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Date Posted: 09:05:01 11/17/06 Fri
Holy birthplace of the Rollers ready to undergo conversion
JANE BRADLEY
(jbradley@edinburghnews.com)
THEY would go on to sell out venues across the world and be mobbed by screaming fans wherever they went.
But it all started very differently for the Edinburgh boys destined to become international pin-ups as they played to a handful of people in a draughty church hall.
The band that would become the Bay City Rollers is reputed to have first taken to the stage in Dalry Church, where band founders Alan and Derek Longmuir were regular members of the congregation, in the mid-1960s.
Now a little piece of pop history is set for a new lease of life as developers plan to turn the 19th century landmark into flats.
The church, on Caledonian Road, Dalry, is to be transformed into a development of 14 flats by property firm Life PD Homes.
The band, who were best known for songs such as "Bye, Bye, Baby", are said to have performed for the first time in the church between 1965 and 1967 - while the Longmuirs attended the church's Sunday school. The band started out as The Saxons, but changed their name to the Rollers before they were spotted performing in an Edinburgh club and propelled to fame. The United Reform church, which attracted congregations of 400-plus at its peak, remained a place of worship until the tiny congregation joined Augustine United Church on George IV Bridge around 18 months ago after the congregation dwindled to fewer than 15.
Doris Caldwell had been a member of the church since she was born 71 years ago and remembered well the band forming in the mid-1960s. She said the Longmuir brothers had been members of the Sunday school and played their first concert in the church at a social event.
"I didn't go to the concert myself, as I was busy looking after my children, but I remember people talking about it," she said.
Mrs Caldwell, who now lives in Corstorphine, added: "There will probably be more people in the church now that they are to be flats than there were in the congregation."
Dalry councillor Kingsley Thomas said: "I had never heard that the Bay City Rollers had played there - but it's quite a piece of history.
"There were some concerns when the planning application for the development first went in, but it is better to have a use for the building rather than leaving it derelict and falling down."
He added: "The church does have a hall attached to it, so it is quite likely that they played there."
The flats, which start at £165,000, will keep a number of original features of the church, including restored church beams, original arched windows and rooms created within the old bell tower and spire.
Life PD Homes also completed a development at nearby Dalry House earlier this year.
Matthew Gray, director of property for Pagan Osborne, said: "A property of this calibre rarely makes an appearance on the market. Dalry Church has a rich heritage, fulfilling an important role in the local community for decades.
"Its history will live on with many period features being retained and lovingly restored to create a truly unique property in one of Edinburgh's most up-and-coming areas."
The facts
From their humble beginnings in Edinburgh, the Bay City Rollers became a global pop phenomenon.
With their clean-cut image and sing-a-long pop songs, "Rollermania" gripped the world with fans mimicking their distinctive tartan-trimmed outfits. But the band's quick rise to fame was followed by an equally spectacular fall from grace which has led to legal battles over royalty payments.
The band was formed in 1967 by bassist Alan Longmuir and his younger brother, Derek, a drummer, as The Saxons.
They later chose a less English-sounding name by throwing a dart at a map of the United States. The dart landed on the map near the community of Bay City, Michigan.
They got their big break when record executive Dick Leahy spotted them performing at an Edinburgh club, and went on to enjoy a string of hits across the world including Shang-a-Lang and Bye, Bye, Baby.
The band sold 120 million records, generating income worth £5bn in today's money and becoming, at the time, the world's biggest band since the Beatles.
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Registration for Rollerfest in the wild wild west is NOW OPEN!!! 
Ok Ladies, it has gotten to darn quiet around here again! Maybe this will get the board hopping again. 
How many of you ladies remember this? Here is a photo of Derry and Woodrow from Bay City Roller Day in Bay City, Michigan! 
(NT)