Original Bay City Roller Alan Longmuir inspired by Westerns

The Bay City Rollers on stage at the Usher Hall. Picture: Toby Williams

Longmuir – who will be taking the Tartan Terrors to T in the Park this summer –  described the newly reformed band’s sell-out Christmas show at the Usher Hall as “mental”.

“It was great fun,” he said. “Just like the old days.  Looking out at the sea of 2000 faces singing and dancing along gave me the taste to do it all again. That was when I knew it was real. I never thought it would happen again.”

Longmuir is currently in the studio with frontman Les McKeown and guitarist Stuart “Woody” Wood, recording the band’s new, yet to be named, album.

“We’ve recorded a new single called Boomerang and a lot of really catchy songs for the new album,” he said.

“Les has been singing his heart out, he put down three songs the other day. That never happened in the past. Now we have to go through them and pick out the best for the new album.”

Returning to the studio has proved an eye-opener, the veteran pop star admitted.

Longmuir said: “It’s a lot different. In the 70s, everything was recorded on 24-track tape.

“They were telling me that now, the computerised recording equipment can store up to 500 tracks – that would have made life so much easier back in the day.”

The 67-year-old, who formed the Rollers in the late 60s, said it was exciting to be in the studio with Les and Woody again.

“Forty years in the making  . . . but we’re still packing some rock’n’roll punch. The record sounds epic,” he said, revealing that the experience has inspired him to start writing his own songs – country and western style.

“Westerns have always been my favourite movies and I can’t wait to see the new film of Hank Williams’ life story, so it’s perhaps unsurprising that I’ve have a couple of ideas for a couple of country western songs.

“I don’t know if they’ll ever appear on a Rollers album, but I will record them as solo tracks.”