This week launches a refit of the 5 on Friday musical feature.
The blogger who began our musical journey in early 2010 has put his meme to bed, but the other 5 on Friday participants are still spinning the tunes. Thanks, Travis for all of the fun you've inspired! See what happens when you start something that takes on a life of its own?
For anyone who wants to join in, simply choose five pieces of music and post them for other bloggers to enjoy. Then check out the sets posted by the other 5 on Friday bloggers -- you can sign in over at Golch Central's Rambling Stuff.
This month is my own birthday month, as well as bringing birthdays for my husband, my mom, my brother-in-law, my cousin-in-law and two of my uncles, as well as several of my very close friends. So I think it's high time we celebrated November birthday boys here at A Piece of My Mind.
1 - I Saw Her Again -- Denny Doherty from The Mamas and The Papas
2 - Give a Little Love -- Leslie McKeown from the Bay City Rollers
My favorite musical November birthday boy! My teen heart throb, lead singer Les McKeown.
Travis at Trav's Thoughts invites everyone to lay down a short set of music that takes their fancies for his 5 on Friday meme.
Jamie at Durward Discussion posted an interesting set a few weeks ago, prompted by a radio piece that talked about favorite musical memories from the formative 13-16-year age range.
A person's first forays into establishing his or her own cultural likes and dislikes coincides with this age. It isn't hard to see that my passion for dance drew me to dance music as a teeny bopper.
1977
Check out my awesome homemade Roller gear.
1 - You Made Me Believe in Magic - Bay City Rollers
As much as that 13-year-old me dreamed of meeting my heart throb crush, Leslie McKeown, I never could have imagined that one day I would meet him.
That's just craziness.
But that's Les right there with my sister, myself and my cousin.
1978
Woo hoo! 14 years old and developing a major thing for Barry Gibb. I swear to you - just watching the way he moves ignites all of the best things about being a chick for me.
Always loved the driving bass line in this song, little suspecting that in a few short years I would be going out with a bass player. At 15 I was drawn to Rod Stewart's delivery of these let's-not-mince-words lyrics.
3 - Do Ya Think I'm Sexy? - Rod Stewart
4 - Boogie Wonderland - Earth, Wind & Fire
The intense joy that dancing brought me made this song a sort of precursor to the inner rave experience for me.
1980
16 and hanging out with my high school choir gang, going out with my first boyfriend and figuring it all out with my cousin Julianne, my sister Michelle, and most especially with my best friend Connie.
With this particular song, my cousin - who later became a club DJ in university days - used to replay the opening 'ba-DOOM-boom' notes over and over again until we were in hysterics.
Day 13 of the A to Z Challenge brings us to the halfway point - and to the letter M.
It's Friday, and Fridays mean music at A Piece of My Mind. I take part in a musical meme called 5 on Friday, where Travis at Trav's Thoughts invites everyone to lay down a short set of music that takes their fancies.
Kick back, settle in and enjoy five tunes that start with the letter M.
1 - This is me standing in front of my junior high school, wearing my handmade Roller gear.
This is also a picture of a dream.
My dream.
When this photo was taken, I dreamt day and night about what it would be like to meet Leslie McKeown, lead singer of the Bay City Rollers.
2 - I bought all of their albums, which I listened to obsessively. I bought every 16 Magazine and Tiger Beat and read every article and gazed at every picture. Obsessively.
I was never a big believer in doing anything halfway.
3 - It was all crystal clear in my mind. How I would walk around a corner and discover him there. How we would smile and talk. How he would put his arm around me and give me that first kiss.
4 - It didn't matter to me that the odds of the Rollers coming to tiny, out-of-the-way Halifax, Nova Scotia were dismal to none.
It didn't matter to me that millions of other young teenage girls were having the same exact dreams about Leslie, in their bedrooms in homes all around the world.
Leslie had a way of gazing through the camera right at me. He connected with me like no one else ever had. He was my first romantic crush, the first focus for all my girlish yearnings on the cusp of womanhood.
5 - Over the years, I never lost my crush on Leslie. I've always loved his voice, and have a Bay City Rollers playlist that I sometimes write my dark, scary vampire stuff to.
