Written by Trent Richer and Photographs by Lee-Ann Wylie
Sunday May 5th at Hamilton Place Studio , Les McKeown is due to hit the stage at a sold out show. The room is filled with women chanting, yelling, screaming, laughing and ready to party! I was taken aback by the electricity in the room! Is this signs of things to come from the singer’s revival tour?
To back up a bit, Les McKeown joined the Scottish pop band, the Bay City Rollers back in 1973 and released hits such as, “Summer Love”,” Bye Bye Baby” and Saturday Night” during the commercial peak of the band and shot to the top of the charts.
McKeown has found the last 35 years difficult, as the mentality, once a Bay City Roller always a Bay City Roller, has plagued him in the music industry. McKeown is back with a new band; they are called Les McKeown’s Bay City Rollers and are touring across Canada right now and one day hope for an original lineup reunion.
The evening started with a crazed buzz from all the ladies. Several of them were waving albums, until the show was about to start. I could hear S-A-T-U-R-D-A-Y being chanted as they stomped their feet in anticipation. The bagpipes started until the band broke into “I Only Wanna Be With You” followed by hit after hit. The audience was on their feet with each song! Women all around were singing along and dancing in the aisles.
McKeown charmed the crowd with his hello and introduction of the band. You could see that everyone was hanging on his every word. He told a number of stories during the evening and interacted on a personal level. His command of the stage and room was brilliant! The song choices like “Keep on Dancing”, “Be My Baby”, “Rock and Roll Love Letter”, “The Way I feel Tonight”, “You Make Me Believe in Magic” and “Shang-A-Lang” showed the band’s versatility. A Combination of 50’s Rock and Roll sounding like surf music, then a ballad then 60’s Soul music kept the evening interesting. The band and the excitement of the evening kept the room in a positive fun loving groove.
Frequently, women from the audience, would squeeze their way to the front, and try to take a couple of pictures. I could see friendly smiles on the faces of the security guards, as they politely escorted the ladies away from the stage. It’s not often I see this kind of friendly interaction occur and it was all in keeping with the cheerful mood of the evening.
Musically, the band was superb, and the sound was crystal clear, with great tone and only to be topped by the vocals. The harmonies were bang on. McKeown’s vocals sat on top and were strong being the icing on the cake.
It was a great musical experience and if you hear the Les McKeown’s Bay City Rollers are in town, do yourself a favour and check them out! They still retain enough of the old style to keep those fans happy while showing their versatility as they welcome new fans.
Again I would like to thank Hamilton Place and their staff for being so courteous during the evening. Also last but not least, to Michaella Putman for making this all possible! You rock!
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My sister Elaine and I drove from New Jersey and loved every minute of Les & The Legendaries !
@Patti Russell Which one are you?
RitaMich Glad you had an awesome time!!! Must have been worth the drive!