The Bay City Rollers in Japan

Legendary Rock Photographer Bob Gruen in Japan

Bob Gruen is one of the most well-known and respected photographers in the rock and roll industry. By the mid-1970s, he was regarded as one of the most prominent documentarians of the music scene, working with major artists such as John Lennon and Yoko Ono, Tina Turner, the Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, The Who, Elton John, KISS, Aerosmith, David Bowie and Alice Cooper. He has also covered new wave and punk bands, including the New York Dolls, Patti Smith, the Clash, the Sex Pistols, the Ramones and Blondie.

The Bay City Rollers performed in Japan for the first time in December 1976. This was at the height of their worldwide fame when the Scottish band consisted of Derek Longmuir, Ian Mitchell, Stuart “Woody” Wood, Les McKeown and Eric Faulkner. They were responsible for hit records in England like Saturday Night and several No. 1 songs in the United States. The band was especially popular among teenage girls, who were drawn to their boyish charm and freshness. The hordes of passionately screaming girls at their shows led to their events being dubbed “Rollermania,” thus making the Bay City Rollers the only other band to have a “mania” added to their name after the Beatles.

They had a unique sense of style: short childish pants, collared shirts and everything trimmed in the bright, striped red of Scottish tartan. In those days, rock band merchandise was not officially sold, so fans made their own outfits, each of which had a unique combination of styles themed in the Roller’s iconic Scottish plaid. Before shows, fans would arrive early to show off their self-made outfits to each other.

I met the Rollers on their first U.S. tour in 1975, and I joined their other U.S. tours in the following years. With my experience touring Japan alongside Yoko Ono and the New York Dolls, Music Life Magazine asked me to accompany the Rollers during their visit to Japan in 1976. We stayed at the old Hilton Hotel next to a temple near Roppongi. The whole time we were in Tokyo, over 3,000 fans surrounded the hotel, singing Rollers songs and eagerly showing off their homemade Rollers outfits to the band they adored. The fans made such a large commotion that the Hilton stopped allowing rock bands to stay there for a while.

While performing two shows in Osaka, three shows at the Tokyo Budokan and in many more across Fukuoka, Shizuoka and Nagoya, wherever the Rollers went, we were surrounded by thousands of screaming fans. When they held a press conference, dozens of photographers and reporters showed up hoping to snap a picture of the worldwide sensations that had overtaken Japan.

In my photos, you can see the Rollers very much enjoying their time in Japan, wearing gifted kimonos, visiting famous shrines and temples, and posing at the press conference. You can also see the energy and excitement of their Japanese fans (as well as Les McKeown taking a photo of me as we passed Mount Fuji on the Shinkansen train).

The complete article can be found in Issue #282 of the Tokyo Journal.