And over the years, Halifax has grown and connected with the world. A-listers now play here, and our music has made itself at home around the world.
Still, I wasn't quite ready for the news that Leslie McKeown would be appearing at the Casino showroom in October.
What made it so strange was the fact that I'd just had Les McKeown Week here at A Piece of My Mind this past August.
6 - The Big Night finally arrived. I toasted to dreams coming true with my best friend Connie, who took that picture of me in 1977. I toasted with my cousin Julianne and my sister Michelle, who spent countless hours dreaming the same dreams alongside me.
7 - We took our seats in the Schooner Showroom, which was fully sold. The crowd was definitely psyched even before the just-about-to-walk-onstage bagpipe music started up.
Bagpipe music. Halifax. Just sayin'.
8 - And then he was there.
Leslie McKeown.
No longer in my head, but right before my eyes.
In the strange ways of the world, Les and his new band ended their North American tour with this Halifax date, never suspecting that Halifax is a party hearty city that loves nothing better than to make everyone who stops here feel like a cherished old friend.
We were rowdy, we were vocal, we rushed the stage immediately, we danced, we laughed, we screamed, we smiled, we fed off each other and made a magical night together.
These guys really cooked! The lead guitarist especially was mighty fine, both to listen to and to look at.
But the energy of the original Rollers were definitely in the room. And our shared experience of Rollermania turned the years back for all of us.
10 - Here Leslie talks about his Rollermania experiences, including what it was like to find 'room service' was actually a fan who'd made her way through security.
The proposal for a Roller reunion mentioned in the clip is not on the books anytime soon.
11 - Here's a clip of the encore number played at the Halifax show which I found on You Tube. The actual sound at the venue was fine - the sound on this clip gets blown out because the camera mic couldn't handle the volume.
You can see the joy on Les' face as the night turned out to be more than he'd quite expected. "I want to say this to the people," he said just before leaving the stage. "The best, final night of this tour I could ever have dreamed of. Thank you very much, Halifax!"
Later on Facebook he wrote: "The Final night in Halifax, what a night to remember, thanks to you, you made a great gig happen, xxx Thank you, from me and the boys, xx"
12 - My sister and cousin having an absolute blast. Leslie really had fun interacting with the crowd, making that eye contact just the way he always did, making jokes laced with saucy innuendo. Just the way we always suspected he would.
He also made lots of jokes about the years that had passed, affectionately and without apology. When he sang The Bump, my cousin and sister ran up and danced it together. He pointed them out and said, "Bet you that hurts now, doesn't it?"
And he was cheeky enough to sing Yesterday's Hero, as well.
13 - After the show, Julianne, Michelle and I stood at the meeting point arranged before the show with the promotions director. Julianne had contacted her several weeks earlier to request a meet and greet.
To our astonishment and delight, she got back to us with news that she would indeed get us backstage to meet Leslie in person after the show.
So while half the sold-out audience got into well-organized line-ups for autographs, we waited nervously for the all-clear.
And then there she was. And we were walking through a door that led to a long corridor, which took us towards the green room. My mouth went dry. Another door opened. And then Leslie turned towards us.
And my dream came true.
We smiled and talked. He put his arm around me as we all posed for a picture. He gave each of us a kiss as though we were old friends saying goodbye until next time.
There was a time when I was younger that I believed dreams might come true. I set about making some of them happen.
Then there was a dark period for me, when I resented the phrase Follow your dreams, as I'd discovered the hard way that many of the most cherished dreams will never come true, no matter how hard you work for it, no matter how hard you fight for it.
But I can say now, that in the moment I stepped through that door and saw Leslie turn towards us, all the pain, the profound despair, the bitterness and crushed future I experienced during that dark period were all swept away.
You can't get more specific than my Leslie McKeown dream. You can't get much darker than the self-destructive path he'd been on until he rose to the surface, clean and sober a few years ago. The audience I was a part of gave him a joyous night. His meet and greet with the three of us gave me a new lease on life.
Travis at Trav's Thoughts invites everyone to lay down a short set of music that takes their fancies for his 5 on Friday meme.
Since this is Les McKeownWeek here at A Piece of My Mind, here are five tunes from the Bay City Rollers. In the summer of 1976 I fell hard for the lead singer of this Scottish band. 30 years later I still love his voice and still get swoony when his gaze reaches through the lens to find me.
