Les McKeown, the beloved frontman of 1970's pop icons, the Bay City Rollers, died suddenly on April 20th at age 65. McKeown will forever be remembered for singing lead on all the Scottish group's classic hits — including the 1976 chart-topper, “Saturday Night.”
His wife Kieko and son Jubei posted a message on the singer's social media saying: “It is with profound sadness that we announce the death of our beloved husband and father Leslie Richard McKeown. Leslie died suddenly at home on Tuesday 20 April 2021. We are currently making arrangements for his funeral and ask for privacy after the shock of our profound loss.”
McKeown's passing marks the third member of the Rollers to die in just under three years, following guitarist Ian Mitchell — who died of cancer on September 2nd, 2020 at age 62, and the band's co-founding bassist Alan Longmuir, passing at age 70 of a short illness on July 2nd, 2018.
Les McKeown quit the Rollers in 1978 and was at one point linked romantically with actress Britt Ekland. He continued to record as a solo artist, but mainly kept busy with his own Rollers-based live shows and occasional reunions with assorted band members.
His Les McKeown’s Bay City Rollers was on the road through last year.
