Neil Henderson, Former Bay City Rollers Guitarist, Dies at 73

Neil Henderson, the former Bay City Rollers guitarist who played on the Scottish group’s first charting single, has died at 73, his later band Middle of the Road announced on September 24. Middle of the Road described Henderson as its original lead guitarist, songwriter and friend, and offered condolences to his daughters, Heather and Shona, and the rest of his family and friends. The band said his memory would live on with those who shared the stage with him and through his music. The cause of Henderson’s death has not been publicly released. Middle of the Road said he had been ill for some time and had been recovering from a stroke several years earlier; the statement did not identify either as the cause of death. Henderson joined the Bay City Rollers in 1970 and played with the band until 1972. He performed on “Keep On Dancing,” released in 1971 and the group’s first charting single. He left shortly after the release of the band’s second single, before its later international breakthrough and the period of intense popularity known as Rollermania.