1 - Saturday Night
Gonna dance with my baby Till the night is through On Saturday night, Saturday night Tell her all the little things I'm gonna do On Saturday night, Saturday night
I love her so I'm gonna let her know
At the good old rock and roll road show I gotta go Saturday night, Saturday night Gonna rock it up Roll it up Do it all Have a ball Saturday night, Saturday night
- Coulter / Martin
2 - Sweet Virginia
Oh Sweet Virginia No, you never knew her name She tried to win ya But you never played the game
Her name was Jackie Brown She cried when they told her Old sweet Virginia town You know it's not over
Hey sister poet Dear brother poet, too These tears and words I'm makin' Wanna be with you
'Cause I need to spend my body I'm a music makin' man And no peace can release me Like this amplifier can
This is my rock 'n roll love letter To you This is my rock 'n roll love letter To you Gonna sign it, gonna seal it, Gonna mail it away Gonna mail it today
- Moore
4 - My Lisa
Lisa You're the dancer to the song Without your music All the words just seem so wrong
And like a picture you keep fading Your colors running dry Save the pieces of this life We put together
Oh can't you see it in my eyes? Oh won't you save a place for me tonight Find a space for me And light this corner of my lonely life
- Egorin / Scutio
5 - Wouldn't You Like It
I've included two versions of this song because the first clip is only a fragment - but I love Leslie's performance in it! The second one is the whole song.
We'd be alone and we could turn the Lights down low Just you and me and we could take it Nice and slow Come on, I won't let go
Wouldn't you like it? Wouldn't you like it? Let's spend the night together
So come up and see me Please let me please you Yes how I wanna love you So come on now Wouldn't you like it?
- Faulkner / Wood
Akelamalu says I just knew your 5 would be Bay City Rollers! LOL
Jamie says Oooh I would get all swoony over that as well. :-)
Anna Campbell says Julia, I had to smile when I saw your post! I was swept back to the glories of the mid-70s.
1 - Teen crushes seemed to have become a female right of passage by the early 20th century. With my coming-of-age enfolding in the late 1970's, my new awareness of myself as a hormonal being with nowhere to channel that energy found its outlet in a larger-than-life singer from Edinburgh, Scotland - Leslie McKeown.
2 - My entire world revolved around the next issues of 16 Magazine and Tiger Beat. Every month when the new magazines were due to arrive at the pharmacy, I obsessively dropped in over and over until my heart swelled at the sight of the fresh stack of glossy covers piled on the shelf.
3 - There I could read all about Les' group, the Bay City Rollers.
L to R: Bassist Alan Longmuir, rhythm guitarist and co-songwriter Woody (Stuart Wood), drummer Derek Longmuir, lead singer Leslie McKeown, and lead guitarist and co-songwriter Eric Faulkner.
4 - Key point of attraction from the get-go:
His Scottish homeland. Ooo, yeah - the accent I can't get enough of, and the highly irreverent attitude common to his countrymen. Perfect sort of guy for me.
5 - This is an album cover I spent hours mooning over. Among the draws for me, seriously, was the lovely red tartan border. It was a photograph of real tartan, and I used to stare at the weave of the fabric as if it were a cherished old friend.
I became enamoured of their Converse hightop sneakers and ended up getting a black pair myself. I also had a few plaid scarves, and I made my own Roller gear, as it was called, by sewing plaid patches over a white shirt which I then proudly wore in public.
6 - I won't even hazard a guess as to how many hours I spent gazing at this picture of him on the back of one of the earlier albums.
I was always partial to this white jacket with the blue trim.
7 - His voice was a big draw for me - there's a specific quality to male Scottish singing voices that really gets to me. It's as if there's a built-in tone of longing in there somewhere.
In the clip below, he gives the teeny boppers something to ponder in Give it to Me Now, which appeared on an early UK album.
Not surprisingly, it's full of the heightened energy of being a handsome young thing who in no way fought off the attentions of his willing young fans. It also doesn't shy away from his bitter rivalry with lead guitarist Eric Faulkner, or his constant rebellion against manager Tam Paton.
