The life and death of pop mogul Tam Paton

Published on Thursday 9 April 2009 10:05

TAM Paton's colourful career saw him rise to fame as one of the music business' first boy band svengalis before hitting the headlines for all the wrong reasons.

As the manager of the Bay City Rollers he played his part in creating one of the biggest pop sensations of the 1970s.

The son of a Prestonpans potato merchant, Tam Paton went on to steer The Bay City Rollers to worldwide success.

&#149 Ex-Bay City Rolllers boss Tam Paton found dead in bath

The band's members – Les McKeown, Eric Faulkner, Alan Longmuir, Stuart Wood and Derek Longmuir - became sex symbols around the globe, touring the world and earning a string of hits.

Paton bought a mansion in Gogar, nicknamed Paton Place, for 29,000 in 1974 because of its proximity to Edinburgh airport.

During the 1970s, Paton ran a band night from the Palais de Dance in Fountainbridge, which is where an early version of the Bay City Rollers started out. But controversy was never far away, and Paton later spent years contesting cash wrangles with members of the band over royalties.

After being sacked as the band's manager in 1979, Paton developed a multi-million pound property empire based in Edinburgh.

Shrewd business investments left him a wealthy man with his plush mansion to the west of the city and a villa in Spain.

In May 1982, however, his world came crashing down when he was jailed for three years for indecency with teenage boys. A trial was halted after four days of evidence when Paton pleaded guilty to reduced charges, admitting that he had molested ten boys over a period of three years.

In 2007, Paton was cleared over allegations he tried to rape one of the band's stars at the height of their fame.

Police said there was "insufficient evidence" after former Rollers guitarist Pat McGlynn and singer Les McKeown made the complaint in 2003.

Last night, after being informed of Mr Paton's death, McGlynn reportedly said: "Great news. Hope he roasts in hell."

Paton had said he was interviewed under caution, finger-printed and DNA tested during the investigation.

Early the same year, he had been fined 20,000 after admitting being concerned in the supply of cannabis.

Last September, Paton was arrested on drug charges before being bailed for health reasons.

Paton had been held over allegations he was dealing class C substances after police arrested him in an Edinburgh car park.

It is claimed he was in possession of herbal cannabis and cannabis resin, and was attempting to supply the class C drugs.

Paton had endured poor health for many years and had previously suffered heart attacks and a stroke. He claimed he had considered leaving Scotland after a gang of men chased him out of his home in 2007. Liverpool-based John Conroy, 28, John Dougherty, 29, and Phillip Woolley, 19, were all jailed at Edinburgh Sheriff Court after admitting brandishing knives and threatening to stab Paton.

Paton was forced to flee his mansion after a business deal went wrong and the trio demanded money. Speaking after the men were jailed, he said: "It seems to happen to me because my name is Tam Paton and sometimes I think the sooner I leave this country the better. But I will never leave Edinburgh and will just need to be more careful – I certainly won't be letting that lot in here again."

In recent years Paton had taken to locking himself in his mansion surrounded by his Rottweilers and Staffordshire bull terriers.

He admitted to trying to commit suicide after being arrested as part of the investigation into shamed pop guru Jonathan King's liaisons with teenage boys. However, Paton was not charged by the police.

When the Evening News visited Paton at his home in 2007, he was being tended to by young men bringing him cups of tea and making his dinner.

After being fined 20,000 for possession of cannabis, confiscation proceedings to seize crime profits resulted in him handing over 180,000 – significantly more than the value of the drug police recovered.

Paton insisted he was not a drug baron, saying that the six kilos of cannabis was simply for residents at his home to share, and that his 8 million property empire was the result of shrewd purchasing in the early 80s, income from housing homeless people and nothing to do with drugs.