Makesomenoise
Records. They moved to Los Angeles but tragedy was around the corner.
In the summer of 1974, the band’s first album on Atlantic, AWB, hit No1 in America. Celebrating its success at a Hollywood party, Robbie, 24, suffered an accidental drug overdose and died.
Hamish said: “We were all in such a state of shock. On one side, your dream has been realised, and on the other hand it’s been destroyed. I often wonder, how it would have been if fate hadn’t intervened.”
Other bands experienced changes which were dramatic in their own way.
Dunfermline boys Nazareth had honed their sound by playing skiffle in Fife venues like Kinema Ballroom. But by the early 70s, they were rocking hard, writing their own songs and living in a rundown brothel in London.
Their sacrifice was worth it when they landed two top 10 hits – Broken Down Angel and Bad, Bad Boy – and an appearance on Top of the Pops.
Bass player Pete Agnew said: “When you were on Top of the Pops, it meant a lot at that time. And people were screaming at us and jumping up and down and we’re going, ‘We’ve made it’.”
The band would crack America with a platinum-selling album and they were another bridge to the next big thing, The Sensational Alex Harvey Band.
The Govan-born showman had been performing in Scotland for years but in 1972 formed the band who would inspire generations to come – including punk band The Skids, who themselves kicked on a second generation of new wave bands like Josef K, Scars, The Fire Engines and Orange Juice.
Perhaps the biggest prize for influence, however, goes to Middle of the Road, who in 1971 scored a major hit with Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep.
Singer Sally Carr said: “I’ll tell you a story about ABBA… Agnetha covered two of our hits in Swedish before she joined ABBA. And the two boys, Benny and Bjorn, said that they used our sound as a guide for their sound.”