music:Bay City Rollers: singer Les McKeown has died
—
Directly from the dpa news channel
London (dpa) – With his pop band Bay City Rollers, he especially inspired young women – now the former heartthrob and singer Les McKeown has surprisingly died at the age of 65. His family confirmed this on Thursday at the request of the German Press Agency in London.
According to a message on Facebook, McKeown died on April 20th. “It is with great sadness that we must announce the death of our beloved husband and father, Leslie Richard McKeown,” it said. What the singer died of was not known.
The Bay City Rollers celebrated worldwide success in the 1970s with songs like “Bye Bye Baby” and “Shang-a-Lang”. The five boys from Scotland, who also set fashion trends with their tartan look (traditional checked pattern), were particularly popular with young people. Their music was also known as “bubblegum pop” (chewing gum pop). According to the BBC, the “Rollers” sold around 120 million records.
McKeown led the band to their greatest successes from 1973 onwards. Many of their songs were cover versions, but with “Give A Little Love” the group landed a number 1 hit in Great Britain with their own song. In 1978 they parted ways. The singer toured the world to the end with a band called McKeown’s Bay City Rollers.
But it wasn’t all exhilaration for McKeown. While visiting his home country while on tour, he caused an accident in Edinburgh in 1975, in which a 76-year-old woman was killed. According to the BBC, he was charged in a trial of negligent homicide but was acquitted. He later reported that he had not processed the shock for a long time.
© dpa-infocom, dpa: 210422-99-314695 / 4
— .
