Alan Longmuir: The impact the Bay City Rollers had on the family

THE building excitement around the band was tinged with sadness.

Alan's Mum and Dad on their wedding day, 1944, with Aunt Edie and Uncle Arthur on either side

Our dear Mum died on the 29 April 1974; she was only in her 50s.

It was a desperately sad time.

We had to travel down to London to record Shang-A-Lang for Top of the Pops and then rush straight back to Edinburgh for the funeral.

I recently re-watched that TOTP clip and you can’t tell how much shock Derek and I were in.

When our sister Betty got married in the church that was literally a few doors down from our Caledonian Road family home in 1975, I guess it was the first time I resented the fan intrusion.

It was Betty’s special day and Derek and I felt guilty that Caledonian Road was cordoned off and hordes of screaming girls had to be held at bay.

There were photographers all over the place and they weren’t interested in wedding snaps.

Betty didn’t mind though and when we all adjourned to celebrate at the Taxi Club afterwards the fans turned up outside there too.

We went outside, Derek and I, and said if we pose for some photos and sign some autographs would they all then leave and allow us to have some private family time.

They did, fans and photographers alike, and it ended up all very civilised.

I Ran With The Gang: My Life In and Out of The Bay City Rollers by Alan Longmuir with Martin Knight is published by Luath Press in hardback, priced £14.99.