The A-side of the first Bay City Rollers single was, appropriately enough, "Keep On Dancing."  The Scottish band's cover of the Gentrys oldie became a top ten hit on the U.K.'s Bell Records, and earned the Rollers a slot on Top of the Pops.  The best was still yet to come, however, and the band would keep listeners dancing for roughly a decade.  The Rollers' ascent to superstardom is chronicled on a recent 3-CD clamshell box set from Cherry Red's 7Ts imprint.  The Singles Collection is a tour through the band's U.K. singles discography between 1971 and 1981 on the Bell, Arista, and Epic labels, with bonus selections from their U.S. output of 45s.  In any country, however, the famously tartan-clad pop-rockers delivered upbeat, tuneful pop originals and covers with broad appeal to all ages.

The first ten tracks on the set feature the band's early lineups built around vocalist Nobby Clark; as of 1974's "Shang-a-Lang" b/w "Are You Ready for That Rock and Roll" (both sides written and produced by the team of Bill Martin and Phil Coulter), the classic S.L.A.D.E. lineup was firm: guitarist Stuart Wood, vocalist Les McKeown, bassist Alan Longmuir, drummer Derek Longmuir, and guitarist Eric Faulkner.  "Shang-a-Lang" went to No. 2 on the U.K. Singles Chart, and the roster would hold for a couple of momentous years and further catchy hits like "Summerlove Sensation" (No. 3), "All of Me Loves All of You" (No. 4), Four Seasons cover "Bye Bye Baby" (No. 1), "Give a Little Love" (No. 1), "Love Me Like I Love You" (No. 4), and "Money Honey" (No. 3).  One song conspicuously missing from that list is "Saturday Night," the anthem which catapulted the Rollers to U.S. fame.

"Saturday Night," written and produced by Martin and Coulter, was first issued in the U.K. on 45 RPM in June 1973 with a Nobby Clark lead.  When Clive Davis became determined to break the band in America on his new Arista label, he heard the potential in "Saturday Night" despite it not having even made the U.K. chart.  The band had re-recorded the tune with Les McKeown on leads for their 1974 album Rollin', and it was one of the songs selected by Davis from their first three British LPs to appear on the eponymous U.S. debut album.  The McKeown version, one of the U.S. singles included here, hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in January 1976; it was the band's only American chart-topper.

7Ts' set also, of course, has the tracks post-S.L.A.D.E.  The U.S. top 30 hit "Rock 'n' Roll Love Letter" b/w "Shanghai'd in Love" is the first single here with Ian Mitchell on guitar.  His first U.K. 45 was the band's peppy reworking of Dusty Springfield's "I Only Wanna Be with You" which hit No. 4 on the U.K. survey and was the Rollers' final top ten entry.  Further personnel changes ensued, including releases from a slimmed-down four-person lineup and even the return of Alan Longmuir to the fold.  The final singles were issued under the truncated name of The Rollers, featuring guitarist-singer Duncan Faure in Les McKeown's place.

A 28-page full-color booklet is included in this release with track-by-track liner notes and personnel credits for every song, but no introductory essay.  Each annotation is supported with images of the singles as well as picture sleeves from all around the world including Japan, Holland, France, Belgium, Germany, and beyond.  The discs themselves are housed in simple paper sleeves.  Mastering is by James Bragg.

The Singles Collection is a solid overview of the Bay City Rollers' career and a fun listen from start to finish, with effervescent vocals, big instrumental hooks, and strong production from collaborators like Martin and Coulter, Phil Wainman, Jimmy Ienner, Harry Maslin, and Muff Winwood.  One wishes there had been room for the missing U.S. sides - among them "Maybe I'm a Fool to Love You," "Eagles Fly," "Write a Letter," "Sweet Virginia," "Where Will I Be Now," and "Hello and Welcome Home" - but perhaps that's a story for another release.  (There are still other international single sides not addressed here, as well.)   This set, chockablock with bubblegum, power pop, glam, and good, old-fashioned rock-and-roll, is available now at the links below from Cherry Red and 7Ts!

Bay City Rollers, The Singles Collection (Cherry Red/7Ts GLAMBOX171, 2019) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

CD 1

1. Keep On Dancing (Bell BLL 1164, 1971)
2. Alright (Bell BLL 1164, 1971)
3. We Can Make Music (Bell 1220, 1972)
4. Jenny (Bell 1220, 1972)
5. Manana (Bell 1262, 1972)
6. Because I Love You (Bell 1262, 1972)
7. Saturday Night (Bell 1319, 1973)
8. Hey! C.B. (Bell 1319, 1973)
9. Remember (Bell 1338, 1974)
10. Bye Bye Barbara (Bell 1338, 1974)
11. Shang-a-Lang (Bell 1355, 1974)
12. Are You Ready for That Rock 'n' Roll (Bell 1355, 1974)
13. Summerlove Sensation (Bell 1369, 1974)
14. Bringing Back the Good Times (Bell 1369, 1974)
15. All of Me Loves All of You (Bell 1382, 1974)
16. The Bump (Bell 1382, 1974)

CD 2

1. Bye Bye Baby (Bell 1409, 1975)
2. It's For You (Bell 1409, 1975)
3. Give a Little Love (Bell 1425, 1975)
4. She'll Be Crying Over You (Bell 1425, 1975)
5. Saturday Night (Les Version) (Arista U.S. AS 0149, 1975)
6. Marlina (Arista U.S. AS 0149, 1975)
7. Money Honey (Bell 1461, 1975)
8. Maryanne (Bell 1461, 1975)
9. Love Me Like I Love You (Bell 1477, 1976)
10. Mama Li (Bell 1477, 1976)
11. Rock 'n' Roll Love Letter (Arista U.S. AS 0185, 1976)
12. Shanghai'd in Love (Arista U.S. AS 0185, 1976)
13. I Only Wanna Be with You (Bell 1493, 1976)
14. Rock 'n' Roller (Bell 1493, 1976)
15. Yesterday's Hero (Arista U.S. AS 0216, 1976)
16. My Lisa (Arista U.S. AS 0216, 1976)

CD 3

1. It's a Game (Arista 108, 1977)
2. Dance, Dance, Dance (Arista 108, 1977)
3. You Made Me Believe in Magic (Arista 127, 1977)
4. Are You Cuckoo? (Arista 127, 1977)
5. Dedication (Les Version) (Arista 127, 1977)
6. The Way I Feel Tonight (Arista 144, 1977)
7. Love Power (Arista 144, 1977)
8. All of the World Is Falling in Love (Arista 212, 1978)
9. If You Were My Woman (Arista 212, 1978)
10. Turn on the Radio (Arista 259, 1979)
11. Washington's Birthday (Arista 259, 1979)
12. Life on the Radio (Epic EPC 1225, 1981)
13. Ricochet (Epic EPC 1225, 1981)
14. No Doubt About It (Epic EPC 1042, 1981)
15. Set the Fashion (Epic EPC 1042, 1981)

All tracks U.K. releases unless otherwise indicated