Former Bay City Rollers frontman Les McKeown dies aged 65
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Former Bay City Rollers frontman Les McKeown has died aged 65, his family has told the BBC.
The Scottish pop singer fronted the Edinburgh band during their most successful period in the 1970s.
They had hits with tracks like I Only Wanna Be With You, Bye Bye Baby, Shang-a-Lang and Give a Little Love.
His family announced online on Thursday that he had died suddenly at his home on Tuesday.
Bay City Rollers became tartan-clad sensations in the UK and US in the 1970s. They were hugely successful, selling more than 120 million records.
The group got together in the early 70s and found their name by throwing a dart at a map – it landed on Bay City near Michigan, according to the Official Charts Company.
Their first single was Keep On Dancing in 1971, and they had two number one hits in 1975 with Bye Bye Baby and Give A Little Love, plus chart-topping albums with Rollin’ in 1974 and 1975’s Once Upon A Star.
McKeown said the band’s first pair of tartan trousers were inspired by a picture on a birthday card and were made by his father, who was a tailor.
The vocalist, who left school aged 15 and joined a band called Threshold, went on to join the Bay City Rollers aged 18 in 1973.
He left in 1978, as the band decided to go in a more new-wave direction under the new name ‘The Rollers’, but he later rejoined for several comeback tours and live recordings.