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The Bay City Rollers remain one of Scotland’s most successful exports. Rollermania’s hold on a generation is testament to the tartan-clad crowds packing into Glasgow’s Pavilion Theatre this week for the latest Rollers-inspired jukebox musical.
The Rollers’ back catalogue has already given way to a number of shows, from Shang A Lang to I Ran With The Gang (yes, there really is one tune that tops them all!) and more.
Danny McCahon’s Rollers Forever juxtaposes the unforgettable tunes of the Rollers with a series of sketches shoehorned into a thin story, putting many of the iconic hits of the boyband into the hands of the female protagonists.
Hung together with bucket loads of nostalgia, this quest to meet the Rollers is prime for anyone who can remember how to Vim the sink but there is a frustrating lack of thread running through McCahon’s narrative.
Opening on the platform of Croy station, a middle aged Susan (Chiara Sparkes) and Jenny (Dani Heron) cast their minds back to the 1970s and the meteoric rise of the Rollers, bursting to life across Karen Tennent’s impressive set.
Sparkes and Heron ably lead the piece, both no stranger to a joke and with great voices to boot. Sparkes captures the doe-eyed young Susan superbly, bouncing between her pal and the caustic sibling rivalry with her brother.
The biggest laughs are saved for a series of show-stealing characters perfectly played by Ciara Flynn and Brian James O’Sullivan. Rachel Campbell injects an energy from the ensemble that is infectious.
Delivering the titular song – co-written by Stuart “Woody” Wood and John McLaughlin, the current touring incarnation of the Bay City Rollers – with the gusto that the previous two hours could really have done with, Brian James O’Sullivan brings the curtain down in rock and roll style.
There are moments of great promise across the evening and it’s impossible not to be captured by the soundtrack of a generation. From ‘Summer Love Sensation’ to ‘Bye Bye Baby’ and, of course, ‘Shang-A-Lang’, the Rollers’ songs truly are timeless – and they’re hard to beat, when given the space to breathe.
This new musical leaves much to be desired, but fans of the band won’t be disappointed to hear their favourite hits. What Rollers Forever frustratingly lacks in plot, it makes up for in its wealth of home-grown Scottish talent.
Rollers Forever at Pavilion Theatre, Glasgow until 30th August 2025
Photo Credit: Wattie Cheung
