Few groups captured the sheer, screaming excitement of the 1970s quite like the Bay City Rollers. As beloved ’70s teen superstars, the tartan-clad Scots ruled radio stations around the world at the height of Rollermania.
While they built their fan base on massive originals like “Saturday Night,” the group also knew how to take an older track and make it feel completely new. In 1976, 13 years after soul legend Dusty Springfield first released “I Only Want to Be with You” in 1963, the Rollers delivered a high-energy cover for a brand-new generation of fans.
In a bizarre twist of chart history, lightning struck twice in the same spot for both artists. Springfield’s original and the Bay City Rollers’ cover peaked at the same position on the Billboard Hot 100, landing right at No. 12 over a decade apart.
The song launched Springfield’s career on the charts, reported Express. The outlet reported that the song was written for Jean Westwood by her songwriter husband, Mike Hawker. However, the song was later sent to Springfield.
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Westwood once told Express, “I have no regrets. The record has been huge, the song is massive, and I still hear it in the supermarket in Spain.”
She added, “People sing along to the track, and it’s surreal to think that the song was written about me. It’s a lovely feeling, even after all of these years. When I read the lyrics that Mike had written for the first time, I was very moved.”
Springfield’s version of the song hit No. 12 on the Billboard Hot 100 in March 1964. It remained on the charts for ten weeks.
Thirteen years later, the Bay City Rollers also reached No. 12 on the Billboard Hot 100 with their reimagining of the Springfield hit song. It was the Rollers’ third chart hit following the success of “Saturday Night” and “Money Honey.”
The song was featured on their 1976 album Dedication, the band’s first LP for Arista Records. The label’s president, Clive Davis, reportedly suggested the Rollers remake the song; that’s how certain he was it would be a hit for them.
The Scottish hitmakers weren’t the only ones who saw the magic in the track. Over the years, Samantha Fox, Tourism, and Volbeat put their own spin on the tune, proving its staying power across entirely different decades and musical styles.
Still, it was the Rollers who managed to match Dusty’s exact chart run. In doing so, they turned “I Only Want to Be with You” into one of those rare pop songs that managed to land in the exact same Top 20 spot twice, a full 13 years apart.
Related: The Teen Idol Who Ruled the ’70s Until His Name Became a Career Killer
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