I asked a few Ian fans what makes them a fan, or asked for any comment. Here's what they say:     

| Bec | Mel | Julie | Shirley | Tammi | GailG. |  Lisa | KathyM | Cat | Marianne | Jacky | Bear | Emma | Gina | Jackie | Jason |

From Cat: "Like so many of you I too did an Ian search when I first bought my computer for grad school four years ago. hahaha, I also got the professor Ian Mitchell and thought wow, serious career change, Ian! I have been an Ian fan since 1976 where I used to steal glances of him in 16 and tiger beat while in the drug or grocery store. I thought I was too old to be a bcr fan and so was a bit closeted about it, heheh...BUT NOT ANYMORE :D its so great to find all of you and remember those years. equally great is the fact that Iam having more fun being an Ian fan at forty than I did as a teen! traveling to gatherings, meeting everyone...and seeing Ian play for the first time with Duncan Faure's band at the Troubadour in Hollywood June of 1998 was a blast! they sounded so good and Ian was so warm and funny. I remember playing the first Rosetta Stone album over and over...my favorite was Rock & Roll, I'm Coming Home.I had a pair of those green military pants with the pockets on the side of the knees just like they wore. I have to say my very favorite memory of Ian is of him playing an impromptu blues set at Jack's Sugar Shack in Hollywood a few years back, that was fantastic. I look forward to more memories and meeting more fans! peace & Ian love :)"

Marianne(Official Rosetta Stone Site) adds: "I met Ian for the first time at RollerFest in Las Vegas in 1997. He is the sweetest person and not to mention a great musician. Very dedicated to his fans. Although I am not officially an Ian fan...I do absolutely love him. His support of Rosetta Fests is unbelievable. Ian I Love Ya Babe!"

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From IansBear: "Ian Mitchell was, quite simply, the most beautiful boy I ever saw. My best friend Shari and I became Roller fans the first time we heard "Saturday Night" and then, when we saw a picture of the band in Tiger Beat Magazine, we were hooked. Rollermaniacs for life! Soon, I discovered, you were "supposed" to have a favorite Roller. If you met another Roller fan the first question asked was always "Who's your fave?" I didn't really have a favorite, but, when asked, I would always reply "Les" because he was Shan's favorite. Then Alan left the band and HELLO!! There was Ian!!! That boy owned my heart from the very first moment I set eyes on him. Thoughts of Ian consumed my days while dreams of Ian consumed my nights. I played "Dedication" so many times that part of the vinyl should be see-thru. I wrote poems about him and letters to him, and when he left the Rollers I cried oceans of tears for him. So, you grow up (or at least get older), you change, you move on, but you never forget your first love. Through the years there have been other rock stars to adore, but my love for Ian was always there, whispering in the back of my mind, nestled in a corner of my heart.

In August of 1997, I had the opportunity I had been waiting a lifetime for; a chance to finally meet Ian. He was appearing at Absolute Rollerfest in Las Vegas. I remember standing outside the casino with the other fans, waiting for his limo to arrive. I was so nervous and excited. He climbed out of the car and walked into the lobby of the hotel, followed by his adoring herd. Instead of ducking in the elevator he stopped and talked to the fans, giving out hugs right and left. I stood in the background, disbelieving that IAN MITCHELL was actually there, in front of me, close enough to reach out and touch. My husband kept pushing me forward, saying, "Bear, get up there, don't be stupid." But I couldn't. It was like my feet were nailed to the floor. I had waited 22 years for this opportunity, and I couldn't bring myself to approach him.

I finally met him the night of the fest. After putting on a great concert he, Pat McGlynn and Nobby Clark sat for hours to sign autographs for the fest attendees. I know they had to be tired, but they stayed there until everybody who wanted one got an autograph. When my turn approached, my heart was racing, my palms were sweaty. What would I say? How big of a fool was I going to make of myself? Wendy, who I had been emailing with for a couple of months sat at the head of the autograph table. As I passed her she told me to be sure to tell Ian that I was "Bear." Finally the moment of truth arrived. I was face to face with IAN MITCHELL!! I said, "Hi Ian, Wendy said to be sure to tell you that I am Bear." This man, that I had waited all my life to meet, reached across the table to hug me and said, "Bear, I am so glad to finally meet you." HE was glad to finally meet ME? Wasn't that supposed to be MY line?? I got my autograph and a picture with him, and walked away on cloud nine.

Since that first meeting, I have had the chance to spend time with Ian and get to know him. The beautiful boy I fell in love with oh-so-many years ago grew up to be a beautiful man-both inside and out. I am proud to be an Ian fan, and honored to call him my friend."

Emma says: "DEDICATION. As the song say, he dedicated to music, his fans. I remember when he join (replace seems crass)<---Big word LOL) BCR I thought CUTE, wonder if he was gonna be able to fill the shoes he was gonna have to wear? Well Ian, you prove to me the shoe fit like a glove. I am sure you had your moments. So did I! Your name stay with me......I name my son IAN, just in case there wasnt enough IANS in the world. (Happen two other births in the hospital also name their son IAN LOL but NOT for the  reason I named my son IAN......to this day only true Roller and Rosetta Stone fans know why my sons name is IAN! I became friends with one of them. I hope to fullfill my dream.......to have my best friend from school meet you......your her fave! mine too :) Thats my life long dream. Ian, your in my heart always."

