An excerpt from Didn't You Used To Be a Pop Star -- Rollerstralia

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Subject: An excerpt from Didn't You Used To Be a Pop Star

Author:
Cathy

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Date Posted: 16:17:35 06/12/08 Thu

Another high-flyer who wound up in hospital was Derek Longmuir, who sold 70m records as part of the Bay City Rollers, and within a few short years was working as a nurse in Edinburgh's Royal Infirmary.

As Rollermania swept the world in the mid-1970s, the five Scottish youngsters had their own TV series, personalised Rolls Royces and a screaming, swooning throng at every airport. However, their earnings vanished into a black hole and in a short space of time they were faced with the humbling task of finding a day job.

The outfit's other Longmuir brother, Alan, now earns his living as a plumber after recovering from a stroke which he says was "definitely" caused by Rollers-related stress. Singer Les McKeown, forced to downsize from a big country pile to a cramped London flat, has also talked frankly of the post-Rollers depression which has required therapy for suicidal tendencies.

Now all in their fifties, the ex-Rollers have at least made it past the point of greatest danger standing between pop stars and their old age pension. A study published last year by John Moore's University in Liverpool showed that in the five years following their first chart success, stars run three times the risk of dying as the rest of the population, with accidents and drug/alcohol causes the top killers.

http://www.independent.ie/entertainment/music/didnt-you-used-to-be-a-pop-star-1406136.html

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