In Memoriam: Alan Longmuir

More sad news this week: Bay City Rollers founding bassist Alan Longmuir has passed away after a short illness. He was 70 years old. The news was announced by his family on Twitter.

“We are devastated to share the news that Alan has passed away peacefully surrounded by family. He was an extraordinary man with an extraordinary heart. 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. We’d like to thank everyone for the love and support that they have provided so far. We would now like to make a firm request to allow us to mourn Alan’s passing in private.”

Longmuir formed The Saxons on bass with his brother Derek in Edinburgh, Scotland in 1966. They quickly renamed themselves The Bay City Rollers after throwing a dart at a map that landed close to Bay City, Michigan. The band landed their first hit with a cover of “Keep On Dancing” by The Gentrys in 1971, but it was 1973’s “Remember” that expanded the band’s fame. They went on to land a string of hits with “Shang-a-Lang”, “Summerlove Sensation”, and “Bye Bye Love.” The Bay City Rollers hit peak popularity in 1976 with “Saturday Night”, but Longmuir lost the joy of the band by then and quit. He subsequently returned in 1978 as a multi-instrumentalist. He would join a one-off reunion concert in 1999 plus a 2014 show based on his life called “And I Ran With The Gang”.

Our thoughts are with the family and friends of Alan Longmuir.