BilboMusic - Dock and Roll Star

Gordon, circled, with bandmates (from left) Jimmy Devlin, Brian Spence, Colin Chisholm and Gordon McIntosh. Right: Early days of the band (from left): McIntosh, Chisholm, Gordon and Spence A SHAMEFUL secret from a sheriff's past can today be exposed by the Sunday Mail.

We can reveal Sheriff Gordon Liddle was a drummer in a 1970s rock band.

Sheriff Liddle, 50, appeared on Top Of The Pops as a member of Bilbo Baggins - the Scots band who were dubbed the new Bay City Rollers at the time.

The group, who played sell-out gigs at top venues such as the Glasgow Apollo, hit the charts with She's Goin' To Win in 1978.

The band were tipped for the top. But they never got there. The "New Rollers" label and tartan rockers image worked against them.

Sheriff Liddle said: "We were more serious about music. I don't think the image that was being projected of us helped."

Gordon left Cranhill Secondary School in Glasgow without a single O-Grade and began work as an electrician. In his spare time, he played in a band called Horoscope.

He said: "At a gig in Edinburgh, we met the Bay City Rollers and their manager Tam Paton. Some time later, I got a call from him asking me to join a band he was putting together - Bilbo Baggins."

The band began with four members and later added a fifth. For a while, it seemed Gordon was on his way to fame and fortune. But the slide began when their single only reached No. 42 in the charts.

After the band split in 1979, Gordon was determined to further his education.

He graduated in Law from Edinburgh University in 1984 and went on to become an advocate. He was appointed a temporary sheriff in 1998 before being elevated to full-time sheriff in May last year.

His ex-manager, Paton, 63, said: "I am delighted Gordon has been successful.

"Bilbo Baggins were better than the Rollers. They were a very strong, musical band."

Sheriff Liddle also did some auditions with the chart- topping Scots band Slik, and helped choose a nickname for one of its members.

He said: "You could say I was partially responsible for creating 'Midge' Ure."

Sheriff Liddle still plays in a band whose line-up features another sheriff and a judge.

They play at private events and charity performances.

Wife Catriona is also an advocate. They stay in Edinburgh with their children, Annie, six, and George, two.

At home, the sheriff listens to "almost any kind of music" - except Boy George.

After all, he hears enough at work from grown men in wigs and gowns.

Page Last Updated: 4 March, 2010

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