Bay City Rollers star talks about new Pavilion musical in Glasgow

Glasgow Times

4 days ago

'The theatre is just across the road from where Glasgow's most famous music venue, the Apollo, once stood,' says Woody, with a smile.
'We played the Apollo three times, and I have so many good memories of the place and the city.'
The Bay City Rollers – tartan-clad, generation-defining teen idols - had nine top 10 hits between 1974 and 1976, have sold 300 million albums worldwide and (with a few line-up changes along the way) are still touring.
Bay City Rollers fans outside the Apollo in Glasgow in 1973 (Image: Newsquest)
During their heyday, Rollermania swept the nation, and the band's fans were well-known for their enthusiasm in greeting their heroes wherever they performed. Glasgow was no exception, says Woody, who has been part of the band since the 70s.
'We had to get shipped in, round the back of the Apollo, in this big white van with no windows,' he recalls, with a laugh.
'We never saw the fans outside, but we heard them. And on stage, seeing their faces, the sheer delight – it was quite something.'
(Image: Gordon Terris/Newsquest)
He adds: 'The nicest part of being in the Bay City Rollers is the fans. They are very loyal, very loud – some of them have been with us since the beginning and are in their 60s and 70s now. And what's really magical is they're bringing their kids and their grandkids, who have grown up listening to our music.'
Joe Gill, Chiara Sparkes, Stuart 'Woody' Wood, Dani Heron and writer Danny McCahon (Image: Gordon Terris/Newsquest)
Rollers Forever, which runs from August 19 to 30 at the Pavilion Theatre, stars Dani Heron and Chiara Sparkes as Jenny and Susan, two lifelong fans who reconnect one Saturday night and relive their teenage obsession with their favourite band.
Written by award-winning playwright Danny McCahon and directed by acclaimed theatre-maker Liz Carruthers, the production marks the 50th anniversary of the Bay City Rollers' first number one hit, Bye Bye Baby, in 1975.
Woody, who recently published his memoir, Mania, is the show's 'artistic consultant' and he says it has been a fantastic experience.
'It's great that the story is being seen through the eyes of the amazing BCR fans … it's their turn to shine,' he explains.
'I'm really chuffed to be involved – it's all about the songs, and these songs have stood the test of time.
'If you'd have told us 50 years ago that our songs would still be being played on the radio, and in theatres, and that we'd still be touring – well, we'd have been very surprised.'
Cast members Joe Gill, Chiara Sparkes and Dani Heron with Stuart 'Woody' Wood (Image: Gordon Terris/Newsquest)
He adds, smiling: 'It's a great feeling, to know that even when us lot are no longer here, something of us will still be going strong.'
Despite growing up in Edinburgh – he now lives just outside the city with his wife Denise and their labradoodle Elvis - Woody has close links with Glasgow and the west of Scotland. His mum is from Clydebank, and he remembers childhood visits to the city at Christmas time.
'She'd take us to George Square to see the lights, it was lovely,' he recalls.
He grew up 'surrounded by music', he says.
'My family had a piano in the house and my mum used to wake us up by singing opera,' he grins. 'Pals at school wanted to be in a band, so I thought, why not? I couldn't play guitar, I played trumpet and clarinet back then, I was a real jazz fiend.
'But at 15, I got into pop music and it all just happened from there. I just loved hanging about playing music with my friends. And that has never really changed.'
It's the best reason for being in a band, Woody points out.
'If you're doing it for the fame or the money or because you want hits then you'll come a cropper,' he says. 'You've got to do it because you have a passion for it – and I still do.'
He pauses. 'The day I no longer have that is the day I retire.'