9 - Some recent comments by 40-something fans on You Tube:
OMG Les does not stop driving me crazy........GOOSEBUMPS!!
Les, is well, my Les...sigh...woo hoo...dayum!!
Those bedroom eyes kill me.....go Leslie!!!
Les holds me in the palm of his hand and he has me wrapped around his lil finger
Could watch Les all day
YUMMY HONEY!!! Rock on Les!!!!
Les was one hot piece of........
Les gets better and better, goosebumps ladies, goosebumps on goosebumps here
I can't believe I'm still infatuated with Les all these years later
Paralized & hypnotized by Les' eyes!
I want to slow dance with Leslie. Love the way he moves his body to the music.
OMG I think my heart just stopped.
10 - Leslie's Nov. 12th birthday instantly bonded me to my birthday buddy (mine being the day before.) Thus began my lifelong trend of finding myself attracted to Scorpio males, including uber hottie Gerard Butler (Nov. 13th) and ultimately ending up with my Scorpio husband, Brad.
11 - In the mysterious ways of the heart, my teenage crush on Leslie was a blueprint for my lifelong attraction to the tortured hero.
While I (and millions of others) dreamed of what it would be like if he gave me my first kiss, Leslie was living under the psychological manipulation and physical coercion of their manager, Tam Paton.
"Les McKeown claimed in April of last year that Paton raped him and threatened to kill him if he spoke out about it. He described Paton as a tyrant.
He said: 'I almost feel guilty for being so happy but I can't imagine a man nor beast who will be mourning the passing of Tam Paton.
'I hate him. I'm glad he's dead. I was just a young boy. I was only 18, 19 when he raped me.' " - Catherine Salmond, scotsman.com
To deal with the emotional fall-out of the rape, Leslie developed drug and alcohol problems which he addressed at a rehab clinic. While in treatment, he was finally able to face up to what had happened, which includes the wholesale theft of the band's millions in earnings. A 30-year legal battle against Paton and Arista Records have yet to see any money return to the five musicians who made the music and performed around the world.
Leslie was not the only Roller to be sexually assaulted by Paton. During his reign of terror, two suicides were attempted by other band members.
12 - Leslie today with his family:
Wife Peko, Les and their son Jubei
"My doctor said I wouldn't live to see Christmas [several years ago.] I didn't care. I walked out of her surgery and I went straight to the nearest pub for a drink.
"When I went home, I sat down with my wife and son and saw a little opening for the human being to come out in me again."
Les was thrown a lifeline from a most unlikely source. He was invited to appear on Rehab, a Living TV reality show where a group of celebrities received treatment at a clinic in California.
"I still don't know how I had the strength to reach out and grasp that last opportunity to get fixed.
"I thought, 'the show's producers want some clown for a bit of car crash TV'. In between moments of total clarity and being absolutely pissed I agreed to take part.
"I said to myself, 'I don't care what they film - if this place can fix me that's what I should focus on'. It was live or die." - Billy Sloan, Sunday Mail
To say I admire Leslie McKeown today is putting it mildly.
It's very, very difficult to name one's sexual attacker when the predator used threats of physical harm - yet, eventually Leslie did so. Go, Les!
In an era of revolving-door rehab stays before troubled celebrities manage to settle in for any real help, Leslie took one stay and put himself through the wringer so that it would remain one stay. He took the offer of getting his seriously-derailed life back on track, and treated it with the respect it deserved.
Join me tomorrow for 5 on Friday, where I'll be featuring five rockin' tunes by the Fab Lads in Plaid.
Travis Cody says I remember these guys. Most of the girls I knew had crushes on one or several. At any school dance, we could count on hearing the song Dedication at least twice.
Joanna D'Angelo says OMG! I loved the Bay City Rollers! I remember being at a party at my cousin's house and Saturday Night came on - the first time I heard it (I was a wee lass) and we just danced and danced!
Julianne MacLean says Hey cuz - great post about Les. Oh, how I remember every detail of those album covers, and I knew every word of Give it to Me Now, which is something else, considerining it's been about 30 years since we listened to it!
Champion of the Arts - I write historical and paranormal fiction, as well as poetry. I love to showcase creative works by artists of all stripes. Blogging from Nova Scotia, Canada
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