Well it's that time again! Yes, time for the 'Once In A Lifetime' tour - that fabulous tour that celebrates the best of the 'boy bands' or 'boy singers' of the 70's! You know the ones, the ones that caused mayhem up and down the land and caused teenage (and pre-teens) to swoon at the very sight of them! The ones that caused young girls to collect their posters and put them up on their walls and run away from home to try to catch a glimpse of them! (ahh, young love eh) Well I went to a 'Once in a lifetime' concert again this year. Missed the tour last time so was determined to get there this time! And I believe sadly, it'll probably be my last time. Personally I believe the first 'OIAL' tour was far better than this year. It had all the excitment of everyone who grew up in the 70's being able to once again see some of the 70's groups and singers they'd loved (or even loathed) from that groovy and great era. The line-up back then was David Cassidy, David Essex, The Osmonds and The Bay City Rollers! Erm... actually, not the real BCR from the 70's, it was the lead singer and some other guys who probably weren't even born when the original Rollers were at the height of their fame so it's a little bit naughty to call them the Bay City Rollers. Even calling them the 'LM legendary BCR' doesn't sound right to me. Anyway, at that first tour there were loads of David Cassidy fans, many had on David Cassidy scarves, some had on DC badges. Then there were the Osmond fans with their Osmond scarves (their seemed to be far more Osmond merchandise than anyone elses!) many had Osmond T.shirts on, some had Osmond badges on, some Osmond necklaces on. Many brought the programme which sold for around £10. (ouch!) Actually, I can't really remember seeing that many Osmond badges, saw some rosettes but I think it was mainly Osmond scarves. And they wore them around their necks with pride. There was a pair of Osmond fans who were outside before the concert started. They looked absolutely great in their Osmond gear. I can't remember what they wore but it was bright coloured and they had hats on (kinda like cowboy hats, not the purple 'Donny' hat) along with Osmond badges and rossettes. I just wish I'd had the guts to ask if I could take a picture of them! Sights like those of loyal fans of pop groups or singers of the 60's or 70's are priceless, because they capture a time when society was much more innocent. In those days, every girl had her favourite BOY pop singer who she was in love with or BOY pop group who she was in love with and no girl was interested in girl groups and no one was obsessed with sexual perversion! It was called the 70's, when people were a little bit more normal! There were also plenty of David Essex fans milling around but the ones that stood out the most were the Bay City Roller fans, as usual! Many had on their Roller gear (or some of it) There were Roller fans with tartan scarves round their necks or round their wrists, Roller fans with Roller badges on or with tartan trimmed trousers, (some shortened others not) tartan trimmed shirts and stripey socks on and plenty of Bay City Roller badges. Oh, and 2 Roller fans came in matching outfits, both had on denim jackets with a Bay City Roller T. shirt on underneath (the original 70's one which many fans had in the 70's including me) BCR necklaces and home-made BCR badges on their jackets. Oh, and of course tartan scarves! Boy, the memories came flooding back I can tell you. So much tartan everywhere. It felt like we were back in the 70's. It was so great seeing so many loyal Roller fans who'd come to see the Rollers. (or Les' Mckeown's version of them anyway) and the other 70's groups/singers. It was good to see the loyal fans of all of the groups/singers actually, really good. The most unusual sight was a woman dressed in half Osmond gear and half Roller gear. Or was it half Os half DC? No, it was half Osmond gear and half BCR gear And though she looked good as all the fans who made an effort to dress up as fans did , she also looked very strange! It looked so weird. In the 70's, girls liked either or, not both! There may have been the odd exceptions of course, but it was unusual for any fan to like both the Osmonds AND The Bay City Rollers in the UK. So seeing that was kind of weird. Anyway, saw this post of 'The Liverpool Echo' giving the low-down on the
Once In A Lifetime (Remember The 70's) concert in Liverpool. There was a line up change this year, Leo Sayer replacing David Cassidy. I would have loved David Cassidy to have been there again but Leo Sayer was very good so it was ok. It would have been great to have had all 5 of them actually. That would have been ideal. But like I said, Leo Sayer was surprisingly good - I really loved hearing 'moonlighting' again. What a great tune. It bought back tons of memories. And all good. Anyway, a great time was had by all. Who was the most popular on the night? Hard to tell, but the fans sportingly seemed to support all the artists, regardless of who their favourites in the 70's were. In the 70's their was bitter rivalry amongst fans, especially amongst the David Cassidy and Osmond fans. Actually I seem to remember Osmond fans hating Roller fans, and visa versa. (I think the former was probably due to jealousy!) But on the whole, on that night, old rivalries were forgotten and everyone had a great time. The atmosphere was electric - so exciting, so happy, full of laughter and joy. And we all soaked up that wonderful, happy atmosphere. It was an absolutely FABtastic night - pure 70's nostalgia!
