Fangirl from Rollermania to ARMY

The BTS ARMY are the fan-people of today. Tech-savvy, globally minded and fiercely loyal they follow the music and adventures of the phenomenal South Korean group, BTS. I am a member of the ARMY but my life as a fangirl started many years ago.

Leslie McKeown was the first love of my life. The world lost him unexpectedly on April 20, 2021.

The charismatic lead singer of the Bay City Rollers was the reason I was struck with Rollermania. The Scottish band was already a sensation throughout the UK when they crossed the pond to America in the fall of 1975. "It was just crazy, 12-year-olds and 14-year-olds all dressed up in Roller garb, with that look in their eye, of love. It was young love personified”, said music publicist Carol Strauss Klenfner, who had organized a press trip for them. In fact, I turned 12 in January of 1976, the same month that “Saturday Night” rose to the top of the Billboard charts. Their crazy tartan trimmed trousers and “blockhead” haircuts garnered jokes and jabs from those who weren’t swept up in their global wave. Everywhere they went girls were screaming, crying, fainting, and wearing tartan. Not unlike BTS, the Rollers dominated the UK, US, Australia and Japan selling over 120 million records. For my thirteenth birthday I received a record player and two albums; Dedication and It’s a Game. Yes, the voice of Les McKeown filled my days and dreams. But as my preteens came to an end, so did Rollermania.

I had been a fan of groups and bands before my preteen years due in part to having two older sisters. The Osmonds, Jackson 5, and The Monkees were some of my favorites but none gave me the rush of feeling I got from Rollermania. I never saw BCR in person and we didn’t have internet back then to catch a glimpse whenever we needed to. We had to wait until they were on a TV show and most definitely had to buy 16 Magazine to read the tidbits of information and to plaster the bedroom walls with the posters inside. Since that time, there have been other boy bands (Backstreet Boys, I’m looking at you) but none have compared to the frenzy of BCR in my youth.

I recently told my husband, “BTS is the first group I’ve loved as much as the Bay City Rollers.” It’s true, but no one will ever replace the love young me had for Les McKeown and the Bay City Rollers.I still love a tartan plaid.

RIP Les

BTW If you only know BCR by the song Saturday Night, you are so missing out.

Please check out my Bay City Rollers top 10 favorites on Spotify.

Image by Brock Wegner via Unsplash