They sang shang-a-lang and tried to run with the gang – but the screaming tartan army of Bay City Roller fans were held back by the police.
It was May 2 1975 and Aberdeen’s Capitol Theatre saw one of its most boisterous concerts in its illustrious history as the Edinburgh pops stars took to the stage at the height of Roller-mania.
Fronted by Les McKeown, who sadly passed away today, the Rollers had their Granite City fans whipped into a frenzy before they even arrived in Aberdeen.
In the weeks before the concert the 2,000 tickets were snatched up – leaving some 7,000 fans bitterly disappointed they couldn’t get a seat for the gig, reported the P&J.
On the day of the concert, fans desperate for a glimpse of the chart-topping band waited all day at Aberdeen Airport for them to arrive, then followed them into the city after they touched down.
Meanwhile, the P&J told how thousands of fans, mostly young girls, wearing tartan scarves and half-mast trousers, queued outside the Capitol on Union Street for hours before the gig.
“When the group were in their dressing room, nearby streets were seething with youngsters”, said the newspaper’s report. “Those with tickets in their hands, those hoping to climb through a window and those hoping to hear the music outside. Police patiently held them back.”
Once the concert got under way, the scene inside the Capitol was bedlam, with screaming girls jumping up and down and weeping as the sight of the Rollers, in scenes reminiscent of the days of The Beatles.
Stewards kept the girls back when they occasionally tried to rush the stage.
But for all the hysteria and hullaballoo, police said the night passed without any incidents – bar a pane of glass broken in the Capitol’s door.
