When the Screaming Stops: The Dark History of the Bay City Rollers

What happened to The Bay City Rollers is one the great scandals of the music industry. This unflinching book exposes the sinister undercurrents and dark truths behind 'Rollermania', the pioneering boy band fad that gripped the UK in the seventies and spread across the world as the Edinburgh lads scored number one international hits. For the first time, former lovers, band members, and record industry insiders have been interviewed to build up the shocking story of the boy band that became immersed in the cult-like world of their Svengali, Tam Paton, a man who oversaw a culture of stalking, sackings, routine sexual abuse and career-furthering prostitution. Former band leader Paton controlled his charges and promoted them as clean-living teetotalers while subjecting them to various forms of sexual abuse. In Paton, the industry clich? of the manipulative and venal pop manager found its most grotesque expression. Dazzled by sudden global fame and corrupted by Paton's unquenchable sexual appetites, The Bay City Rollers soon became part of his world of depravity, victimhood, crime and psychosis. Tragedies bedevilled every aspect of The Bay City Rollers' career. A 12-year-old girl was left brain damaged in an accident outside Paton's fortified home. A 15-year-old was shot in the head at the home of the lead singer, Les McKeown, who only months earlier had knocked over and killed a woman while behind the wheel of a super-charged sports car he could barely control. Homes were burned down, a policeman killed, a fan committed suicide and two band members claimed that Paton raped them. Nervous breakdowns and suicide attempts were commonplace. One band member was convicted of possessing child pornography and accused of sex with a 13-year-old. Band members became hooked on drugs, and their fall was almost as rapid as their rise, leaving them penniless and emotionally destroyed. Three years after they fired Paton in 1979 he was finally imprisoned, convicted of gross indecency with


About the Author
Simon Spence collaborated with Rolling Stones manager and producer Andrew Loog Oldham on the classic memoirs Stoned and 2Stoned and is author of the highly acclaimed 2012 biography The Stone Roses: War and Peace and the recent Happy Mondays: Excess All Areas. He has written for NME, Dazed & Confused, The Face, i-D, The Independent, The Japan Times, International New York Times and Q.