Just over 20
yeas ago, they graced the covers of teenage magazines, sporting calf-length
tartan trousers, platform boots and cheeky grins. The Bay City Rollers, a
group of five fresh-faced Scottish boys, sold more than 70 million records
and played to screaming girls all over the world. But, in 1976, after a long
tour of America, the Rollers landed back at London's Heathrow Airport to
find the crowds had disappeared. Drummer Derek Longmuir is the only Roller
who has given up showbiz, working as a nurse in Edinburgh - where occasionally
a patient says: "Weren't you once in the Bay City Rollers?" There are now
two Rollers spin-off bands. One, which keeps the original name, comprises
Eric Faulkner, 40, Stuart "Woody" Wood, 37, and Alan Longmuir, 44, who still
tour Europe on the college and festival circuit and still play hits like
"Bye Bye Baby" and "Shang-a-lang". Former lead singer Les McKeown, 39, who
split from the band in 1978 launched a solo career and now tours with his
band Les McKeown's '70s Bay City Rollers.