The Scotsman

Bay City Roller Mckeown dedicates song to founding member Longmuir

- By LAURA PATERSON

Bay City Roller Les Mckeown said he planned to dedicate a song to his late bandmate as he played in Scotland for the first time since his death.

The singer said bassist Alan Longmuir, one of the founding members of the band, had been due to join him on stage at Scotfest in Edinburgh last night, but he died in Forth Valley Hospital near Stirling on Monday aged 70 after contractin­g a virus on holiday.

Speaking before last night’s show, Mckeown said: “He would have probably been on stage tonight with me singing Rock And Roll Love Letter.

“I have to stay focused on what I’ve got to do.

“People are not coming along to a wake, they are coming along to have a party, but we will be dedicating our show to him.

“Also, one song in particular – his first hit song called Keep On Dancing, which he had a hit with in 1971.”

Mckeown was speaking as he visited the Glasgow office of children’s helpline Childline, funded by the NSPCC, which will benefit from a collection at Scotfest.

The singer said he has a long associatio­n with children’s charities and previously helped raise £35,000 in a night for the NSPCC.

He met Childline volunteers who joined him in singing the 1974 hit Shang-a-lang, and he praised their work in offering counsellin­g sessions for children.

He said: “It’s a very important thing to get the message out that the kids can have the confidence to call places like Childline.

“If they think there’s something not right in their relationsh­ip with another person, they should let people know about it, in confidence.”

He said adults could also get in touch regarding historic abuse.

Childline senior supervisor Andy Doherty said the visit and song had given staff at centre a boost, and the money raised would help increase the number of children the service is able to reach.

Alan Longmuir formed the Bay City Rollers in Edinburgh with his brother, Derek, and they went onto find huge chart success in the 1970s.

 ??  ?? Les Mckeown will honour bandmate Alan Longmuir
Les Mckeown will honour bandmate Alan Longmuir

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