Les McKeown, an original member of Scottish pop boyband Bay City Rollers, has died suddenly at the age of 65.
Bay City Rollers formed in Edinburgh. McKeown became the singer for the band in 1973 and left in 1978, performing on the group’s first eight albums from ‘Rollin’ (1974) to ‘Strangers in the Wind’ (1978). That gave him 11 Top 40 hits in the UK including the two number one hits ‘Bye Bye Baby’ and ‘Give A Little Bit’.
American record company guru Clive Davis championed Bay City Rollers for the US market in 1976. They had a number one US hit with ‘Saturday Night’.
By 1978 McKeown was out, the band had a new manager and a new name. Duncan Faure replaced McKeown as lead singer and the band became The Rollers. Needless to say, it stiffed.
Bay City Rollers sold over 120 million records but the money went to record companies, record executives and managers. Years of litigation ended with an out of court settlement in 2016.
Bay City Rollers took their by throwing a dart at a world map. It landed at Bay City, near Michigan, USA. The tartan trousers worn by the guys were made by Les’ dad, who was a tailor. At their height, Bay City Rollers were the biggest Scottish act in the world, outselling even Rod Stewart.
McKeown didn’t have much solo success. After leaving he released a solo album ‘All Washed Up’ in 1979. Between 1979 and 1993 there were eight McKeown solo albums but all failed to chart. A final record ‘The Lost Songs’ was released in 2016.
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