Author who co-wrote Alan Longmuir biography admits he wasn't a fan of Bay City Rollers

I Ran with the Gang, published on November 26, charts the music career of the plumber from Gorgie who, along with brother Derek, cousin Neil Porteous, friends Nobby Clark and Dave Pettigrew, formed the band that would become the tartan teen sensations.

Martin, who has written autobiographies with footballers George Best, Charlie Cooke and Dave McKay, met Alan in January 2017 and they became friends during the six-month writing process.

He said: “It was like an accelerated friendship. Although we only met four or five times, it was quite intense. We spoke on the phone almost daily”

The pair never got round to writing the planned final chapter as, sadly, Alan, 70, died in June after falling ill in Mexico while on holiday with his wife, Eileen.

Martin said: “Had he lived longer it would have been a longer book because he wanted to talk about his plumbing career.”

Looking back at his friendship with the bassist, some conversations have been cast in a different light for Martin.

He said: “A lot of the stuff he said became more poignant. At the end of the book, he said he hoped the Rollers could play one last time together. He actually said, ‘we’re not getting any younger and one of us will be the first to go and statistically, that’s me’.

“He was almost reaching out to the others.”