Rollermania returns - and so does Woody

After saying 'bye bye baby' to guitarist Woody back in July, The Bay City Rollers have announced he will rejoin the band for their upcoming tour.
The Bay City RollersThe Bay City Rollers
The Bay City Rollers

Stuart “Woody” Wood left the band earlier in the Summer, becoming overwhelmed after performing at T in the Park but singer Les McKeown said getting back together was an easy decision, “It’s great to have him back. He felt a bit too under pressure at T in the Park and he sort of said ‘I can’t do it, it’s too much’ so he left the band with just me and Alan.

“One day, he just called us out of the blue and said ‘I feel better about it. I’d like to come back.’

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“He hadn’t played live for 20 years so it’s a big deal for him.”

Their T in the Park performance was one that Les relished, adding he was surprised at just how well it went down.

“It was absolutely brilliant, it was really special, the crowd went bonkers. I thought it was just for young bands or hip bands. We were surprised to get asked to come on it and play the King Tuts Wah Wah Tent but it was a brilliant experience.”

The 60-year-old is no stranger to Blackpool and is close friends with local comic Joey Blower, often coming to perform at his gigs. “Sometimes I go up with my band and play with him on a Sunday,” he said.

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“Everyone queues up at 10 and get slaughtered by the time we get on by 2! We do it for a bit of a craic and the audience loves us up there.”

The Bay City Rollers are embarking on a mini-tour in December, visiting the Empress Ballroom on Friday, December 16,

The shows will top off a busy year for Les who has also released an album of ‘lost songs’. He says he can’t wait to be back in Blackpool: “I’m happy doing Blackpool because a lot of Scottish people live in Blackpool and I think a lot of people up there just like the band.

“I remember in the old days, Blackpool was one of our massive gigs in the 70s so I’m sure there’ll be lots of fans from those days coming to see us.”

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Supported by 1970s glam rockers Sweet and titled “Christmas Shang-a-lang”, the shows will feature everyones favourite Rollers songs, as well as some Christmas songs which have been given a classic ‘Rollers’ twist.