Bay City Rollers' Alan Longmuir dies aged 70: Family pay tribute to star who would 'humbly say he was just a plumber who got lucky' after he passes away from mystery virus contracted on holiday in Mexico
- Alan Longmuir, bass guitarist for Bay City Rollers, has died aged 70 in hospital
- Comes two weeks after he was flown back to the UK from Mexico after falling ill
- He was on holiday with his wife Eileen when he became unwell a month ago
- Band had a fanatical teen following and sold more than 100million records - in a 2015 interview described themselves as 'bigger than One Direction' in their day
Alan Longmuir, founder member and bass guitarist for Scottish pop group the Bay City Rollers, has died following a short illness.
The 70-year-old musician, who was born in Edinburgh, died at the Forth Valley Royal Hospital in Larbert this morning 'surrounded by loved ones' two weeks after being flown home from Mexico where he had contracted an illness.
Today his family released an emotional statement online, paying tribute to 'an extraordinary man with an extraordinary heart.'
It said: 'He brought so much love and kindness to everyone he met, and he leaves a huge hole in our family. He would humbly say he was 'just a plumber from Edinburgh who got lucky'. However, we are the lucky ones; the ones that were lucky enough to have Alan as part of our lives.'
Alan Longmuir, 70, died in hospital this morning 'surrounded by loved ones' two weeks after being flown home from Mexico where he had contracted an illness. Mr Longmuir posted this photo of his holiday with wife Eileen on Twitter in December last year
Alan was one of the founder members of the Bay City Rollers along with his brother and cousin
The Bay City Rollers were formed at the end of the 1960s and enjoyed substantial commercial success. They were known for their tartan outfits and upbeat, catchy tunes like 'Bye Bye Baby' and 'Shang-a-Lang.'
The band had a fanatical teen following and sold more than 100million records and in a 2015 interview described themselves as 'bigger than One Direction' in their day.
They split up in 1978 and reunited in 2015 for a string of sold-out performances.
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Described by many as 'the original Roller', Mr Longmuir formed the group with his younger brother and drummer, Derek.
A month ago he was rushed to a Cancun hospital and a message posted on the 'Bay City Rollers Pen Pal Reunion' page at the time asked fans to pray for Alan.
The Scottish group sold over 100million records and secured worldwide success with upbeat pop tunes like Bye Bye Baby and Shang-a-Lang. Mr Longmuir is pictured far left
The message said: 'Posted with permission of Alan and Eileen Longmuir. Unfortunately we need to inform all our friends that Alan has been taken seriously Ill whilst holidaying in Mexico.
'He has been admitted to hospital and is currently receiving Specialist Care for a virus that is attacking his vital organs.'
In 1965, at the age of 17, together with brother Derek, cousin Neil Porteous, Nobby Clarke, a classmate of Derek's, and Dave Pettigrew, bassist Mr Longmuir formed the band that would become the Bay City Rollers - although when they first came together they were known as The Saxons.
The Scottish group sold over 100million records and secured worldwide success with upbeat pop tunes like Bye Bye Baby and Shang-a-Lang.
In 1965, at the age of 17, together with brother Derek, cousin Neil Porteous, Nobby Clarke, a classmate of Derek's, and Dave Pettigrew, bassist Mr Longmuir formed the band that would become the Bay City Rollers. He is pictured at The Barrowlands, Glasgow, in 2015
The 70-year-old musician, who was born in Edinburgh, died at the Forth Valley Royal Hospital in Larbert this morning 'surrounded by loved ones'
In 1976, at the height of the band's popularity, co-founder Mr Longmuir was replaced by rhythm guitarist Ian Mitchell, a man ten years his junior, who would in turn make way for Pat McGlynn.
Mr Longmuir returned to the group in 1978 following McGlynn's departure, and switched between bass guitar, rhythm guitar and keyboards. He also played piano accordion.
The Rollers' last show together was in 1982 and ended with them brawling onstage.
In the ensuing decades, the band have claimed they were swindled out of millions in royalties, with some of the members currently taking action against their old label Arista Records in the US courts.
Scottish pop group the Bay City Rollers, circa 1975. Pictured left to right: Eric Faulkner, Les McKeown, Alan Longmuir, Stuart 'Woody' Wood and Derek Longmuir
After the split Mr Longmuir worked as a plumber, a bylaws inspector and dabbled with acting before some of the group reformed in 2015.
Though he left the band with some money (at one point, he had six cars, a sizeable farm and a 'load of horses'), within a few years he was broke.
He said in a 2015 interview: 'One minute I was doing the Hollywood thing, going round to Britt Ekland's for tea, then it was all over and I was doing rounds in my little van, like Postman Pat.'
