LES McKeown’s Bay City Rollers are set to take Scotland and the world by storm and, this weekend, the show will go on following the death of Alan Longmuir.

The tartan-clad Edinburgh band was massive in the 1970s, thanks to timeless hits such as Bye Bye Baby and Shang-A-Lang and were swarmed everywhere they went by adoring fans.

The mania surrounding the band was so huge, they were put on par with The Beatles as their most successful period was labelled Rollermania, thanks to the hoards of screaming young girls who followed them around.

For years, the band claimed they were swindled out of millions in royalties with some of the members taking action against their old label Arista Records in the US courts.

They split in 1978, with bitter battles over money between band members and managers dragging on for decades, but set in motion a new wave of Rollermania with a return to the concert circuit.

Late in 2015, three of the classic five – Alan, singer Les McKeown and guitarist Stuart ‘Woody’ Wood – reunited for a series of shows nearly three decades on from their initial break-up. Hours before taking to the stage at T in the Park at Strathallan Castle estate, Perthshire, in July 2016 – and amid rumours of a dispute between members – Woody announced on social media the gig was to be his last. “Disappointed is an understatement but outwith my control,” he wrote.

However, it’s 2018 and they’re back again – this time as Les McKeown’s Bay City Rollers, with Si Mulvey, Phil Hendriks, Scott McGowan and Dan Guest set to grace the stage at the inaugural Edinburgh music festival ScotFest.

They’re also taking the to the global stage with appearances in Japan and Australia – but you’d better not get them mixed up with the Bay City Rollers.

Talking about their ScotFest appearance, plans to come back to Glasgow and about dedicating their ScotFest performance to Alan, Les’ attitude towards this interview – in hindsight – is no frills and refreshingly to-the-point.

Making reference to “the Bay City Rollers being back,” Les quickly corrects: “Those Bay City Rollers are gone. This is the new Bay City Rollers, the Les McKeown Bay City Rollers.”

So, how did the guys get involved with ScotFest? “The organisers put in an inquiry and we responded.”

What can fans expect from the reformed Bay City Rollers?

“We’re not reformed, Aftab. And they can expect all the big hits. It’ll be a good day.”

Looking to know more about the group coming to Glasgow’s King’s Theatre next April, Les opens up. Glasgow does have that effect on folk, after all.

“I last played at the Hydro in 2016 and in the Barrowland Ballroom the year before that. I haven’t been to Glasgow in a while, but I’m looking forward to playing the King’s. It’s a classic venue, beautiful theatre. People can just sit back and enjoy the show.”

The most poignant moment comes when discussing pal Alan.

There was a great outpouring of support from the across the world of music after the bass guitarist was rushed to hospital on June 7.

He had been described as “extremely unwell” after a virus attacked his organs.

The 69-year-old was on holiday in Mexico with wife Eileen when he fell ill. He was taken to Galenia Hospital in the coastal city of Cancun.

Back in Scotland, Alan lost his fight and passed away after a short stay in hospital on Monday.

Les had planned to travel to Scotland to see Alan the day before ScotFest to visit him in hospital and “check in on him and cheer him up” because he was “a really good mate”.

However, he quelled fans’ concerns by assuring them the show will go on in Edinburgh. “Alan always said nothing would stop him from going up on stage, so I’ll make sure I’m on stage dedicating it to him,” he says.

“We plan on projecting pictures of Alan and the guys having fun and joking around at our shows to show people a good image of Alan.”

Keen to focus on the group’s theatre tours, he says: “We always do three at the start of the year – January, February March and then three at the end, September, October, November.

“In December, we’ll be doing Ireland. They go crazy for us over there.”

And it seems I may have found an unlikely fan in Les. Not only did I look him up on social media, but it turns out he did the same on me prior to our call. “You’re doing good work. Keep it up.”