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Alan Longmuir

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Alan Longmuir
Longmuir in 1976
Longmuir in 1976
Background information
Birth nameAlan Longmuir
Born(1948-06-20)20 June 1948
Edinburgh, Scotland
Died2 July 2018(2018-07-02) (aged 70)
Larbert, Scotland
GenresRock, pop rock
OccupationMusician
InstrumentBass guitar
Years active1964–2018
Formerly ofBay City Rollers

Alan Longmuir (20 June 1948 – 2 July 2018) was a Scottish musician and a founding member of the pop group the Bay City Rollers. He played the bass guitar, whilst his younger brother Derek Longmuir was drummer.[1]

Early life

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Longmuir was born at Simpson Memorial Maternity Pavilion Hospital, Edinburgh to Duncan and Georgina Longmuir.[2] His father, Duncan was an undertaker.[2] Alan and his younger brother Derek Longmuir both went to Tynecastle High School, and Alan left the school in 1963.[2] He had two sisters, Betty and Alice.[2]

Until their career took off, he worked as a plumber, but had spent a year in office work after leaving school.[2][3]

Career

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Further information: Bay City Rollers

A member of a musical family, he formed his first band at the age of 17, with his brother Derek and two others. They changed their name and line-up to become the Bay City Rollers.[1]

In 1976, at the height of the band's popularity, Alan Longmuir was growing tired and stressed, and was subsequently kicked out of the group by their manager for being "too old and too hard to control".[2][4] Longmuir was replaced by rhythm guitarist Ian Mitchell, who was ten years his junior. Tam Paton, then the group's manager, alleged that Longmuir had tried to commit suicide. Paton's own conduct was later revealed as a contributory factor in the unhappiness of some band members.[1][5] Mitchell himself made way for Pat McGlynn in December 1976.[6]

Bay City Rollers, 1976

Longmuir returned to the group in 1978 following McGlynn's departure, and thereafter switched between bass guitar, rhythm guitar and keyboards. He also played piano accordion.[7]

In 1977, Longmuir released "I'm Confessing", which peaked at number 44 in Australia.[8] He played a mechanic in the 1980 film, Burning Rubber.[2]

A one man show called "I Ran With The Gang", which was performed at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe between 2014–2018, is about the life of Longmuir, and returned to the 2024 Fringe festival.[9][10]

Personal life

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After leaving the Bay City Rollers in the 1970s, Longmuir but spent much of his time fishing and looking after his horses on his farm in Dollar, Clackmannanshire.[2] He went back to working as a plumber and water pipe inspector[4] until 2000, and from then until retiring in 2014, was a bylaws inspector.[2]

Longmuir was married twice, briefly to Jan Longmuir, from 1985 until their divorce in 1990; they had one son, Jordan.[11] His second, lasting marriage was to Eileen Rankin Longmuir, who he met in 1994,[12] from 1998 until his death; Eileen had two sons of her own, to whom Alan was step-father.[13]

Health

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While owner of the Castle Campbell Hotel in Dollar, Clackmannanshire, he suffered two heart attacks (one happened in 1995) and a stroke in 1997,[13][14] and in 2000 he decided to retrain as a building inspector.[15] When Alan suffered the heart attack in 1995, Derek was one of the nurses who helped him recover.[16] As a result of the stroke, the muscles in his left eye are damaged and he is paralysed down most of his left side.[14]

Longmuir admitted suffering from alcoholism and "drinking into a premature grave", but was given help from his wife Eileen.[12]

Death

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Longmuir died at 6am on 2 July 2018 at Forth Valley Royal Hospital in Larbert, Scotland, after contracting an illness while on holiday in Mexico three weeks before, where he had been a patient at the Galenia Hospital in Cancún but had been cleared to return home. He was 70 years old.[17][18][19] He was flown by air ambulance from Mexico back to Scotland.

