MORE than 40 years after their heyday, Scotland’s Bay City Rollers are a spectacular hit once again, only this time it’s the fans Down Under who have given the legends a new lease of life.
After an astonishing 16 nights in Australia last year in which they sold out almost every venue, Les McKeown’s Bay City Rollers yesterday announced that they will tour both Australia and New Zealand later this year, following their forthcoming tour which is mainly of English venues.
The revival of the Rollers has been greeted with part-adulation, part-incredulity in the media Down Under. McKeown and the band will again play 16 dates in Australia, criss-crossing the country that is also a continent in July.
They will then move to New Zealand for 12 more dates, and if they get the same sort of reviews that they received on the Down Under tour last year, the Rollers will want to pen a rock ’n’ roll love letter to the media and fans.
The show is an unabashed wallow in nostalgia with McKeown belting out their greatest hits such as Bye, Bye Baby and Shang-A-Lang.
One review of their Adelaide show stated: “It was Rollermania, overwhelming, hysterical, pre-teen crazy apeshit bonkers popstar love.”
Another reviewer wrote: “Bay City Rollers gave their generation an opportunity to reunite and take over the venue. Just like the good old times.”
Rock Club 40 in Sydney wrote: “Bay City Rollers featuring Les McKeown, you were fantastic and brought so many wonderful memories back for so many people.”
The man himself told Scoop website: “Let’s be the best that we can be. Let’s put on a show that they’re never going to forget and that’s my attitude every single night.”
In a sentence only Rollermaniacs will understand, he added: “I’ll be giving a little love to my yesterday’s heroes as I only wanna be with you, Australia.”
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