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From Gina (Chitownloon): "Flash back to 26 (did I just say 26)! years ago.
It's Sept, a lovely fall day in Chicago, the year is 1976 and there I am hanging out at home with my bro and his friend Pat McDermott. I was bored so I turned on the TV and switched to the Dinah Shore show. There was Dinah sitting round with some guys and Mackenzie Phillips is in the audience with a bunch of screaming girls. It didn't really click that it was the BCR to me yet, I remember hearing their songs on the radio, even remember watching them on a few TV shows but they were just another band to me until I got a look at this cute guy who was being asked a question.
All it took was one look and I was gone.
My bro remembers me just staring at the TV, he called me but I didn't answer, he even called me by my nickname Mrs. Donny Osmond (I had had a major thing for the guy for 5 yrs.) All I said was who? That got my bro, I had never did THAT before. I just remember watching the rest of the show not taking my eyes off the guy with the cute Irish accent. I remember watching Mackenzie Phillips flirting with him and I wanted to kill her (remember I was 13). After the show all I could think about was this cute guy named Ian (Was that pronounced with and e or an I LOL). It's all I could think about the next day as well...lord I had it bad!
After that I was a full fledged BCR fanatic. Bought everything I could afford on the guys with my baby-sitting money, watched every show they were on and tried to learn everything I could on the guy.
I was in total puppy love = ).
Then the unthinkable happened, he left the group! I was heart broken! Then when I saw the guys on Mike Douglas with the new guy (oh how I hated him at first the poor guy) and Les said that Ian left to get married...lordy I'm sure all the neighbors could hear me screaming! Later I read that it was joke.......PHEW! I wanted to kill Les for that (remember still 13).
I kept following Ian's career, even though it has tough. Thank goodness I live in a big city that has a lot of import stores, lord the money I spent for magazines from Germany and Japan just to get recent pics of the guy, not to mention finding his albums! I was able to keep up on him till about probably 83 or 85. It was more for sentimental reasons really. You know how it is, you grow up, move on, fall in and out of love, etc., but for some reason you never forget your first love.
Flash forward to 1995 the guys were just a fond memory. Until a coworker came up to me and asked me if I still had any of my old BCR stuff, luckily I had, (when I moved I didn't bring my stuff with me but bless my mom she didn't toss it out, just asked me if I wanted to keep the stuff, I did so it sat in the back of a closet, never looked at). So she came over and we went through all of it and the memories it brought back! We decided we were gonna find out what happened to the guys and started going to second hand record and magazine stores and assorted record conventions so my coworker could replenish her non existent collection and buy the stuff we never could neither afford or buy back in the day, we even checked books to see if they had something on the guys.
Then a miracle happened, another coworker was online and found there was a BCR message board on AOL. She called me Immediately and I was shocked! I had no Idea there were so many others out there like us. I had made a friend or two who were BCR fans back in the day but heck what women in her thirties hadn't.  But this was nation wide. When she found out I had just missed an online chat with Ian I just freaked. Ian! He was still round?!?! Alright!!!
I found out there was going to be a BCR convention in Bay City Michigan so I called up one of the ladies who was throwing it, good OLE Becky Mosley (now Hall) and we just talked and talked......LOL......If she only knew how many times I was gonna call her over the next few months the poor girl. She even got me in touch with some BCR fans here in Chicago and one of them was an old Ian fan from way back when, finally I met another Ian girl! (all my buds back in the day liked Les, Woody, or Eric, no account for taste LOL)
I remember when Beck told me that Ian was going to be there. I was so excited, I was finally going to meet the guy! I had recently gotten his CD in the mail so I wrote him a quick note saying hi and how happy I was to hear he was going to be there and lo and behold I got a reply. How sweet!
Flash forward to August 1996, after finally arriving at the hotel after the drive from hell (are 5 hour drive took 9 due to labor day traffic) my friends and I were hanging out with the rest of the early birds in the hotel bar having a great time not to mention getting to meet Wen who I liked right from the start, hey she has great taste in men! When Ian walks in.
Now my friends had a bet on what I was gonna do, mostly they thought I'd freak out and go running LOL. I just remember looking at him, he was smiling that old familiar crooked smile and laughing at something. I looked over at my friend Deb, a fellow Ian girl who came all the way from Florida to meet him and what do I see? She's freaking out! She literally fell out of her chair onto the floor and ran to the back of the bar. Me? I just looked up to see him coming up to our table (I had brought the old scrapbooks up in the car and we just happen to be looking at some of Ian's pics from the eighties when he was going thru his big hair makeup phase LOL) So what did I do? Did I freak? Nah I called him over and started picking on the guy, pointing out a few pics of him and asking him what he was thinking!
My friends were in shock, here he was THE GUY, the one I "dedicated" (sorry I just had to do it) so much of my teen years to and I'm joking with him like he was just an old friend.
But that was what he was to me in a way, he WAS an old friend. I wasn't 13 and he wasn't 18 anymore, we were just two normal (well sorta normal *snort*) people who were just hanging out having a drink and a laugh. It was a wonderful evening, as was the whole weekend, one I will always remember fondly.
Flash forward to now I've gotten to know Ian the person and I just adore the guy. (but don't tell him, he's thinks I'm a big meanie that likes to pick on him when we yak on the phone or see each other once in a blue moon). It's so good to know the guy is doing well now and is enjoying life. And Wen? She's still a freak but she's my girl and I would do anything for her (well almost anything LOL)
I've made many a friend online thanks to the BCR and Ian, some have become family to me and I'm very grateful, who would have thought 26 years ago (did I just say 26)! When I was staring at this damn cute Irish kid on TV that here I would be, a semi normal gal in her thirties, who actually knows the man now and can think him and his wife as buds, I must have matured cause I don't want to kill her for marrying my guy!
God love and bless you both blond freak and OLE **** head. Your Gina girl = P"

