Musician and founder of the band Bay City Rollers. Born in Edinburgh, the son of an undertaker, and raised in the Dalry area of the city. He trained as a plumber but his life was directed towards music. Together with his brother Derek Longmuir (b.1955), cousin Neil Porteous and others, Longmuir founded The Saxons in 1965, with whom he played bass guitar. This band soon became the Bay City Rollers and gave rise to a string of hits including All Of Me Loves All Of You (1974), Shang-a-Lang (1974), together with Bye Bye Baby (1975) and Give a Little Love (1975), which both reached No. 1 in the UK Chart, and Saturday Night (1976) and I Only Want to be With You (1976). The band sold more than 120 million records and achieved chart success in the UK, USA, Canada, Australia and Japan.
Described as "tartan teen sensations", Rollermania became a phenomenon, attracting thousands of screaming girls. In 1976, at the height of their success, Longmuir left the band, the first of a number of personnel changes.
He cited pressure of work but was rather older than the other band members, His departure caused so much hysteria amongst teenage fans that it brought questions in Parliament as to how one person could have such an influence over young people. Longmuir returned to the group in 1978 and last joined them in 2016 for a series of reunion concerts.
He died at Forth Valley Royal Hospital in Larbert, having taken ill on holiday in Mexico.
