The ROADRUNNERS

BIOGRAPHY:

Act formed in 1963 by Bill Barclay (guitar), Pete Duncan (guitar, ex-Young Ones), Gerry (bass) & Sandy (drums). Another early member was Ronnie Brooks (guitar), who was soon to join The Eddie Connors Combo. At the end of 1963 they were managed by Bob Fleming, who brought in vocalist Mary Anne from Glasgow in February 1964 (she was so serious about the band that she moved to the area). The band won a competition at Camelon Golf Club to record demo tapes for EMI, Decca & Pye in London. The auditions were unsuccessful, and the band returned to the area. They soon returned to London in may, however, to take part in a national Beat Group contest on television, presented by Alan "Fluff" Freeman. In summer 1964 they supported The Animals, The Pretty Things & The Applejacks.
They were famed for playing an instrumental called "The Flame", which was the composition of Barclay. When they played that at the end the crowd would apparently go mental. In 1965 they were praised by the BBC's Jimmy Saville, whilst Barclay wrote a song for Jean Moir which was produced by George Martin for the Parlophone label. A later member was Paul Serafini (guitar, ex-Eddie Connors Combo). In 1969 they changed their name to Slack Gut, whilst Barclay formed The Sonics in 1966. In March 1966 Serafini played a one-off date with The Forth Valley All Stars at the Odeon Cinema, Falkirk.