The Bay City Rollers were a Scottish pop band who were most popular in the 1970s. The British Hit Singles & Albums noted that they were tartan teen sensations from Edinburgh , and were the first of many acts heralded as the 'Biggest Group since The Beatles' and one of the most screamed-at teeny-bopper acts of the 1970s .[1] For a relatively brief but fervent period (nicknamed Rollermania ), they were worldwide teen idols. The group's line-up featured numerous changes over the years, but the classic line-up during its heyday included guitarists Eric Faulkner and Stuart Wood, singer Les McKeown, bassist Alan Longmuir, and drummer Derek Longmuir.[2]
The Bay City Rollers were managed from early on by Tam Paton, himself a former big band leader.[citation needed] Short-term members from this period included David Paton (member 1969-1970) and Billy Lyall (member 1969-1971), who went on to be founding members of another successful Edinburgh band, Pilot.
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 North America. New Arista head Clive Davis was instrumental in grooming and overseeing the project. His work paid off, as in late 1975, the Rollers reached #1 on the US Billboard Hot 100 with Saturday Night , the song that had missed the UK chart completely two years earlier.[2] The Rollers gave the track their American debut via a satellite-link performance on Saturday Night Live with Howard Cosell. In Canada, it fared equally well, hitting #1 on the RPM national singles chart on 10 January 1976.[4] The Bay City Rollers album (North American release only) hit #1 in the same chart on February 7.[4]
A second North American hit came with Money Honey , written by Faulkner and Wood, which hit #9 in the US. In Canada, it fared better, following its predecessor to the top and giving them their second #1 in the RPM national singles chart on 13 March 1976.[5] The North America/Japan release album Rock n' Roll Love Letter jumped from #25 to the top position in a single week in Canada, deposing their own Bay City Rollers album at Number #1 on the national chart on 27 March 1976,[6] but only managed to achieve the #31 spot on the U.S. Billboard chart.
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