The Bay City Rollers were formed in
Edinburgh, the capital city of Scotland, in 1964, with the city being described as "being no different" to other cities as a result of the popularity of bands including
the Beatles and
the Rolling Stones leading to an increase in bands forming in an attempt to become commercially successful. Band member
Alan Longmuir recalled that after seeing a performance of the Beatles on
Thank Your Lucky Star and
Ready Steady Go, it was then he set his desire in being part of band. Similarly, what was described as the "rock and roll bug" had affected future members of the Bay City Rollers such as
Derek Longmuir, who at fourteen years old had his first experience of in music during the
Boy's Brigade. Longmuir had a desire to learn the drums. During this period, the band were going by the name the Ambassadors, and made their debut as a band together at a family wedding reception with a rendition of "
Wake Up Little Susie" by
the Everly Brothers. During their time at
Tynecastle Secondary School, Derek Longmuir befriended
Gordon "Nobby" Clark who was a member of the school choir at the time, something which caught the attention of Derek Longmuir and similarly Clark, who had noticed that Longmuir had a musical interest which was similar to his. Clark recalled that he "did not know that Derek had a band", and that he remembered him "tapping away with his pencil in science class". The Ambassadors needed a lead singer for their band, and consequently, they asked Clark to join the band in which he accepted. The band later changed their name to the Saxons and advertised for a rhythm guitarist in the local newspaper in which Dave Pettigrew responded and auditioned for the band, being successful and later joining the line up of the band as their rhythm guitarist. The bands first performance in front of an audience was at the Cairns Church Club, with Alan Longmuir later admitting that prior to the show he felt extreme nerves as the band "did not feel sure of ourselves". During this period, the band had become aware that image was important if they were to become successful, and they established their "own image" and changed their name again, citing that "American music was really taking off in the clubs" and they felt it would be beneficial to adopt a name "which reflected that vibe". Derek Longmuir pinned a map of the
United States on a wall and began to pin a tag on a "random place" in an attempt to find a new name for the band. He later recalled that it "landed on some crappy place, so we did it again". It then landed on
Bay City, and after a few more attempts, it was the name that "was the best sounding of them all". The band were set on calling themselves the Bay City Stompers, but Alan Longmuir suggested Bay City Rollers as an accolade to
the Detroit Wheels. The band secured a performance at the acclaimed Toy Story Club in Edinburgh, something Alan Longmuir later claimed was "the break the band really needed". During their performance at the Toy Story Club, they gained the attention of music manager
Tam Paton, who the band described as "the most important music manager in Edinburgh". Paton began working with the band, agreeing to get them more work around Edinburgh, becoming a publicity master for the band and was an actively paying people to spray paint the Bay City Rollers name on as many overpasses around Edinburgh as possible. One such "billboard" was spray painted at
Princes Street Gardens, with the band later being charged and were required to clean up. ==Development and recording==