Hundreds of Bay City Rollers fans were left out in the cold in Forfar on Friday night when a technical hitch delayed the band’s gig for around an hour.
Angry fans said they were left not knowing what was going on, with many making the decision to head off after an hour freezing outside the Reid Hall.
However, the concert did go ahead eventually.
And the band’s manager John McLaughlin – who is also a member of the group – later joked a Christmas miracle and a bit of help from Santa saved the day.
It was ‘Bye Bye Baby’ from some fans
The band drew hundreds of devoted fans to their gig in the Reid Hall, where they were playing all the old favourites along with numbers from their new festive release, Rolling’ into Christmas.
But things didn’t go as planned with the hall’s door remaining firmly closed after the sound system failed.
Disappointed fans took to social media to express their upset.
One said: “It’s absolutely ridiculous. We’ve been standing outside the Reid Hall for over an hour – freezing!
“They have just said the sound system isn’t working and so for health and safety reasons they won’t let us in.”
Another told The Courier: “We we eventually left after an hour with no information and sent to the pub.”
Another added: “It’s Bye Bye Baby for me.”
‘Massive tech problem’ blamed
Music mogul John told us: “There was a massive tech problem with the in-house PA system at the venue.
“Basically it chucked it at the start of our soundcheck.
“So it was mad panic stations for the lovely staff at the venue and us lot.
“We worked through every possibility and even prayed and then asked Santa for help and it worked.
“The PA came back to life and the gig went ahead – a Christmas miracle – which prevented a riot.”
Praise for ‘best fans in the world’
John admitted, however, fans had to wait outside in the cold for around an hour.
He said: “There was a down side though – that people had to wait outside for an hour while we worked through the issues and we can only apologise for that delay.
“They are the best fans in world for hanging in there with us while we got the PA working.
“We had a fantastic night of Shang -a -langing…and played a few extra BCR songs and a bunch of Christmas songs to make it a special Christmas night for the amazing people of Forfar who waited patiently for the show to start.
“Everyone who came along had a total blast.”
The original Bay City Rollers ruled the charts in the 70s, selling over 300 million albums worldwide.
Original band member Stuart “Woody” Wood, has now brought together a new line-up and they are currently touring.
The current Bay City Rollers are Ian Thomson on lead vocals and guitar, John on vocals and keys, Mikey Smith on bass guitar, Jamie McGrory on drums and Woody on guitar.
Conversation