Saw this review by an American journalist for a Bay City Roller book recently:- 
Well it's that time again! Yes, time for the 'Once In A Lifetime' tour - that fabulous tour that celebrates the best of the 'boy bands' or 'boy singers' of the 70's! You know the ones, the ones that caused mayhem up and down the land and caused teenage (and pre-teens) to swoon at the very sight of them! The ones that caused young girls to collect their posters and put them up on their walls and run away from home to try to catch a glimpse of them! (ahh, young love eh) Well I went to a 'Once in a lifetime' concert again this year. Missed the tour last time so was determined to get there this time! And I believe sadly, it'll probably be my last time. Personally I believe the first 'OIAL' tour was far better than this year. It had all the excitment of everyone who grew up in the 70's being able to once again see some of the 70's groups and singers they'd loved (or even loathed) from that groovy and great era. The line-up back then was David Cassidy, David Essex, The Osmonds and The Bay City Rollers! Erm... actually, not the real BCR from the 70's, it was the lead singer and some other guys who probably weren't even born when the original Rollers were at the height of their fame so it's a little bit naughty to call them the Bay City Rollers. Even calling them the 'LM legendary BCR' doesn't sound right to me. Anyway, at that first tour there were loads of David Cassidy fans, many had on David Cassidy scarves, some had on DC badges. Then there were the Osmond fans with their Osmond scarves (their seemed to be far more Osmond merchandise than anyone elses!) many had Osmond T.shirts on, some had Osmond badges on, some Osmond necklaces on. Many brought the programme which sold for around £10. (ouch!) Actually, I can't really remember seeing that many Osmond badges, saw some rosettes but I think it was mainly Osmond scarves. And they wore them around their necks with pride. There was a pair of Osmond fans who were outside before the concert started. They looked absolutely great in their Osmond gear. I can't remember what they wore but it was bright coloured and they had hats on (kinda like cowboy hats, not the purple 'Donny' hat) along with Osmond badges and rossettes. I just wish I'd had the guts to ask if I could take a picture of them! Sights like those of loyal fans of pop groups or singers of the 60's or 70's are priceless, because they capture a time when society was much more innocent. In those days, every girl had her favourite BOY pop singer who she was in love with or BOY pop group who she was in love with and no girl was interested in girl groups and no one was obsessed with sexual perversion! It was called the 70's, when people were a little bit more normal! There were also plenty of David Essex fans milling around but the ones that stood out the most were the Bay City Roller fans, as usual! Many had on their Roller gear (or some of it) There were Roller fans with tartan scarves round their necks or round their wrists, Roller fans with Roller badges on or with tartan trimmed trousers, (some shortened others not) tartan trimmed shirts and stripey socks on and plenty of Bay City Roller badges. Oh, and 2 Roller fans came in matching outfits, both had on denim jackets with a Bay City Roller T. shirt on underneath (the original 70's one which many fans had in the 70's including me) BCR necklaces and home-made BCR badges on their jackets. Oh, and of course tartan scarves! Boy, the memories came flooding back I can tell you. So much tartan everywhere. It felt like we were back in the 70's. It was so great seeing so many loyal Roller fans who'd come to see the Rollers. (or Les' Mckeown's version of them anyway) and the other 70's groups/singers. It was good to see the loyal fans of all of the groups/singers actually, really good. The most unusual sight was a woman dressed in half Osmond gear and half Roller gear. Or was it half Os half DC? No, it was half Osmond gear and half BCR gear And though she looked good as all the fans who made an effort to dress up as fans did , she also looked very strange! It looked so weird. In the 70's, girls liked either or, not both! There may have been the odd exceptions of course, but it was unusual for any fan to like both the Osmonds AND The Bay City Rollers in the UK. So seeing that was kind of weird. Anyway, saw this post of 'The Liverpool Echo' giving the low-down on the Once In A Lifetime (Remember The 70's) concert in Liverpool. There was a line up change this year, Leo Sayer replacing David Cassidy. I would have loved David Cassidy to have been there again but Leo Sayer was very good so it was ok. It would have been great to have had all 5 of them actually. That would have been ideal. But like I said, Leo Sayer was surprisingly good - I really loved hearing 'moonlighting' again. What a great tune. It bought back tons of memories. And all good. Anyway, a great time was had by all. Who was the most popular on the night? Hard to tell, but the fans sportingly seemed to support all the artists, regardless of who their favourites in the 70's were. In the 70's their was bitter rivalry amongst fans, especially amongst the David Cassidy and Osmond fans. Actually I seem to remember Osmond fans hating Roller fans, and visa versa. (I think the former was probably due to jealousy!) But on the whole, on that night, old rivalries were forgotten and everyone had a great time. The atmosphere was electric - so exciting, so happy, full of laughter and joy. And we all soaked up that wonderful, happy atmosphere. It was an absolutely FABtastic night - pure 70's nostalgia!