By his side at the time of his death were his wife, children, and friends, including Les McKeown.[20] Alan was told by medics in Mexico that a liver transplant could help him, but due to his age and medical history, there was "no hope" in the proceedure.[20]

Over £5,000 was raised at a celebration on Longmuir's life on 21 June 2019.[21] Longmuir was remembered at New York's "spartan day" in 2022, which Eileen was invited to.[22]

References

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  1. ^ a b c "Obituary - Alan Longmuir, bass player with the Bay City Rollers". The Herald. Glasgow. 2 July 2018. Archived from the original on 2 July 2018. Retrieved 2 July 2018.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Sullivan, Caroline (3 July 2018). "Alan Longmuir obituary". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 15 September 2024.
  3. ^ Diane King (2 July 2018). "Alan Longmuir family issue heartfelt statement after star's death". Edinburgh News. Archived from the original on 3 July 2018.
  4. ^ a b "Alan Longmuir, a Founder of the Bay City Rollers, Dies at 70". The New York Times. 2 July 2018. Retrieved 15 September 2024.
  5. ^ Pierre Perrone (11 April 2009). "Tam Paton: Disgraced former manager of the Bay City Rollers". The Independent. Archived from the original on 3 July 2018. Retrieved 2 July 2018.
  6. ^ "Ian Mitchell, former member of Bay City Rollers, dies at 62". BBC News. 2 September 2020.
  7. ^ Hal Erickson (1 September 1998). Sid and Marty Krofft: A Critical Study of Saturday Morning Children's Television, 1969-1993. McFarland. pp. 200–. ISBN 978-0-7864-3093-2.
  8. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 181. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  9. ^ Street, 180 High; Edinburgh; Eh1 1qs; Kingdom +44131 226 0026, United. "I Ran With The Gang". Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Retrieved 15 September 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  10. ^ "I Ran With The Gang returns to The Fringe". Edinburgh Reporter. 24 June 2024. Retrieved 15 September 2024.
  11. ^ "Alan Longmuir obituary". The Times. 3 July 2018. Archived from the original on 3 July 2018.
  12. ^ a b "Alan Longmuir: Happy days with Eileen and the Bay City Rollers' reunion". Edinburgh News. 24 November 2018. Retrieved 15 September 2024.
  13. ^ a b Liam Rudden (2 July 2018). "Bay City Roller Alan Longmuir obituary: From Gorgie tenement to superstardom". The Scotsman Edinburgh News. Archived from the original on 3 July 2018.
  14. ^ a b "Roller Who Rued The Day He Became A Pop Star". The Bay City Rollers. Retrieved 16 September 2024.
  15. ^ Stephen Naysmith (3 July 2018). "Tributes paid after 'original' Bay City Roller Alan Longmuir dies from mystery bug". The Herald. Glasgow. Archived from the original on 3 July 2018. Retrieved 3 July 2018.
  16. ^ "The Daily Record- January 13, 1995". www.bcr1.de. Retrieved 15 September 2024.
  17. ^ "Bay City Rollers bassist Alan Longmuir dies aged 70". The Independent. Archived from the original on 2 July 2018. Retrieved 2 July 2018.
  18. ^ "Alan Longmuir, 70: Founding member of the Bay City Rollers, who made 70s hits". The Washington Post. Retrieved 7 July 2018.
  19. ^ "Bay City Roller Alan Longmuir dies". BBC News. 2 July 2018. Retrieved 15 September 2024.
  20. ^ a b Forbes, Ellie; Brady, Jon (18 March 2022). "Bay City Roller legend Alan Longmuir spent final hours with bandmate Les McKeown". Daily Record. Retrieved 15 September 2024.
  21. ^ ASoulfulSound, Author (12 July 2019). "A Celebration of Alan Longmuir's Life Raises £5,000 For Children's Charity". A Soulful Sound. Retrieved 15 September 2024. {{cite web}}: |first= has generic name (help)
  22. ^ Rudden, Liam (16 March 2022). "Bay City Rollers: Edinburgh band's founding father Alan Longmuir to be remembered at New York Tartan Day". Edinburgh News. Retrieved 15 September 2024.

Bibliography

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