By Ian Woolley
One year since Les McKeown, lead singer of the Bay City Rollers, died unexpectedly at his home aged 65, a unique opportunity for fans to see some of the last professionally taken photos of the star…
Les meeting his fans (credit Emmo Stanwood)
From his final tour of Japan, is now funding on Kickstarter, the photobook “Les McKeown’s Bay City Rollers: The Last Tour” which is being crowdfunded, features unseen photos from the last tour McKeown ever completed, a 10-date sold-out tour of Japan in 2020.
On that tour, I personally interviewed Les backstage in Dorset for the Beat and the interview was published in the December issue of 2019. The live recording can be found on Spotify. Little did I know at the time sadly that I would be one of the last people to interview Les before his untimely death.
In the forthcoming book, you will find preview photos showing the star in concert, off-stage, and in his last ever professional photoshoot with renowned Japanese fashion photographer, Keiichi Nitta.
These rare images of the singer in his element are a must-see for any Bay City Rollers fan, but unless the project raises enough money, the collection might not see the light of day.
The crowdfunding project which has the approval of Les’s widow Peko McKeown has been created by his long-time promoter in Japan, Sam Mokhtary who explained: “I have worked with Les McKeown, taking him on six sold-out tours of Japan”.
“Working with him and getting to know his fans changed my life. I know I am not alone when I say that it is a tragedy that we will never get to experience the magic of one of his performances ever again”.
The Last Tour book
“At first I did not realise that the hundreds of original photographs taken on Les’s last Japan tour, show the many sides of Les and represent an incredible chance for every fan to enjoy his showmanship one last time. I hope together with the support of Les’s fans we can make this photobook happen.”
The Kickstarter campaign will run for 30 days, starting April 22nd and ending May 22nd. In that time supporters will be able to pledge their support in exchange for a limited first edition hardback copy of the photobook and other collectors items. If a target of 400 books is cleared, the book is set to be printed and delivered to fans across the globe by autumn 2022.
For more details about the campaign visit:
https://www.kickstarter.com/