{"id":47668,"date":"2021-04-23T07:51:47","date_gmt":"2021-04-22T21:51:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cms.smooth.com.au\/?p=47668"},"modified":"2021-04-23T07:51:58","modified_gmt":"2021-04-22T21:51:58","slug":"bay-city-rollers-singer-les-mckeown-has-died-aged-65","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cms.smooth.com.au\/entertainment\/music\/bay-city-rollers-singer-les-mckeown-has-died-aged-65\/","title":{"rendered":"Bay City Rollers Singer Les McKeown Has Died Aged 65"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Bay City Rollers star Les McKeown has died, aged 65. The ‘Bye Bye Baby’ singer passed away suddenly on Tuesday, according to multiple reports.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His former manager John McLaughlin confirmed the news, telling Scotland’s Daily Record<\/em>,<\/a> “I’m very sad and shocked and so is Keiko, his wife. She is heartbroken.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“I’m still in shock right now, I spoke to him last week and he was on great form and happy about life and happy to book his tour. We were friends as well as working partners. He was hoping to get it all going again and he was one of the hardest working men in the music industry. We got on so great and he was great fun to be around. He had his moments but was always a good laugh to be around and a great performer.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Keiko also posted a message on Les McKeown’s Facebook page, writing: “It is with profound sadness that we announce the death of our beloved husband and father Leslie Richard McKeown. Leslie died suddenly at home on Tuesday 20 April 2021. We are currently making arrangements for his funeral and ask for privacy after the shock of our profound loss.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Les
The Bay City Rollers performing in 1978. Image: Wikipedia Commons<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Paying tribute, Bay City Rollers guitarist Stuart Wood shares, “I am upset and shocked to hear this very sad news. Les and I had our differences over the years… but we are sending our heartfelt condolences to Keiko his wife and his son Jubei and all the Bay City Rollers Fans. It’s a sad day in Bay City Roller history.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“He was a great performance on stage and he was full of energy (sic). I was roadying when Les first came into the band and I saw his first gig when he took over from Nobby Clark and injected new life into the band. I was 15 and he was 17.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

McKeown’s death comes three years after band founder Alan Longmuir passed away. He formed the group with his younger brother, Derek, and their school friend, lead singer Gordon ‘Nobby’ Clark.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The group’s ‘classic five’ line-up featured the Longmuir brothers, Stuart Wood, Eric Faulkner, and Les McKeown.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Scottish band achieved global superstardom in the 1970s with a string of hits including ‘Saturday Night’, ‘Summerlove Sensation’, ‘Shang-A-Lang’, ‘Bye Bye Baby’, and ‘Give a Little Love’.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Image: Wikipedia Commons; Source: WENN<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Bay City Rollers star Les McKeown has died, aged 65. The ‘Bye Bye Baby’ singer passed away suddenly on Tuesday, according to multiple reports. His former manager John McLaughlin confirmed the news, telling Scotland’s Daily Record, “I’m very sad and shocked and so is Keiko, his wife. She is heartbroken. “I’m still in shock right […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":47669,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[209,441],"tags":[],"geo_market":[],"class_list":["post-47668","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-entertainment","category-music"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nBay City Rollers Singer Les McKeown Has Died Aged 65 - Smooth<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Bay City Rollers star Les McKeown has died, aged 65. 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