Did Tam Paton manage any other bands than the Bay City Rollers?
Thomas Dougal Paton (10 August 1938 – 8 April 2009), known as Tam, was the former manager and primary spokesman of the 1970s Scottish band, the Bay City Rollers. Born in Prestonpans, Scotland, he was the son of a potato merchant. Paton drove a truck to initially aid the group financially. He went on to guide the band through their peak during the 1970s, nurturing the band’s image to be that of the “boys next door”. He was responsible for starting a myth that the band members preferred drinking milk to alcoholic beverages, in order to cultivate this clean, innocent image. In 1979, Paton was fired as manager, and went on to develop a multi-million pound real estate business based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Paton was openly gay. In 1982, Paton, was convicted of gross indecency with teenage boys, serving one year of a three year prison sentence. In recent years, he suffered poor health, including two heart attacks, and a stroke. He was arrested on child sexual abuse charges in January 2003, b
Managers of pop artists have often been more notorious than the stars themselves. Tam Paton, who has died of a suspected heart attack aged 70, had long since joined this managerial hall of shame. He became a household name for the chart-busting exploits of his proteges, the Bay City Rollers, in the 1970s, but latterly, his career was scarred by a string of scandals involving sex offences with teenage boys, financial malfeasance and drug possession. Paton, the son of a potato merchant, was born in the small town of Prestonpans, near Edinburgh. He was musically proficient on piano and accordion, and was the resident bandleader at the Edinburgh Palais when he first came across the fledgling Rollers, then known as the Saxons. Through his musical contacts, Paton secured gigs around Edinburgh for the group and, as their reputation spread, he gradually assumed the role of manager. He invited the Bell records boss Dick Leahy to come and see the band and Leahy was so impressed by the fan hyster
