knew
That these heartaches would stop
Would you still hurt my pride
Baby hey hurt till I cry
This time, you'll be different
Please stay, don't go
Please stay
You know I'll always love you darling
Please stay
The song "Please Stay" by the Bay City Rollers is a soulful plea to a lover asking them to stay. The lyrics convey the singer's fear of rejection and desperation for the love of their partner. The singer promises that things will be different this time and urges their lover not to walk out of their life like they had done before.
The opening lines of the song, "If I got on my knees and pleaded with you, not to go but to stay in my arms", reveal the singer's vulnerability and willingness to do anything to keep their lover from leaving. The lyrics go on to describe how the singer is afraid of being alone without their partner and how they need them desperately. The chorus of the song emphasizes the singer's desire for their lover to stay with lines like "Please stay, don't go" and "Please stay".
The song is a classic love ballad that captures the fear and pain of losing someone you love. The Bay City Rollers' delivery of the song is heartfelt and emotional, making it a timeless classic in the realm of romantic songs.
Line by Line Meaning
If I got on my knees
If I beg and plead with you
And pleaded with you
And implore you
Not to go but to stay in my arms
To stay with me and not leave
Would you walk out the door
Would you leave me
Like you did once before
Just like you left me in the past
This time, You'll be different
This time, I hope you'll change
Please stay, don't go
Please stay with me
If I called out your name
If I cried out to you
Like a prayer
Like it's my last hope
Would you leave me alone
Would you abandon me
In my fear
In my time of need
Knowing I need ya so
Knowing I need you so much
Would you still turn and go
Would you still leave me despite my plea
This time, you'll be different
This time, I hope you won't hurt me
Please stay, don't go,
Please stay with me, don't leave
Please stay
Please don't leave me
I loved you before
I had feelings for you long before now
I even knew your name
I didn't need to even know you personally to fall in love
And I wanna to give you my heart
I want to be with you completely
Well then you came back after me one time
When you returned to me that one time
Oh, I knew, oh how I knew
I knew deep down that you were the one for me
That these heartaches would stop
That the pain and hardship would come to an end
Would you still hurt my pride
Would you still cause me to feel embarrassed or ashamed
Baby hey hurt till I cry
It hurts so much that I can't help but cry
This time, you'll be different
This time, I hope you'll change
Please stay, don't go
Please stay with me, don't leave
Please stay
Please don't leave me
You know I'll always love you darling
You know I'll always love you
Please stay
Please don't leave me
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: BURT BACHARACH, BOB HILLIARD, BURT F. BACHARACH
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Darlene Cannon Cannon
Beautifully done and thank you!
Love you Leslie...
Jane Clews
WATCHING THIS BUT IT REAL SAD TO THINK WE CAN'T SEE Leslie again. But we got our memories of this lovely man
Kevyn B
Found this song after such a long time! Love it to bits :) RIP Les 20.04.20.21 :'(
paul nodalo
BAY CITY ROLLERS most underrated band of all time.
The world has woken up now as the Bay city rollers embark on their 2016 World tour.Selling out in all countries.Not a single ticket left.
Japan next.Sold out in Uk in 3 minutes at barrowlands.World record for the band.
Richard Leigh
paul nodalo can't argue with that
Joan Hay
Love this song
Joanne Greenwood
This is a very poignant song and emotionally sung by Les. The guitar work is superb and love the harmony. The Rollers often included songs other than their own with great insight and success. It's a pity the heyday had to end, BUT they did have it all. Various configurations of the Rollers' band have appeared, but absolutely none have lived up to the original -- they were magical and unique. Regards, Jo.
Lesa Beaty
Such a beautiful song!! Love the way you put this slide show together; so many lovely pix of our boys. Great job, Janny. :)
Melanie Tamim
Love, love, love. Beautiful and So talented. Thank you for the music and the memories. You will live on in our hearts forever.
Linda Fiaschi
Thanks for the bay City rollers brought up on there wonderful music talent band.Should be given more credit. Rest in peace Alan 😭😭😍😍❤️❤️