| Subject: iterviews with the rollers : ) |
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heidi
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Date Posted: 19:03:48 07/17/04 Sat
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here is some facts i thought i would share : )
December 19, 1999, Sunday
SECTION: FEATURES; Pg. 20
LENGTH: 1519 words
HEADLINE: TOGETHER..FOR AULD SHANG A LANG SYNE;
THE BAY CITY ROLLERS BURY THE HATCHET (NOT IN ONE ANOTHER) FOR A
MILLENNIUM COMEBACK
BYLINE: Billy Sloan Exclusive
BODY:
THERE'S a picture I thought I'd never live long enough to see, and neither did The Bay City Rollers. All four original members, in the same room, at the same time, and World War III not being declared.
Sounds almost too good to be true, doesn't it? But, as our exclusive photograph on the far right proves, Scotland's first ever pop supergroup are back together again in their trademark tartan. They've re-formed after what seems like a lifetime of bitter words and farcical legal battles, just in time for the Millennium, to headline the Hogmanay celebrations in Edinburgh. The classic Rollers' line-up of Eric Faulkner, Stuart "Woody" Wood, Les McKeown and Alan Longmuir are due to play their first concert for nearly 20 years in Princes Street. They've dusted off all the old hits, like Shang A Lang, Bye Bye Baby and Summerlove Sensation, and come up with a new improved tartan image. The spectacular Millennium bash will start a new chapter in the The Bay City Rollers' amazing success story.
"We were offered opportunities to play Millennium gigs in America, Australia and Egypt," said lead singer Les. "But we're all Scots and this is such a historic occasion that we thought - if we're gonna do this, then let's do it on home soil."
Guitarist Eric told me: "We're delighted that our songs seem to have so many happy memories for so many people. It's a thrill for us to be asked to play in Edinburgh at Hogmanay."
A few years ago, a Bay City Rollers' reunion would have been simply unthinkable. When they fell out, they fell out big time. Bitter arguments about money, music, touring - and just about everything else in between - led to the Rollers splitting into two camps. On the one side was Les McKeown and, at loggerheads on the other were Faulkner, Wood and Longmuir.
Les said: "There was a time when Eric and I couldn't stand being in in the same country as each other, never mind the same room."
The situation became such a farce that, after one famous court battle in 1992, two versions of the Rollers - playing exactly the same songs - toured the country. Alan's brother, drummer Derek Longmuir, got so fed up he quit the group to become a registered nurse in an Edinburgh hospital. That's all water under the bridge now.
Two years ago, Les, Eric, "Woody" and Alan took the tentative first steps to get back on speaking terms, and they've been speaking ever since. It was arguments over money which split the Rollers... and in the ultimate irony, it was money which helped bring them back together again. The group are suing their former record label, Arista Records, in the United States for an estimated pounds 160 million in unpaid royalties and lost earnings. The Rollers claim they've not received a penny in back royalties from Arista since 1976. Their legal team are trying to sort out the mess.
Les, 44, who is based in London with his Japanese wife, Peko, said: "Initially we had to get back together for business reasons - to find out what happened to our missing royalties. We reckon there are vast sums of money lying in bank accounts all over the world, that we can't get our hands on. The figure of pounds 160 million is based on what we were owed plus how much money we would have generated over the years in terms of record sales and merchandising."
Eric, also 44, told me: "It's been great working together again, and the reunion has been surprisingly painless. "People think we got paid millions when Rollermania was at its peak, but we didn't. "That's why we had to keep touring. To survive. The bills didn't stop coming in, but the royalties did."
In the Seventies, the group were managed by Tam Paton. He quit his job as resident bandleader at the Palais ballroom in Edinburgh after spotting their potential. Paton chose their name when he stuck a pin into a map of America, and it landed on Bay City, Michigan. Back then, only Alan and Derek Longmuir were in the line-up. The original Rollers' singer was a bloke named Nobby Clark. Their first hit was Keep On Dancing, which reached No. 9 in the UK charts. It wasn't until McKeown, Faulkner and Wood joined the group that the Rollers became superstars. They sparked off scenes of teenybop hysteria on a scale not seen since the heady days of Beatlemania. The adulation of their fans even became life-threatening.
In 1975, more than 47,000 screaming girls swamped a Rollers' Radio 1 Roadshow appearance in Leicestershire. It was abandoned - and the group were airlifted to safety by helicopter, when fans began swimming across a lake to try to reach their idols. Paton was a brilliant scam merchant who planted stories in the Press to keep the Rollers in the headlines.in the same country as each other, never mind the same room."
