| Night Moves |
Slowly, Mom and Pop posters gave way to
tanned, TV-tutored and/or tall, tartan trimmed hunks. No question
it was five blokes from Edinburgh, Scotland who defined late-seventies
bubblegum. But it was neither the Bay City Rollers' Florence Henderson
haircuts nor their Britlite music that made thier biggest impact;
it was thier tartan togs, a shout-it-from-the-heathered-hilltops
fashion statement meant to identify the group as proudly Scottish.
(Screaming roller fans were seen sporting tartan scarves, socks,
knickers, kilts, tams and face paint.) Christened in 1970 when
thier manager stuck a pin at random into a spinning globe and
landed on Bay City, Michigan (whose unsuspecting residents inherited
a crippling burden of guilt) the Rollers were already stars in
the UK by mid-decade. But only in the UK. Then broadcaster Howard
Cosell "pulled a Sullivan", inviting the so-called Fab
Five onto his ABC variety show "Saturday Night" in September
1975, and Stateside Rollermania got underway. The Bay City Rollers
sang "Saturday Night" on Saturday Night that Saturday
Night, and although it was more of a pep rally chant than a song,
it eventually went to number one in the US, sparking a two-year
chart run for the plaid-clad lads.
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