Alan Longmuir (20 June 1948 – 2 July 2018) was a Scottish musician and a founding member of the 1970s pop group, the

Bay City Rollers The Bay City Rollers are a Scottish pop rock band known for their worldwide teen idol popularity in the 1970s. They have been called the "tartan teen sensations from Edinburgh" and one of many acts heralded as the "biggest group since the Beat ...

. He played the

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

in the band whilst his younger brother

Derek Longmuir Derek Longmuir (born 19 March 1951, Edinburgh, Scotland) is a Scottish former drummer and a founding member of the 1970s pop group, Bay City Rollers. His elder brother, Alan Longmuir, played bass guitar in the group. Biography Longmuir was bo ...

was drummer.

Biography

Longmuir was born at Simpson Memorial Maternity Pavilion Hospital,

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

. His father was an undertaker. A member of a musical family, he formed his first band at the age of 17, with his brother Derek and two others. They changed their name and line-up to become the Bay City Rollers. Until their career took off, he worked as a

plumber A plumber is a tradesperson who specializes in installing and maintaining systems used for potable (drinking) water, and for sewage and drainage in plumbing systems.

. In 1976, at the height of the band's popularity, Alan Longmuir left and was replaced by rhythm guitarist Ian Mitchell, who was ten years his junior.

Tam Paton Thomas Dougal "Tam" Paton (5 August 1938 – 8 April 2009) was a pop group manager, most notably of the Scottish boy band the Bay City Rollers. Biography Born in Prestonpans, Scotland, he was the son of a potato merchant. Paton initially drove ...

, then the group's

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities o ...

, alleged that Longmuir had tried to commit

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Mental disorders (including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders), physical disorders (such as chronic fatigue syndrome), and s ...

. Paton's own conduct was later revealed as a contributory factor in the unhappiness of some band members. In 1977, Longmuir released "I'm Confessing", which peaked at number 44 in Australia. Longmuir returned to the group in 1978 following McGlynn's departure, and thereafter switched between bass guitar, rhythm guitar and keyboards. He also played piano accordion. Longmuir was married twice, briefly to Jan Longmuir, from 1985 until their divorce in 1990; they had one son, Jordan. His second, lasting marriage was to Eileen Rankin Longmuir, from 1998 until his death; Eileen had two sons of her own, to whom Alan was a devoted step-father. While owner of the Castle Campbell Hotel in

Dollar, Clackmannanshire Dollar ( gd, Dolair) is a small town with a population of 2,800 people in Clackmannanshire, Scotland. It is east of Stirling. Toponymy Possible interpretations are that Dollar is derived from ''Doilleir'', an Irish and Scots Gaelic word mean ...

, he suffered two

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...

s and a stroke, and in 2000 he decided to retrain as a building inspector. Longmuir died on 2 July 2018 at

Forth Valley Royal Hospital Forth Valley Royal Hospital is a hospital located in Larbert, Scotland. With 860 inpatient beds, 25 wards, and 16 operating theatres, it was Scotland's largest ever NHS construction project at the time but has been surpassed by th ...

Larbert Larbert ( gd, Lèirbert/Leth-pheairt, sco, Lairbert) is a small town in the Falkirk council area of Scotland. The town lies in the Forth Valley above the River Carron which flows from the west. Larbert is from the shoreline of the Firth of ...

, Scotland, after contracting an illness while on holiday in Mexico, where he had been a patient at the Galenia Hospital in Cancún but had been cleared to return home. He was 70 years old.

References

Bibliography

* Stambler, Irwin, ''Encyclopedia of Pop, rock & Soul''. 1974. St. Martin's Press, Inc.,

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, {{DEFAULTSORT:Longmuir, Alan 1948 births 2018 deaths People from South Ayrshire Scottish bass guitarists Scottish keyboardists Scottish multi-instrumentalists Scottish songwriters Bay City Rollers members Musicians from Edinburgh