Tartan tribute to late Bay City Roller Alan Longmuir

Tartan-clad seventies pop sensations the Bay City Rollers are synonymous with the criss-cross Scottish design.
Eileen, left, with Liam Rudden and Peko McKeown.Eileen, left, with Liam Rudden and Peko McKeown.
Eileen, left, with Liam Rudden and Peko McKeown.

Years of co-ordinated outfits and scarf wielding fans secured tartan as a vivid trademark.

So there could hardly be more fitting a tribute to the band’s late bassist Alan Longmuir, who sadly died earlier this year, than a tartan created in his honour.

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Officially recognised by the Scottish Register of Tartans, the design, created by fan and kiltmaker Lesley Stirrat, has now been formally approved and registered.

Lesley created the design with the help of Alan’s widow Eileen, weaving personal references to the musician’s life throughout the tartan.

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Eileen said: “When Lesley, an independent kiltmaker, and her friend Gillian suggested weaving a special tartan in memory of Alan, they asked me about his favourite colours.

“It was very emotional, that they would make such a kind gesture really touched my heart.

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“I was delighted to be presented with it at Alan’s book launch on Sunday at The Tartan Arms in Bannockburn, on behalf of all the Longmuir family.

“It’s called The Official Alan Longmuir Tartan: Proud Son of Edinburgh, and that would have meant so much to Alan who never forgot his Dalry origins and never lost his love of his home city.”

The entry in the Register says the strongly purple-hued plaid is “designed as the official tartan to honour Alan Longmuir, an original and founding member of the Bay City Rollers.

It reads: “Alan was a proud son of Edinburgh and a true gentleman who brought happiness to so many.”

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The colours were chosen for their sentiment: green for the Ochil Hills; purple for the heather; dark blue symbolises the Bannock Burn; blue was a favourite of Alan’s and light red representing pink, a favourite of both designers: his wife Eileen and friend Lesley.

Edinburgh Evening News Entertainment Editor, friend and writer of the popular I Ran With The Gang Fringe show, Liam Rudden added: “The new tartan was revealed during the Bannockburn launch of Alan’s autobiography I Ran With The Gang: My Life In and Out of The Bay City Rollers, which I was hosting for Luath Press.

“Alan’s wife Eileen, brother Derek and sisters Betty and Alice were all in attendance and it was quite a moving moment. The tartan looks very smart and I’m sure it will be in great demand.”

The exclusive tartan is restricted for use by the family, designers, and their descendants only.

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The late musician shared details of his rise to fame and life during and after the Bay City Rollers in a new and revealing autobiography, published last week, five months after his death. Co-written by Martin Knight, demand for the book has been so high that it has already gone to a second print.

Alan, 70, started pop sensations The Bay City Rollers with his brother Derek in Edinburgh in 1964, but spent his later years living in Bannockburn. He died in hospital in July surrounded by loved ones after being flown home from Mexico where he had contracted an illness.

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