Bay City Rollers–My First Concert

I was 11. My twin and I were “mad for plaid” as were millions of other teens and ‘tweens at the time.

The Bay City Rollers were one of the original boy bands. They were a pop group from Scotland whose adorable accents and easy to listen to songs (and did I mention they were also cute?) made them one of the top bands of the mid to late 1970’s. Sone of you might even remember their hit “Saturday Night?”

They became one of our favorites. We had the photos from Tiger Beat and the other magazines plastered all over the walls of our bedroom.

My brother’s girlfriend and one of her friends took my sister Laura and I to see them at the Arie Crown Theatre in Chicago. It was our first concert ever. I remember getting dressed in my jeans with the plaid sewn down the sides (just like the band wore), and hoping to get a close up glimpse of Les, the lead singer, who was my favorite.

We went to Dianna’s on Halsted, a famous Greek restaurant for dinner before the show. The waiter served us wine (hey, this was the ’70’s, no judging!) which I thought tasted horrible. How times change, right? We had saganaki for the first time, learning to say “opaa” as the waiter flamed the cheese at the table.

After a wonderful dinner, we were off to the Arie Crown for the show. I remember the moment the band took the stage, and for a few minutes it was nearly impossible to hear them over the screams of delight from the young fans, myself included. For the next hour or so, I imagined that Les was singing just for me. Yes, I’m sure every other girl in the place was thinking the same thing, but don’t ruin it for me, ok?

I’ve seen probably hundreds of concerts since that first one, but just like a first love, the Bay City Rollers and that concert will always hold a special place in my heart. How about you? Who was your first?