Alan Longmuir
The unassuming bassist whose band, the Bay City Rollers, ignited a global teen frenzy and defined 1970s pop mania.
1948–2018 (age 70)·Scottish musician·Birthday: June 20·Baby Boomers
Biography
Alan Longmuir was a carpenter from Edinburgh who, along with his brother Derek, helped form the band that would become a cultural meteor. The Bay City Rollers, with their tartan-trimmed outfits and catchy tunes, were engineered for adolescent adoration, and Longmuir's steady bass provided the foundation. He was older and somewhat more grounded than his bandmates, witnessing the whirlwind of screaming fans, chart-topping hits, and relentless touring from a unique perspective. The frenzy was intense and ultimately unsustainable. Longmuir left the band at its commercial peak in 1976, exhausted by the machine, only to return for reunions in later years. His post-Rollers life was quiet; he returned to plumbing and lived a life far removed from the spotlight. His story is a quintessential tale of pop's dizzying heights and the search for normalcy after the storm has passed.
Baby Boomers
1946–1964
The largest generation in history at the time. Shaped by postwar prosperity, the Vietnam War, the sexual revolution, and Watergate. They questioned every institution their parents built — then ran them.
Alan was born in 1948, placing them squarely in the Baby Boomers. The events that shaped this generation — postwar prosperity, civil rights, Vietnam, and the counterculture — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Alan Was Born
The biggest hits of 1948
#1 Movie
The Red Shoes
Best Picture
Hamlet
#1 TV Show
Texaco Star Theatre
Alan's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1948Born
Israel declares independence; Berlin Blockade begins
Gas: $0.26/galHome: $7,450Min wage: $0.40/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Twelfth Street Rag" — Pee Wee HuntBest Picture: Hamlet
1953Started school
DNA structure discovered by Watson and Crick
Gas: $0.27/galHome: $8,750Min wage: $0.75/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Song from Moulin Rouge" — Percy FaithBest Picture: From Here to Eternity
1961Became a teenager
Yuri Gagarin becomes the first human in space
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $12,500Min wage: $1.15/hrPresident: John F. Kennedy"Tossin' and Turnin'" — Bobby LewisBest Picture: West Side Story
1964Could drive
Civil Rights Act signed; Beatles arrive in America
Gas: $0.30/galHome: $13,450Min wage: $1.25/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"I Want to Hold Your Hand" — The BeatlesBest Picture: My Fair Lady
1966Could vote
Star Trek premieres on television
Gas: $0.32/galHome: $14,200Min wage: $1.25/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"The Ballad of the Green Berets" — SSgt Barry SadlerBest Picture: A Man for All Seasons
1969Turned 21
Apollo 11: humans walk on the Moon; Woodstock festival
Gas: $0.35/galHome: $15,550Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Sugar, Sugar" — The ArchiesBest Picture: Midnight Cowboy
1978Turned 30
First test-tube baby born
Gas: $0.63/galHome: $35,300Min wage: $2.65/hrPresident: Jimmy Carter"Shadow Dancing" — Andy GibbBest Picture: The Deer Hunter
1988Turned 40
Pan Am Flight 103 bombed over Lockerbie
Gas: $0.90/galHome: $74,800Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Faith" — George MichaelBest Picture: Rain Man
1998Turned 50
Google founded; Clinton impeachment
Gas: $1.06/galHome: $107,300Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Too Close" — NextBest Picture: Shakespeare in Love
2008Turned 60
Barack Obama elected first Black US president; financial crisis
Gas: $3.27/galHome: $153,100Min wage: $6.55/hrPresident: George W. Bush"Low" — Flo RidaBest Picture: Slumdog Millionaire
2018Turned 70
Royal wedding of Harry and Meghan; Parkland shooting
Gas: $2.72/galHome: $211,800Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Donald Trump"God's Plan" — DrakeBest Picture: Green Book
Key Achievements
- Co-wrote the band's early hit "Keep On Dancing," which launched their chart career in 1971.
- Played bass on a string of UK number-one singles including "Bye Bye Baby" and "Give a Little Love."
- Performed before crowds of tens of thousands during the Rollers' peak, including a famous 1975 concert at the former baseball stadium in Japan.
Did You Know?
The band's name was chosen by pointing a pin at a map of the United States; it landed near Bay City, Michigan.
He initially joined the band as a guitarist but switched to bass.
After leaving the Rollers, he worked as a plumbing and heating engineer.
He published an autobiography, "I Saw the Light," in 2014.
“I was just a joiner who got lucky with a few chords.”
