Bay City Rollers to celebrate 50 years of 'Shang-A-Lang' with a very special show

21 March 2024, 11:14

2015: Bay City Rollers stars pose outside Glasgow hotel after announcing return

The Tartan Army gets a special concert from some national icons.

The Bay City Rollers were well on their way to superstardom in April 1974 with the release of their hit single 'Shang-a-Lang'.

The song went to number two in the charts, only kept off the top by The Rubettes' massive 'Sugar Baby Love', and has endured as one of the band's biggest and best tracks.

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To celebrate 50 years since the song's release, the current touring lineup of the Bay City Rollers are playing a live show at The Shed nightclub in Glasgow.

The concert is part of the pre-Hampden Party before the Scotland football team takes on Northern Ireland in an upcoming friendly, STV reports.

The match is one of the last four chances for the players to try things out before the Euro 2024 tournament in Germany this summer.

At the gig, the band will shoot a charity video for a re-recorded version of the song with proceeds from the promo being donated to Cash for Kids. Tickets for the show are available now and priced at just £2.

The sole "classic" Bay City Rollers member in the current lineup is Stuart 'Woody' Wood, who currently plays alongside newer members Ian Thomson, Jamie McGarry, Mikey Smith and John McLaughlin.

"I'm enormously proud to have been in the Bay City Rollers all these years. I’m forever thankful for what these songs have brought to my life," Woody said.

"SHANG-A-LANG" Bay City Rollers

"I’m a mad Scotland fan and so proud to be playing to the crowd at The Shed, which so many Scotland fans choose for their pre-match venue before Hampden."

John said: "We've re-recorded 'Shang-A-Lang' and we're going to be raising money for Cash for Kids – it's a brilliant idea and just makes so much sense. I cannot believe the original version is 50 years old! Woody has been in the band for 50 years.

"The song is just so Scottish, the words, the feel of the music. It's rock and roll but it sounds like Celtic rock and roll, so it was just the perfect storm with the Euros coming up.

"The song deserves it. It would be great for it be a hit again and to bring it back into the psyche. My kids know it from films such as So I Married An Axe Murderer. It’s got its own subculture so it’s nice to be at the forefront."

He added: "It will be rammed and sweaty at The Shed and we’ll be Shang-A-Langing with the Scotland fans. It will be one of the most raucous and ridiculous videos you could ever hope to see. I’m really vibed up for it."

As well as Woody's continued touring under the Rollers name, pre-Les McKeown frontman Nobby Clark has been touring in recent years billed as Nobby Clark: The Forgotten Songs of the Bay City Rollers.