My vast search of who may have painted this mural has led me to this man, Ron Kleeman. http://www.ronkleemann.net/
Ian Mitchell's Bay City Rollers opens Pig Gig entertainment
Thursday, July 26, 2007 By PATI LALONDE
TIMES WRITER Ian Mitchell is a little disappointed that the Bay City Rollers mural is only a memory.
The mural once decorated the side of the Gateway Motel at the foot of Veterans Bridge. It came down with the motel to make way for the Doubletree hotel and conference center.
The Doubletree Hotel was across the street from the hotel where I stayed.
The Veterans Memorial Bridge.
Mitchell was guitarist for the Scottish rock group from 1976 to 1977.
''They probably could have sold it for $5 a brick,'' he said with a laugh. ''Put it in Arizona in the desert with the London Bridge or something like that.''
But he says he's still excited, and a bit nervous, to perform for the first time in the town that gave the group its name. Ian Mitchell's Bay City Rollers performs at 7 p.m. Aug. 2 in Veterans Memorial Park as part of Labadie Pig Gig. Presented by State Farm.
Last time the Bay City Rollers came around this way they performed in Saginaw.
''The band was named after the city, given the keys to the city, all that type of thing,'' Mitchell said. ''There are high expectations there. I would presume so anyway. You've got to be at your best.''
Sheri Strzelecki of Bay City is among the fans who have high expectations for the show. Strzelecki used to cut photos from Tiger Beat and 16 magazines to hang on her wall.
Her advice to Mitchell: Don't be nervous.
''Just rock on,'' she said.
Although all the Rollers were invited to attend, Mitchell was the only one free to perform to kick off the entertainment for the Pig Gig.
''I'm actually a little sad the rest of guy's aren't going to be there, especially since it's Bay City,'' Mitchell said. ''Everybody was invited. Les (McKeown) would have been here, but he'll be in Australia.''
Strzelecki is a little sad as well. She was hoping her favorite band member, Eric Faulkner, would be there, but she's excited to see Mitchell all the same. In fact, she's bringing one of her albums for him to autograph.
Mitchell promises he and his New Jersey band will be at their best when they perform such hits as ''Money Honey,'' ''I Only Want to Be With You,'' ''You Make Me Believe in Magic'' and, of course, ''Saturday Night.''
She's also hoping Mitchell plays ''Dedication,'' her favorite song.
''It wasn't a popular hit, but it was my favorite song,'' she said.
There was another time in his life when Mitchell was nervous. In fact, he admits to being downright scared. It was when he joined the group in 1976 at the age of 17.
His sense of humor helped him deal with screaming fans.
''They seemed to think if they pull your arm off, you can grow another one,'' he said. ''If you break a leg, it will be fixed by tomorrow. You become sort of a demigod. I went through a lot of pairs of pants. I was usually walking with one leg missing.''
Despite being thrown into teen idol status, Mitchell says he was a quiet guy in high school and didn't date much.
''All of a sudden everyone wanted you,'' he said. ''It was like, 'wow.'''
Mitchell left the Rollers after only a year, but continued touring with other groups and on his own.
In the late 1990s he decided to take a few years off, and did some writing for movies and TV. He and wife Wendy also formed their own entertainment company in Southern California, called The O.C.
But a trip to Las Vegas changed their path.
After a Monkees concert, they had a meeting with Davy Jones. He convinced Mitchell there is still a ton of fans out there.
Including Wendy Dore, organizer of Pig Gig.
''I remember hearing their music in the 1970s,'' she said. ''I'm a life-long fan. I thought they were cute. I always liked the kilt. (The band) made Bay City have almost like cosmopolitan flair. There was this group from Scotland that had our name. We took ownership of it.''
Touring as part of the Rollers isn't the only thing Mitchell has going on. He also does a show with a couple of other idols from the 1970s, Leif Garrett and Barry Williams, aka Greg Brady.
In fact, Mitchell and Garrett are working on a cooking show.
''We're going to invade celebrity homes and cook something, whatever is in their refrigerator,'' Mitchell said.
But in the meantime he's happy to play for the fans in the town his band was named after.
''We're going to play every hit the Rollers ever had,'' he said. ''It's going to be a great show and we're going to rock it. We have a lot of fun on stage as well.''
"The next morning, I took a little trip over to the Historical Museum of Bay County to seek out the handprints. It's located next to City Hall. I let myself into the museum and was greeted by no one, although I could hear voices coming from some room in the back. I took the solo tour, very rapidly really, scanning for the Rollers. I did find an exhibit about the Bay City "Rollers" but it was about cigar rollers. lol There was also a story about the Mystical Beaver. I had to take a picture of that! I finally went back to the front and found a lady. I asked her about the handprints, and she said that yes, they are there, but they are not on display now. They are locked up in a room, and she didn't have the key to unlock it. (Yes, I asked to see it!!) I wanted some Bay City post cards, a souvenir spoon and a shot glass. They had nothing I wanted! But another lady directed me over to an antique/gift shop area a few blocks away. I drove over there and they had one post card with Bay City on it. The spoon and the shot glass, I had to settle for just Michigan. I would think they would have the sense to capitalize on their name!! Maybe we're the only ones that would care. Who knows? Took a couple pictures of the river, one showing the Pig Gig from across the water, went back to my car and drove away from Bay City."
The photo below is of the City Hall outside of which the Rollers received the keys to the city.
The following two photos are from the Bay County Historical Museum
The photo below is from the antique shop area of town. The Saginaw River photos are taken from the east shore, looking towards the Pig Gig, identifiable by the white tents showing. Also, Hooters' orange roof can be seen in the last photo. Boats docked on this side of the river belong to the condo owners that live right at the water's edge.
