Mourning the Death of Bay City Rollers’ Leslie McKeown

The death of a celebrity is unique to each person’s experience. Elvis, Lennon, Kobe, left fans devastated wondering how they could leave us so early, and so tragically. Leslie wasn’t as young as these three superstars, but his death was sudden and unexpected. And the death of that voice that enlightened you, calmed you, and loved you as a young child is now gone forever.

I am so perplexed by the state of my emotions, that I cannot effectively communicate the pain or separate the levels of sadness that exists within me. When you grow up loving a boy band like the Bay City Rollers, you invest your whole being. Other than school and homework, I spent every minute of my pre-teen and teenage years listening to their music, buying records and magazines, and plastering my walls with their beautiful faces. By the time I reached 6th grade, I must have had over one hundred pen pals in the US, UK, Australia, and Japan. We shared this undying connection that only Bay City Roller fans could understand.

For me, devoting my life in the BCR was my secret escape to a fantasy world that was beautiful, sweet, and safe. It was a magical moment in time, and nobody could infiltrate my private space. The experience was my nourishment, my spirituality, my purpose to live.

The Bay City Rollers gave us joy, laughter, and taught us about growing up in love and life. For some, they protected us from the evil demons that surrounded us at school or at home. So, when we talk about death and mourning of a celebrity, what is really manifesting?

Well, in terms of boy band crushes, it is your life flashing in front of you and the realization that life may have passed you by without really living it. The death may cause you to pause and reflect and face your own mortality. Or the passing may pose a remembrance of a simpler time when life just flowed effortlessly. In my case, none of these mindsets fits the mold, but little sprinkles of it resemble the feelings. If your grief manifests into a long-term mourning process or depression, you may be masking this event for something else in your life you are not dealing with, in which case you should seek professional help.

I am not going to regurgitate the five stages of grief; we all know what they are and have probably had our share of practice. Instead, I would like to invite you to feel how you feel without judgement or apology; feel your feelings for however long you damn well like; take the day off work and just be present in the bliss of BCR music; give yourself permission to dance and scream like you were fourteen again!

I truly believe this BCR mourning is unprecedented because as we were growing up in an era, where there were very few outliers that caused us to stray from the madness. We were 100% invested without distractions of social media. The BCR were around for most of our formidable years and that also plays a huge role in our need for acceptance and self-worth. Not that I would ever compare anything to God or religion, but this particular feeling of loss is like losing your religion, or that spiritual connection of unconditional love.

Remember that replacing negative thoughts with more positive thoughts, results in a happy, peaceful, and relaxed mind and body. Instead of looking back, we should embrace where we are at and connect on a deeper level with each other. We can uplift one another by sharing fond, blissful memories and singing together. Don’t Let the Music Die! (Faulkner & Wood, 1977)

Please leave your comments in the forum.

Patti Martin, Ph.D. is an educational leader and teacher. She has a proven track record of increasing reading fluency via Mindfulness Education (ME) strategies and techniques. Patti also maintains that the education system is antiquated and must disrupted with a ruffling rejuvenation to foster the development of the whole child using skills that promote peace, gratitude and heartfulness.