THE BAY CITY ROLLERS: FROM TEEN HEARTHROBS TO A PUNCH UP ON STAGE AND THE MYSTERY OF THE MISSING MILLIONS
The Bay City Rollers were one of the first boy-bands, a classic of the genre whose appeal and success - including two No 1 hits in America - was immense.
The Rollers sold 100 million records in a few short years in the early Seventies, when they became the most screamed at teeny bopper band around.
A bunch of bantam-weight, working-class kids from Edinburgh, they burst on to the scene with their blow-dried hairstyles, half-mast trousers and stripey socks.
They were almost entirely manufactured by their manager Tam Paton, who died in 2009.
Their catchy hits were written by professional songwriters - usually Bill Martin and Phil Coulter, who also wrote Congratulations for Cliff Richard.
Paton famously promulgated the notion that the boys were clean-living paragons. If only that were true! The Rollers' collective past has been beset by breakdowns, suicide bids, alcoholism and allegations of sexual abuse against Paton, which he denied and was subsequently cleared of.
The Rollers' last show together was in 1982 and ended with them brawling onstage.
The band split after a punch-up on stage, when Stuart 'Woody' Wood hit Les, and its members were hurled into the showbiz abyss, only heard of in the context of a bitter feud, a court case, a stint in rehab or a wistful 'where-are-they-now?' article.
They all also claim they only ever got a tiny fraction of the royalties due.
In 2007, six former Rollers (the ever-changing line-up means there were something like 27 members in total), filed a lawsuit against their former record company Arista, claiming tens of millions of pounds.
WHERE ARE THE MEMBERS NOW?
Alan Longmuir
Their version of Bye Bye Baby sold a million copies in the UK alone in 1975, but a mixture of bad management decisions and a disputed record contract means that, unlike the millionaires of One Direction, they are not rich.
The band finally split in the early Eighties.
The classic Bay City Rollers line-up was Derek Longmuir, Eric Faulkner, Alan Longmuir, Les McKeown and Stuart Wood.
Alan Longmuir
Went on to start a plumbing business and survive two heart attacks and a stroke.
He was one of the members to reform for a tour in 2015.
He died on July 2, 2018, age 70, in hospital after becoming ill while on holiday in Mexico with his wife.
Alan is survived by wife Eileen, step sons Nik and Kyle, sisters Betty and Alice and brother Derek. He is also survived by son Jordan from his first wife Jan.
Derek Longmuir
Derek Longmuir
He retired from the music industry in the early 1980s and trained as a nurse working at Edinburgh Royal Infirmary.
In 2000, Longmuir was sentenced to 300 hours community service after admitting possessing child pornography.
Due to the controversy, he was fired from his job at the Infirmary although he was later readmitted to the nursing register.
Despite his guilty plea, he maintained that the offending materials did not belong to him but were left behind by an acquaintance. Longmuir said he pleaded guilty in hope of avoiding a 'media circus'.
Les McKeown
Les McKeown
Joined the Bay City Rollers in late 1973. The group's intense popularity, nicknamed 'Rollermania', took off shortly afterwards.
He was with the band until 1978, at which time he left to pursue a career as a solo artist, releasing a series of solo albums which saw modest success, primarily in Germany and Japan.
McKeown's psychological troubles, added to by the guilt of knocking down and killing an elderly woman in 1975 (he was found guilty of driving recklessly), spiralled into drink and drug abuse.
In 2005 he was accused of plotting a £50,000 cocaine deal.
'Thankfully the good people of the jury saw through the fakery and found me not guilty' he said at the time.
Stuart John Wood
Stuart John Wood
After his success with The Rollers, Stuart moved to South Africa and performed in a band called The Passengers, which became a chart topping success throughout the 1980s.
Upon returning home, he became a successful record producer in Scotland.
His successes have included producing Virgin Records' 'The Lone Piper' and 'Scottish Moods' which were certified Platinum and Gold in sales.
Eric Faulkner
In the 1990s, he worked as lead singer of a reformed version of the Bay City Rollers, which also featured Alan Longmuir, Stuart Wood and singer Karen 'Kass' Prosser.
Eric Faulkner
He also toured with his own band, The Eric Faulkner Co-operative that he founded with Kass.
In 2007, Faulkner continued as a solo artist and appeared at the Glastonbury Festival as a protest singer in support of British politician Tony Benn.
He arranged for him to end his performance by introducing Tony Benn on the Left Field stage under the banner 'Another World is Possible'.
For many years he also performed all the old favourite Roller tunes as Eric Faulkner's Bay City Rollers at festivals such as Rebellion and Mathew Street.
