Les McKeown, the former lead singer of the 1970s Scottish pop sensation Bay City Rollers, has died suddenly at the age of 65, his family said Thursday.
A statement from his family posted on social media said: It is with profound sadness that we announce the death of our beloved husband and father Leslie Richard McKeown. The Scottish singer died at home on Tuesday, it added.
The Bay City Rollers in 1974: Left to right: Alan Longmuir, Derek Longmuir, Les Mckeown, Stuart Woody Wood, Eric Faulkner. Credit:Michael Putland/Getty Images
Formed at the end of the 1960s, the Bay City Rollers enjoyed huge success in Britain and abroad with their tartan outfits and pop tunes like Bye Bye Baby, Shang-a-Lang and Give a Little Love. They had a fanatical teen following and sold more than 100 million records. Some in the British media called them the biggest group since the Beatles.
The band is often credited with being the first of the boy bands that later dominated popular music.
When the band toured Australia in the mid-1970s, scenes of pandemonium greeted them whenever they appeared.
Screaming, hospitalisations, hysteria and even a car chase were all part of the fan reaction, known as Rollermania, which peaked when the Bay City Rollers played at Sydneys Hordern Pavilion on December 4, 1975.
Four teenage girls were taken to hospital and 32 others were treated after the concert.
Fans climb a police car when the Bay City Rollers arrived at Sydney Airport in 1975.Credit:Russell Mcphedran; Barry James Gilmour
The second concert was stopped for more than a 20 minutes while girls who had been pressing to the front, were ordered back.