STEPHEN HOUSTON
Almost 47 years after being sworn to secrecy, Paisley DJ Mike Dillon reveals the hush-hush gig Bay City Rollers performed in Renfrewshire as he pays his tribute to late frontman, Les McKeown...
The Bay City Rollers rocked Renfrewshire in a secret gig, we can exclusively reveal.
The story has been kept a secret for 47 years.
Only after the death of lead singer Les McKeown last week did the Paisley Buddie who made it happen feel it was appropriate to talk about the astonishing tale.
At the very peak of their fame, all the Rollers took time on Christmas Day 1974 to travel to the Quarriers Home in Bridge of Weir.
It happened because disco DJ Mike Dillon called their manager Tam Paton two weeks before Christmas and simply asked.
Mike said: “I had arranged to do a free disco for Quarriers on Christmas Day, but about two weeks before I just thought I could do something better.
“I just took a chance and asked Tam if the Rollers would do a gig for the kids - to my absolute surprise he said yes.
“But it was on one condition ... nobody must know about it.
“He told me, ‘If it gets out, we will cancel.’”
The village was founded as the Orphan Homes of Scotland in 1876 by Glasgow shoe-maker and philanthropist William Quarrier and it remains a great charity today.
Mike, who still lives in Paisley, was then in his early 20s and ran Moby Disco under the name Mike Mackay.
He had set up his equipment in a hall in the centre of Quarriers
Village without uttering a word to the children about what was about to happen.
The band played a full gig, rather than staying at home on the most special celebration of the year.
He said: “Then the Rollers, all their crew and tartan paraphernalia suddenly arrived.
“The lovely thing was they did it without reward or any publicity - and the story has never, ever been told.
“I felt the time was now right, after the death of Les, for the world to know.
“There was about 150 kids there and they just thought they were going to a disco after their Christmas dinner.
“After the gig, the Rollers didn’t just dash off to Edinburgh, they stayed, got in about the floor and mixed with the children, asking them what they got for Christmas. At the time, they were the biggest band in the world. “It was remarkable.
“They were away from their families to give something to children who did not have families.”
To this day, Mike has no idea why Tam Paton agreed to the full performance, at considerable cost.
Mike ran Apollo Music – formerly known as The Record Factory – in Causeyside Street for 30 years.
He’s s t i l l involved
in music and presents the Singers and Songwriters show on the popular community station Celtic Music Radio.
He added: “The main thing I remember is how down to earth the boys were, no attitudes despite all the rubbish written about them over the years.
“The kids and staff were all over the moon. Those faces just lit up.”
The charity has managed to find one of the few photos taken of the gig.
And a spokeswoman said: “It’s always lovely to share memories like this and when bands such as The Bay City Rollers offer their time so freely.
“We send our condolences to Les McKeown’s family and thank them for the memories he helped to create.
“We’ve checked our archives and found a photo from the day.
“It sounds like it was great fun and a very special treat.”