Bye bye baby…. baby goodbye…..
pranged my motor… now I must fly….
Bay City star admits crash charge
Bay City Rollers star Les McKeown has admitted crashing his car while he was more than twice the legal alcohol limit and leaving the scene of an accident. Thames Magistrates heard he claimed he had not been driving when stopped by police after hitting another car and a traffic island in north London in 2004.
The court heard the 49-year-old, of east London, was convicted of reckless driving after a woman’s death in 1975.
McKeown was granted unconditional bail and will be sentenced on 12 May.
District Judge Jackie Comyns warned the singer: “If you are found driving while disqualified you will be sent to prison.”
‘Effectively panicked’
Mark Parker, prosecuting, said McKeown had walked off after the accident, ignoring the request of a witness, trying to hail a cab.
The singer then went into a house and afterwards left with two other men and a baby in a Jeep Cherokee.
The witness called police, who tailed the vehicle and stopped it and then arrested the singer.
Michael Atkinson, defending McKeown, said he had “effectively panicked”.
He failed a roadside breath test and was found to have a toxicity reading of 75 micrograms of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath – more than twice the legal limit.
When stopped by police he claimed he had not been driving the car and had just returned from a meeting with Rolling Stones guitarist Ronnie Wood.
McKeown, of Lower Clapton, east London, became famous in the 1970s as lead singer of the hugely successful Scottish band whose hits included Bye Bye Baby and Shang-A-Lang.
He still tours with an updated version of the group known as the Legendary Bay City Rollers.
Story from BBC NEWS:
