BILBO BAGGINS - SUPERGROUP?

There couldn't be a nicer bunch of lads than Bilbo Baggins. Funny, obliging, and totally unpretentious, the boys seem to have a happy set-up and a relaxed relationship within the group. Brian and Dave do most of the talking; Tosh, Fid and Gordon are quieter.

The boys have been together as a group for over two years now. All the boys come from Edinburgh, except for Gordon, "but," says Dave, "we don't like to advertise that! There's a lot of friendly rivalry between Edinburgh and Glasgow where Gordon comes from, and the rest of us tend to regard Glasgow as some kind of Biafra! The only way to see Glasgow is to keep travelling through!"

Beginnings

At first the boys were all playing in separate groups but they were frustrated that they were still amateurs when they really wanted to go professional. The result was that they amalgamated all their separate talents in one group, and called Tam Paton and asked him to be manager. Tam was impressed enough with their sound to agree, and added a friend of his, Gordon, as drummer.

Quips Gordon, "I was always phoning Tam up for possible openings, and one day he told me there was a group who needed a drummer. This was the unfortunate result!"

So there they were, a new professional group, but without a name. Various suggestions included Prince Charles (!) and Barrabas, but one day Tam walked in with a book the boys had lent him. "I've got it!" he announced, "Here's a great name for the group - Bilbo Baggins!" The boys all burst into hysterical laughter, but the name's stuck.

Roller Comparisons

'With the Tam connection," Brian continues, "it's inevitable that we got compared endlessly to the Rollers. In fact we're a different kettle of fish, a different setup entirely. If you were interviewing the Rollers, Tam would be here to keep an eye on the proceedings, but because Tam is away so often with them we take care of ourselves. But don't get me wrong, Tam is a great manager. He's never taken a penny off us in two years - he's dead straight. On the whole, we tend to keep Tam's name and the Rollers out of it - we're different from the Rollers and the only thing we want to emulate about them is success!"

Music and Girls

"Our kind of music is, well, loud!" ponders Dave, "And we have a cheeky stage act, I s'pose that's why we have a comparatively high following among the boys as well. We go up there to have a really good time and to make sure that the kids do too.

"It's in the past year that we've made it big in Scotland, but we have trouble getting airplay on some of the big, national radio stations, naming no names! Luxembourg made Hold Me a powerplay so they're all right!

"At the moment we're not exactly rich. We all live at home, and if it wasn't for mummys and daddys we'd all be a lot thinner! We have girlfriends but nothing regular or steady. What sort of girls do we like? Rich ones! No, only joking!"

Disasters!

That was when I made the mistake of asking the average age of the band. "Very young!" "Younger than the Rollers!" "Over 16!" were the replies I was greeted with. In fact the boys are about 21, 22 years old. But even in the course of that comparatively short time, they claim to have met with 'hundreds' of stage disasters and otherwise.

"Well, there was the time at the Wimbledon Theatre," Dave reminisces, "we were on the bill with the Wombles, Hello, Mud and Showaddywaddy. It was the day of the England v Scotland match and we missed it!"

"England v Scotland defeat!" I can't help interjecting!

"Ah, there wasn't much in it," grumbles Tosh patriotically, "four or five dozen lucky goals!"

"Barry Perkins was on stage," continues Dave, "and his introduction of us was, well, let's call it the big build up. So on we marched, to warm applause, picked up our guitars and were just about to launch into the first action packed stomper . . . when we suddenly realised there were no amplifiers on! One mike was working! We all clustered round it, blathering away while trying to catch the attention of the roadies. In the end, we chattered on for five minutes, and then walked off in embarrassment!"

"Oh, and then there was the time we stayed in an hotel in Plymouth. We were skint," he pauses, "again! and so we booked into one double bedroom and the rest of us made our way up by the fire escape. We couldn't afford to eat properly so we had this kettle and a toaster, and we sat around making piles of toast and cheese and cups of tea. The trouble is that Brian likes his toast black, and he holds down his bread in the toaster till it's burnt. That's when the smoke from the toaster set off the fire alarm in the hotel! All of a sudden there were men banging on the door, to see where the fire was. So there was a mad dash to hide in the loo or under the bed and when we let them in, there we were busily pretending there were only two in the room, when there was enough bread lying around to feed an army!"

Success?

Obviously they hope that burnt toast and shared hotel rooms will soon be a thing of the past.

So how do Bilbo Baggins think they would cope with success? Do they as yet get screamed at?
"Only when we pinch their purses," grins Brian.

"We just scream back at them!" jokes Fid.

Dave says, "Sometimes it's frightening and you wonder what you've done to evoke this reaction in the kids. But most of the time you just enjoy it. I don't think we'll ever get fed up with it."

I hope not. Watch out for Bilbo's next single, due out around now. It could be the one to rocket them to the top, and once they get there, they're sure to make an impression. L.H.

Page Last Updated: 4 March, 2010

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