May 312010
Who’s your favorite septugenarian Bay City Rollers fan? Which fan’s behavior might most offend your occasionally delicate sensibilities?
Thanks to Townsman Al for passing this gem along!
Who’s your favorite septugenarian Bay City Rollers fan? Which fan’s behavior might most offend your occasionally delicate sensibilities?
Thanks to Townsman Al for passing this gem along!
Wow. What was most striking to me was how utterly natural Ann-Margret looked as a member of the Rollers.
Outstanding video!
What’s amazing to me is that even though the guitarist has two full Orange stacks, the lady at 1:24 still needed to bust out her hearing horn.
First things first, let’s get Knitting Lady (who shows up at 1:09 in the backwards time count) out of the way. She gets too much time and such an obvious focus that I don’t buy her as anything other than a plant, perhaps put in as a self-deprecating joke by the Rollers. Even if she wasn’t real, how could we ever sympathize with someone who isn’t moved by the power of the Ann-Margret/Bay City Rollers Supergroup?
At first, I was going to choose the watchcap-wearing woman who debuts doing a handwave move at about 2:03, if only because I think she might have inspired the Look for Burgess Meredith as Mickey in the Rocky movies. But as the clip went on, she took too much of a focus – is it possible she gets more screentime than even Ann-Margret? – and her dancing took away that badass “grandma who was also a merchant marine” initial vibe.
That put me on the trail of the woman in white who pops in at the right of the screen at 2:18 and becomes the focus of the shot by about 2:12, because man, she is clapping the shit out of that performance. That may be the second most amazing feat of handclapping we’ve ever seen in Rock Town Hall, behind only The Greatest Handclapper In The History of Rock from Ram Jam in the video for “Black Betty”.
But in the end, I guess my favorite is the pleasntly lady in purple who shows up at 1:20, right after Hearing Horn Lady. I appreciate her choice to eschew clapping completely, instead pretending to snap her fingers just enough to keep count for the fist pump part. I don’t know, that’s perfectly acceptable pleasant grandmotherly behavior.
More important than all of this, we can now give a definitive answer to the question of “Who was the best Bay City Roller?” It’s the dude in purple, who (after some very quick wikipedia work), I assume is is founding bassist Alan Longmuir. Why is he the best? Check out the way he’s subtly and effortlessly making the most time with Ann-Margret. He never even turns to look at her, and it’s precisely that aloof, mysterious attitude that has captured her attention. Watch the video again and note how she takes every opportunity to break away from the contractually-obligated face time with the singer to look to her left. By the end of the video, she has decided to perform an impromptu Rock Iwo Jima with him. Check things out in the final 15 or so seconds, and note the sexual tension as Ann-Margret has abandoned the rest of the Rollers drape herself along his side and sway in time with him.
If I’m right in IDing the Roller as Longmuir, it may be worth noting that he was “a man in his late 20s in a teen band” (per Wikipedia), which could further explain Ann-Margret’s attraction, sensing him to be the lone man among boys in the band. Also, this appears to be a 1975 TV special, and Longmuir would leave the Rollers by “early 1976,” most probably because he realized winning Ann-Margret over was the the peak of the whole Bay City Rollers gig.
alexmagic, for this day, at least, you are the lone man among boys in Rock Town Hall. Bravo, for that scintillating analysis!
Agreed. Alexmagic wins the daily No-prize for sure!
But on the topic of that Ram Jam clip: you may find much to snicker at in it — especially, as alex points out, the weirdly futile clapping from Designated Clapper Guy — but, by God, compare Ram Jam to this version, and see if you don’t come away appreciating the Ram Jam performance a lot more. I mean, count your blessings. Thank God for Ram Jam and their Designated Clapper Guy!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kum4O_fh0_E&NR=1
The designated clapper in Ram Jam is yet another man among us today. That version you posted, hrrundi, was horrible!
HVB, I hope we e-know each other well enough by know that you can sense that my appreciation for the “Black Betty” video and Handclap Guy are sincere.
One thing to note about the Ram Jam video is that there appear to only be three motorcycle ladies waiting in the back, while there are five members of Ram Jam playing at the Church. I once put some thought into figuring out which two members of Ram Jam were going home alone that night, but I eventually realized the truth: all three motorcycle ladies were going home with Handclap Guy.
Alexmagic, you are a rock god!
I think you will all understand what I mean when I say that although I had never seen Ram Jam before, that is exactly what I thought they should look like.
Oh, and Sheryl Crow sucks. Big time.
For the Black Betty fans, youll prefer this version over the Singing Crow’s: Aussie 3-piece Spiderbait from 2004.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EhbR8U0qQV0&feature=related
I fucking hate people who knit at shows.
You think I’m joking? You think this doesn’t happen? It does.