Les McKeown

Pop Singer

Les McKeown was born in Simpson Memorial Maternity Hospital, Scotland, United Kingdom on November 12th, 1955 and is the Pop Singer. At the age of 68, Les McKeown biography, profession, age, height, weight, eye color, hair color, build, measurements, education, career, dating/affair, family, news updates, and networth are available.

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Date of Birth
November 12, 1955
Nationality
United Kingdom
Place of Birth
Simpson Memorial Maternity Hospital, Scotland, United Kingdom
Age
68 years old
Zodiac Sign
Scorpio
Profession
Singer
Les McKeown Height, Weight, Eye Color and Hair Color

At 68 years old, Les McKeown physical status not available right now. We will update Les McKeown's height, weight, eye color, hair color, build, and measurements.

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Les McKeown Religion, Education, and Hobbies
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Les McKeown Spouse(s), Children, Affair, Parents, and Family
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Les McKeown Career

McKeown joined the Bay City Rollers in November 1973, replacing founding lead singer Gordon "Nobby" Clark. He was initially reluctant to join the group, later stating in his memoir that it was not "high on my list of bands I'd have wanted to join". The band only achieved national, and then international, popularity after McKeown joined. That said, the locally well-known band, with a recording contract with a minor label, was already established and the newly recruited singer, in his autobiography, maintains that there always was a chasm between him and the rest of the band, despite the fact they were of, more or less, the same age and shared similar backgrounds. The rest of the band members were all from Craigmillar/Liberton, suburbs of similar character to Broomhouse, but near to the southern border of the city, and as the subtitle of his autobiography suggests, McKeown had no pretension to be a rock musician/artist unlike some members of the band.

His arrival also coincided with an overhaul of the group's image introducing half-mast trousers, platform shoes and tartan. They had four songs in the Top 10 in 1974 ("Remember", "Summerlove Sensation", "All of Me Loves All of You", and "Shang-a-Lang" which featured McKeown as the frontman). This was followed by 2 UK number ones ("Bye Bye Baby", "Give a Little Love") and a US number one ("Saturday Night", which was re-recorded with McKeown as the lead vocalist) a year later.

Their manager, Tam Paton, who was concerned about the inadequacy of the band's musical capabilities, apart from McKeown's singing talent and good looks, chose songs for them and hired song writers and competent studio musicians for the recordings. As a result, often in the Bay City Rollers' recordings, McKeown's vocals were the only musical contributions from the band.

McKeown later wrote that he was raped by Tam Paton, and that Paton provided him with Mandrax and amphetamines to help him cope with the pressures of touring.

McKeown left the group in 1978, as its popularity began to decline. He established the pop band Egotrip and released a solo album in 1979 titled All Washed Up, which was successful in Japan. He went on to release eight more solo albums. He rejoined the Bay City Rollers in 2015 for a series of reunion shows, the first of which, at Glasgow's Barrowlands, sold out in three minutes. He released his final album, The Lost Songs, in 2016.

McKeown killed an elderly neighbour in 1975 as a result of reckless driving, for which he was banned from driving for one year and fined £100. He later revealed how the guilt he felt over the event played a key role in his alcoholism. He was fined and banned from driving for 18 months after another driving while drunk incident in 2005.

Source

The Bay City Rollers were left 'horrified' as an ITV series reveals violence

www.dailymail.co.uk, June 30, 2023
The Bay City Rollers' secrets, which aired on ITV last night, sheds a light on how Tam Paton, the band's manager, would treat the group's youth. The band, left, were completely under Paton's custody, right, who would sleep in a different band member's room each night at the height of their fame.

In a Bay City Rollers documentary, Nicky Campbell cries in his arms recalling violence in his daughter's arms

www.dailymail.co.uk, June 30, 2023
As he described how he was humiliated at boarding school, Nicky Campbell (left) burstled in tears in his daughter's arms. The Bay City Rollers, 62, was a television show that aired on ITV last night, and examined how members of the 1970s group suffered in the hands of their boss Tam Paton (bottom right). He talked to members of the band and their families, including Peko Keiko and Jubei McKeown, the widow and son of frontman Les McKeown, who died. Peko told Nicky that she believes Les was assaulted by Paton when he was 19 years old. Later, when recalling the tale to his daughter Breagha (top right), Nicky said she 'always feels ashamed' before she lovingly hugged him and screaming in her arms.

Les McKeown, the Bay City Rollers' frontman, died as a "broken man" after being abused

www.dailymail.co.uk, June 20, 2023
After being harassed by the band's manager when he was 19 years old, Bay City Rollers frontman Les McKeown 'never found peace.' The 70s rocker, who died in 2021 at the age of 65, helped the tartan-clad group gain international recognition for hits including Byee Baby, I Only Wanna Be With You, and Shang-a-Lang. However, the Scottish singer endured a life of heroin use and alcoholism, confessing to drinking "two bottles of whiskey a day." Now, his widow Peko Keiko and his son Jubei have been told a new documentary that the rockstar will cry in his sleep and spiral over the abuse he suffered.