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‘Once a Bay City Roller, always a Bay City Roller’
Posted By JOHN LAW REVIEW STAFF WRITER
At the height of the Bay City Rollers’ fame in 1976, guitarist Ian Mitchell walked into an Edinburgh store to make a quick purchase.
He wasn’t aware those days were over. At least for one crazy year.
“I was looking for some makeup because we were flying back to L. A. to do the ‘Merv Griffin Show,’” he recalls. “I picked some up and said (to the clerk), ‘Do you have any of this in dark?’ Then I put it down, picked up another one … and she was gone.
“She fainted. I was, like, ‘Hello? Anybody?’ So, I put five quid down and left.
“But ya, she was lying right behind the till.”
At least this one fainted quietly. They usually screamed first.
To be a Bay City Roller in the mid 1970s was to be worshipped by teenaged girls the world over. In Mitchell’s case, he hopped aboard at the right time, replacing founding member Alan Longmuir just before lightning struck.
A 17-year-old rocker who loved The Faces and Rolling Stones, Mitchell bided his time playing in Belfast club bands before the Rollers came calling. They exploded soon after, scoring with hits like “I Only Want To Be With You,” “Money Honey” and the teen pop anthem “Saturday Night,” which topped the U. S. charts (though it was recorded before Mitchell joined).
Roller-Mania included their own show on NBC, 13 gold singles, and a permanent place on the cover of 16 magazine.
But during one concert in Scotland, Mitchell noticed something odd: The balcony was empty. The kids were already moving on.
“I realized the band was getting old,” says Mitchell, who’ll perform Saturday night at Daredevil Days downtown.
Nine months after he joined, Mitchell walked away. And not a moment too soon -by 1978, the Bay City Rollers were steamrolled by disco and punk, and the teenaged girls had moved onto Leif Garrett and Shaun Cassidy.
In-fighting didn’t help -Mitchell wanted the band to keep up with changing trends, but the rest of the Rollers weren’t interested. “I felt the band could go with a different direction and not just rely on the tartan pants,” he says. “But (they said) no. Which destroyed the band, in my opinion.
“But when you live with someone like that, you’re literally in the same room with five guys, every day … There were fights, and I’m not talking arguments, I’m talking fists.
“It just got too difficult. For a 17- year-old, I was just like, ‘These guys are supposed to be my friends. Nobody’s looking to the future musically. I want to go here, and they don’t want to go there.’”
Post-Rollers, Mitchell formed Rosetta Stone with some Ireland friends, opened his own club in London, and made peace with his Bay City past by playing reunion shows.
His recent shows don’t shy away from nostalgia.
“Once a Bay City Roller, always a Bay City Roller,” he says. “It’s fun … even though we’re all in court.”
Ian Mitchell plays the main stage Saturday for Daredevil Days downtown at 9 p. m., followed by Terry Sylvester of The Hollies at 10 p. m. Admission is free.
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.SULLIVAN TO JUMP
After his status was up in the air, St. Catharines thrill seeker Dean Sullivan has been confirmed for this weekend’s Daredevil Days festival downtown. Sullivan will be rappelling face first from a 200-foot crane on Queen Street with nothing but a rope. Two jumps are scheduled for Friday between 6 and 8 p. m., followed by three jumps Saturday between 1 and 7 p. m.
Earlier this summer, Sullivan rappelled more than 400 feet off the Skylon Tower.
Article ID# 1157980
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