Jackie(JacVil) says: It was September 1973. I was by my girlfriends house and she pulls out an album. we start listening to it and dancing and then she shows me a pic of the guys. I look at it briefly but didnt pay too much attention, I was trying to memorize the lyrics. She finally got on my nerves yakking about Eric so I start asking questions about the other guys (just to get her to stop talking about this Eric character. After giving me a brief history she again shows me the picture and my eyes fall on Woody. Well, that was it...she couldnt give me enough info. Not long after that they were on the Donny and Marie show (I think) and seeing them on tv just sealed my fate. They only had the one album out at the time (Bay City Rollers) so I ran out and bought it. After that it was everything rollers. Every poem I wrote was with them in mind. Every love scene I saw I substituted me and Woody for the characters. When Alan left the group I went around with a petition to get him back in the group (I WAS ONLY 13!!!!) well of course that didnt work. Of course once I saw Ian it was "Alan who?" he became my second obsession so you can imagine how crushed I was when he left. I still remember running to get the paper to make sure it was true and how it felt to see it in black and white. In those short months he make quite an impression on me. Een tho Woody was still my #1. Eventually i grew up and put all things Rollers behind me. I still played the records and talked about them. I got married, had two great kids (whom I made sure were familiar with the rollers lol) When I got my computer back in 95 and typed in Bay City Rollers on a whim. I got hooked all over again. In 99 I went to my first (and only) fan convention where I got to meet these people I managed to get very very close with and much to my amazement were exactly they were online. no phonies, no awkward moments. I felt I could be myself just as i was online. and to this day I can say that the most honest I've ever been has been with my "online friends" and I love each and everyone of them and they will always be a part of my heart.

Jason (xyzed) wrote: I first became an Ian fan shortly after being introduced to the world of the Bay City Rollers. I’m a Neo-Maniak which means I’ve become a fan many years after the fact. I had known about the band for years and had even at one time owned a badly scratched up 45 rpm single of Saturday Night that I had inherited from my friend’s older sister. Still, I knew practically nothing about the band. It was only when I came into posession of two BCR albums that my life was changed forever. Initially I tried not to be a fan. After all, this was a bubble-gum pop group of pretty-boys from the 1970’s, and I was this punk-rock wanna-be and a normal GUY! But I really liked what I was hearing! Still I resisted. Sometime later I purchased the Greatest Hits Cd. After hearing I Only Want To Be With You, Rock ‘n Roll Love Letter and the ballad, The Way I Feel Tonight I was hooked. It was shortly thereafter that noticed something strange on the back cover of my CD. There was a photo of the band. Les was there and so was Eric, Derek, and Woody...but who was this strange young fellow? He didn’t appear on any of my LP’s (I had yet to purchase Dedication) and he didn’t look at all like Roller, Alan. When I learned the young man’s name and found out his history with the group I quickly became intrigued. Being a Canadian I was quite excited to learn that Ian had a Canadian connection, being that the Dedication album had been recorded in Toronto. Still, I knew very little about anything from Ian other than his stint as a Roller. A while later, one of my work mates (a BCR fan herself) introduced me to Ian’s post-Roller band, Rosetta Stone. At last, a continuation of the Ian saga! In 1999 I first viewed the VH1 Behind the Music special on the Rollers and was a little disheartened that Ian had only a brief mention-and in what I perceived to be a negative light! Still, there was a positive light at the end of the tunnel as my following article will reveal. My fellow Roller friends can e-mail me at any time at: xyzed@sprint.ca or visit my web site at: http://pages.sprint.ca/anxietypress. Though It’s not a BCR site, it does contain a number of articles on the band as well as Ian stuff!

Stay tuned....More to add! If you're one of  'em that's got something to share, give me a holler, sho'nuff?

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