Let's Roll Back... title
March 1975 - No.14[]
replacing Unknown
to 23rd Aug 1975 - No.35[]
replaced by Pop Quest
The Bay City Rollers were arguably the biggest British band in the 70's, the only band bigger were probably Abba. You couldn't turn the TV on, open a magazine, or newspaper between 75-77 without seeing them. It was inevitable then, that Look-in, always at the pulse of fashionable things, would pick up on them and they became a regular fixture, appearing every few issues in some form or another.
The members were, Leslie McKeown (Vocals), Eric Faulkner (Guitar), Stuart Wood (Guitar), Alan Longmuir (Bass) and Brother Derek on Drums. Together they went on to dominate the charts, with hits like 'Bye Bye Baby', 'Shang-A-Lang' and 'Summerlove Sensation'.
During their rise in popularity, they were given their own TV series 'Shang-A-Lang', named after one of their aforementioned big hits. The show included star guests of the time, a section on learning to play the guitar with a guy called 'Big Jim Sullivan', and a section about the history of pop music, which they called Let's Roll Back.... It was this that Look-in turned into a weekly feature. The feature was done in such a way that it seemed like the Rollers were narrating it to the reader, although I'm pretty sure they probably had nothing to do with it. The only other evidence of a roller connection, was the 'Shang-A-Lang' logo at the top of the page, and the slogan-like 'Keep on Rolling!' at the end of every feature.
How presenters
The feature was always adorned by photos of the artists covered in the feature and they built up into a really informative collection. The only drawback is that the Rollers were so popular, when you buy issues today, you invariably find this page taken out.
The feature ended on 23rd August 1975 to be replaced by Pop Quest. Let's Roll Back.. was a really good feature that I enjoyed a lot, without necessarily being a big Roller fan, (He says....lying through his teeth...!!!)
Full Let's Roll Back... Feature