The situation became such a farce that, after one famous court battle in 1992, two versions of the Rollers - playing exactly the same songs - toured the country. Alan's brother, drummer Derek Longmuir, got so fed up he quit the group to become a registered nurse in an Edinburgh hospital. That's all water under the bridge now.
Two years ago, Les, Eric, "Woody" and Alan took the tentative first steps to get back on speaking terms, and they've been speaking ever since. It was arguments over money which split the Rollers... and in the ultimate irony, it was money which helped bring them back together again. The group are suing their former record label, Arista Records, in the United States for an estimated pounds 160 million in unpaid royalties and lost earnings. The Rollers claim they've not received a penny in back royalties from Arista since 1976. Their legal team are trying to sort out the mess.
A still-bitter Les McKeown told me: "We got into this messy financial position through sheer bad management by Tam. He may have thought he was the greatest pop manager in the world - but he was also the stupidest. We were idiots for listening to him. Tam was too busy creating stories for the newspapers to run our affairs properly. He employed a bunch of crooks to look after our money. It was all siphoned off into offshore accounts. We didn't see any of it. We reckon we've sold in excess of 120 million records worldwide but we've never been paid a penny. To say we're p***** off is an understatement."
The pounds 160 million lawsuit against Arista was the catalyst for getting the members back on talking terms. They also have a renewed enthusiasm for the group on a musical level. For the last few months, they've been recording new tracks in a London studio and plan to do a full scale comeback tour in February. There are also plans to release Rollermania, a live album recorded at the Budokan in Japan in 1977. It was discovered on an old reel of tape gathering dust in Eric Faulkner's garage.
Eric - who lives in a farmhouse in Eastbourne with his girlfriend Kass - said: "Seeing Les again was a very strange experience. We went to dinner a few times and tried to sort out the problems. The misunderstandings were stunning. It seemed almost as if our being at loggerheads seemed to make some people happy. In a situation like that you can either carry it on for the rest of your life or sort things out. We saw a chance to solve our differences. And I'm glad we did. It's time to forget the past and move on."
Bass guitarist Stuart "Woody" Wood, 42, agreed. He said: "We've all moved on, thank God. Life is too short. At the end of the day, the problems we had weren't about us as people. It was all the outside pressures that drove us apart. The financial mess we were in was a bit of an unreal situation. When I left school, I became an electrician, then I joined the Rollers. I had no experience of the business side of things. We'd heard stories of bands being ripped off and thought: 'That will never happen to us.' Then when we were ripped off, none of us had enough knowledge of the financial side of things to sort it outHopefully, we'll get our money back. We worked hard for it, so we should get the rewards."
For now, Les, Eric, Stuart and Alan are fired up at the prospect of the classic Rollers' line- up going on tour and making records again. They have fond memories of the crazy days of Rollermania.
"Woody", who lives in Edinburgh with his wife, told me: "It was sheer excitement being at the centre of such hysteria. You just had to lift your hand on stage and instantly 2000 girls would go berserk. That felt amazing. But it used to get real crazy when we'd be trying to escape from a venue in our limo and hundreds of fans would be pressed against the windows trying to get to us."
However, the Rollers are determined not to abandon their famous tartan image. Eric said: "The tartan look is an important part of the band's background. So, for Hogmanay, we were keen to have an updated tartan image, with kilts and Doc Marten boots. We wouldn't be The Bay City Rollers without tartan. I remember seeing Status Quo on TV once and they were wearing suits. It just wasn't the same seeing the band minus their denims. That's how I feel about us. Okay, so we're not 17 any more. But maybe the fans will enjoy the music now. We just want to have some fun." Woody" said: "I think if we were to wear tartan stripes up the side of our trousers, we'd look daft but we've had the tartan image since the early days of the group. Any time we caused a riot, newspaper headlines always described the scene as a 'Sea of Tartan'. It's always been with us, even though tartan itself has gone in and out of fashion. So celebrating the new Millennium in Edinburgh - with the classic Rollers' line- up and all the hits - is going to be brilliant. We're back, and we're back to stay."
TOP
Copyright 2000 The Scotsman Publications Ltd.
Evening News (Edinburgh)
January 3, 2000, Monday
1976. Bay City Roller, Eric Faulkner nearly becomes the Kurt Cobain of teeny-pop after taking an overdose at his manager's house
OH AND DID ANYONE KNOW ABOUT THIS ?
WHAT KIND OF DRUGS DID HE TAKE? and he was at tam patons house, omg!!! POOR ERIC!
PLEASE, ANYONE WHO KNOWS WHAT HAPPEND HERE FILL ME IN. IM SHOCKED I NEVER KNEW!......it's all there in black and white under www.askjeeves.com type in eric faulkner and alot of info comes up. hope this is not to long for the message board : ) KEEP ON ROLLIN, HEIDI
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