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Product Description
Amazon.co.uk Review
Bye Bye Baby time-travels to an era when hair was big, John Travolta cut a dash on a dancefloor where disco burned infernally, Andy Warhol presided at Studio 54 and the Bay City Rollers were, well, naff. Rock critic Caroline Sullivan makes no bones about this in her hilarious account of the Rollers' career, her adolescence in New Jersey and the painful collision of the two in a decade that gave little space to taste. Dirty tartan laundry is wrung, scrubbed and hung out to dry in a rollercoasting memoir that smoulders with the obsessional pain and triumphs of growing pains, anguished friendships and the dangers of getting too close to your dreams. Familiar as we are with the likes of Boyzone and East 17 it is easy to forget the Rollers who were probably the first to combine image with minimal talent and according to Sullivan were the finest despite their dazzling ordinariness. They were Take That in tartan minus the dance steps. Sullivan and her teenage friends (not groupies, you see--"special fans") followed the band on their American tours from hotel to chain motel--each a little more seedy--until their heroes ended up temporarily living in the suburban neighbourhood in which Sullivan grew up. This was less to do with thinking them messiahs (our heroine is refreshingly caustic at times)--more a way of dealing with the energies and needs of those hormone-fuelled years. All the while Sullivan was furiously scribbling a diary which forms the basis of her book but also allowed her to develop a prototype style for her subsequent career. Even at her most self-deprecating she reserves a certain pride and affection for the experience that ultimately lends her writing dignity, mixing the then and now into a heady cocktail, pouring it out with a regressive insouciance and washing it down with a Tab. Current trends dictate that the hour of the band's reunion is nigh with a series of comeback concerts scheduled. Will Caroline Sullivan be there? Purely in a professional capacity, I'm sure. --David Vincent
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Product Description
This is the story of a love affair with the Bay City Rollers. Over four hot summers from 1975 to 1979, teenager Caroline Sullivan and her friends criss-crossed the USA in the Rollers' wake. They staked out airports and hotels, tricking airline clerks and wheedling information out of PR companies.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Hey Caroline. You certainly led an interesting life.Loved the book ,me and my pal both read it. We found it a little depressing. Were the BCR's life so sad like you described in your book. Did they enjoy it at all being in the band? How come you never refer to yourself as a groupie? Your story did bring back great memories. Hope your book becomes a movie and the rollers make back some of their lost income.See you at Borders books in NYC. Hey bring along Woody your fave roller or as you say your personal roller.Hey how was he on a scale of one to ten?
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
I just read the book yesterday and enjoyed it very much. Caroline had me laughing out loud and also got me thinking about why this kind of 'fandom' happens. I was a very enthusiastic Roller-fan in the 70's, but wasn't old enough to follow them or get to meet them then. After reading this, I'm glad of that fact, because...for me...I needed them to be 'perfect' and I would have been so crushed to realize they were 'real' people. Oh, how devastated I would have been if they had spoken to me they way they did to Caroline and her friends! The book brought back a lot for me, though. That feeling we got when 'our guys' were on TV and the excitment of lining up overnight to try to get tickets to see them. I enjoyed reading about the "TTT"'s and I think most Roller fans will appreciate Caroline's humor and insight into this special time in our lives.
6 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
As a 70s, non-gay, young male teenage fan of the Rollers, I was quite intrigued to read this book - especially in light of recent press about Courtney Love purchasing the rights to this for film (and reports of Ewan McGregor playing BCR singer Les McKeown, despite McKeown's protestations that it should be Keanu Reeves). What I found was a mildly entertaining story of obsession - but obsession with what? Clearly it really wasn't the Bay City Rollers. What emerges is a rather negative and downer read, based mostly on teen rivalry, boredom and fanaticism, with the Rollers themselves (and their music) as a non-essential peripheral excuse for the whole shang-a-lang. Actually, this so-called "fan" makes continued slams on the band themselves, mostly their music. She offers very little in the way of information about the group, other than what everyone already knows from numerous press releases and stories already on the net. Aye, a wee number of personal observations, of course, but these are peppered with less-than-accurate negative critiques of their music, looks, style, decisions, etc... This book, actually, could have ANY teenie band substituted for the Rollers (i.e Westlife, Boyzone, Osmonds, etc.) It reads a tad like American Psycho, but instead of murder, it very blandly tells of endless waits in hotel corridors, and the occasional angry spat if one of the band members was seen walking with another girl. Jeesh. One wonders how on earth a film could be squeezed out of these boring pages...I had hoped for a true memory of those days (I didn't necessarily need an apologetic and nostalgic look at Rollermania, but this is a completely dull opposite), but what we get is a rather pathetic portrait of life as an American school leaver obsessed with a band she didn't actually care for, and, from these pages, a band with an image, music, musicianship, style, etc. she actually disliked. What's the point? Rollermaniacs, or those interested in the whole subject: avoid - this really offers nothing; not even a glimmer of the fun and excitement we all felt back when we had acne and funny tartaned clothes.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Five Tartan Stars
I was never a fan of the Bay City Rollers, but a friend mailed me this book saying that it was a must read. Read more
Published on 16 Jan 2010 by Kelly Irish
A rollin' good read!!
Loved this book, it was a great insight into the life of a hormone crazed, slightly obsessed, teenager and her life in amongst the Bay City Rollers. Read more
Published on 16 Sep 2008 by J. Daville
This book takes me back to a simpler time...
I was a roller fan too. Had a million pen-pals, traded stories, traded pictures and dreamed about them for years. Read more
Published on 18 Nov 2007 by S. Jennings
!!
I read this book over the course of a Bank Holiday weekend - enthralled, and transported back to my teenage years. Read more
Published on 2 May 2006 by purplecat
I Loved This Book
Anybody that has hero worshipped should read this book. Caroline was there all the way, living her life for the Rollers. Read more
Published on 13 Mar 2006
A great read for all the"Rollermanics" out there!
I bought this book and totally loved it! It is so refreshing to read something that comes from the fan perspective. Caroline tells her story very well. Read more
Published on 24 Feb 2004 by THE IslandGirl...Sharon
WOW! Wonderful and painfully honest teen angst.
Caroline lived out my teen fantasy. While I was home day dreaming over my Roller album covers, she was out there on the front lines, taking the chances and getting the rewards. Read more
Published on 27 May 2002 by wendilpooh153@aol.com
Entertaining!
I just finished reading "Bye Bye Baby", and I have to say I was truly entertained by it. Not only was I a Bay City Rollers fanatic, but a fan from New Jersey, just like... Read more
Published on 17 Feb 2002
Favorable review for Bye Bye Baby
Thank you Caroline for a great book! This was so much fun and brought back memories. You did not have to be so harsh when writing about their music -- it's cheerful, fun and... Read more
Published on 16 July 2001 by dahlingkac@aol.com
Caroline, I think your book was absolutely wonderful!!
I enjoyed reading your book tremendously. The only thing I must say that I disagreed with is that I truly did and still do enjoy their music!! Read more
Published on 2 July 2001
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