Sweet (band)

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Sweet (referred to as The Sweet on albums before 1974 and singles before 1975) were a popular 1970s English band.

Although Sweet were largely known for their glam rock image, and several hit singles - many of them being so-called teenage anthems - they also released several albums throughout a ten year career.

Contents

1 Overview
2 History
3 Final Reunions
4 Cover Versions of Sweet Material
5 Members

5.1 Early members
5.2 Session musicians

6 Album Discography (up to 1982)
7 Hit Singles
8 Influences
9 Similar Artists
10 Famous Cover Versions
11 External links

Overview

The extent of Sweet's domination of the charts in Europe resulted in eight number one singles in Germany, with pop oriented tunes as "Co-Co", "Little Willy", and "Wig Wam Bam". Sweet's success continued with more rock oriented tunes, such as "Block Buster", "Hell Raiser", "Ballroom Blitz", "Teenage Rampage", "Action" and "Fox On The Run". The group had a world-wide following (achieving 18 top 20 hit singles) and were most notably popular in the UK, Germany, Holland and Australia.

The classic Sweet line-up consisted of vocalist Brian Connolly, drummer Mick Tucker, bassist Steve Priest, and guitarist Andy Scott. Sweet are perhaps best remembered for their glam stage clothing - glitter, platform boots, chain mail shirts, and makeup - practically defining the camp extreme of the glam rock look. Scott would later say it only happened because they needed an excuse to meet Top of the Pops dancers Pan's People and reasoned that going to the make-up room was a good method of doing so.

History

Sweet's origins go back to 1965, with UK soul band Wainwright's Gentlemen, which included drummer Mick Tucker and vocalist Ian Gillan. The group were limited to small UK clubs playing a mixture of R&B and psychedelia. Gillan quit in May 1965 to join Episode Six, and later, Deep Purple. Gillan's replacement was vocalist Brian Connolly. Tucker and Connolly remained with the band until 1968.

In January 1968, Brian Connolly and Mick Tucker left Wainwright's Gentlemen, to form another band. They recruited a bass guitarist/lead vocalist named Steve Priest, from a local band called The Countdowns. Along with a guitarist named Gordon Fairminer, the band was called Sweetshop and played their first show in February that year. Gordon Fairminer's stay was brief, and he was replaced by Frank Torpy; although Steve Priest in his autobiography says Fairminer was approached to play for them when Torpey decided to leave. Steve Priest says Fairminer turned the gig down as they were only receiving £15.00 per week at the time. It didn't take long for Sweetshop to develop a following on the pub circuit, and they were signed to the Fontana Label. At the time, another UK band released a single under the same name Sweetshop, so the band shortened the name to Sweet. Their debut single "Slow Motion" (July, 1968) failed to chart. Sweet were released from their contract, and Frank Torpy left.

In 1969 guitarist Mick Stewart joined, and Sweet signed a new record contract with EMI's Parlophone Label. Three more bubblegum pop singles were released, "Lollipop Man" (September, 1969), "All You'll Ever Get From Me" (January, 1970), and Archies cover, "Get On The Line" (June, 1970), which all failed to chart. Stewart then quit, and was replaced by ex-Scaffold, Mayfield's Mule, and Elastic Band guitarist Andy Scott.

Out of all the members, Andy Scott had the most professional experience. As a member of the Elastic Band, he had played guitar on two singles for Decca "Think Of You Baby" and "Do Unto Others". He also appeared on the band's sole album release, "Expansions On Life".

With the new line-up now in place, a management deal was secured with a newly formed, and unknown song writing team, consisting of Nicky Chinn and Mike Chapman. Phil Wainman was the executive producer. This management deal also included a worldwide (except U.S.A.) record contract with RCA.

Sweet initially attempted to combine various musical influences, including 1960s bubblegum pop groups such as the Archies and The Monkees, with more heavy rock-oriented groups such as The Who. Sweet adopted the rich vocal harmony style of The Hollies, with distorted guitars and a heavy rhythm section. This fusion of pop and hard rock would remain a central trademark of Sweet's music.

Another influence on Sweet's music was 1960s drummer Sandy Nelson, who partially influenced Mick Tucker's drumming style. In particular, Sweet tracks such as "Ballroom Blitz", and "Man With The Golden Arm", all contain elements of Sandy Nelson's 1961 U.S. Top 10 hit, "Let There Be Drums".

Gimme Dat Ding album cover, 1971.

Sweet's first vinyl appearance was on a Music For Pleasure record release: the Sweet had one side, The Pipkins (after whose sole hit, "Gimme Dat Ding", the LP was titled) had the other. The LP features the A and B sides of what were three commercially unsuccessful Parlophone singles before Sweet finally found success with "Funny Funny" released by RCA. Despite the album cover shot of Sweet featuring Andy Scott, he wasn't actually a band member until "Funny Funny" and does not feature on any of these recordings. The band's guitarist then was Mick Stewart (who replaced Frank Torpey) and wrote two of the featured B-sides on this compilation. The official release date was December, 1970.

In January 1971, Sweet make their UK television debut on a pop show called 'Lift Off'. They perform "Funny Funny", which was the band's first single release for RCA.

In March 1971, Sweet's "Funny Funny" single became their first international hit, climbing to the Top 20 on many of the world's charts. Although the next single, "All You'll Ever Get From Me" (May, 1971) failed to chart, "Co-Co" (June, 1971) became a big hit (UK #2), which outsold "Funny Funny". But the following single, "Alexander Graham Bell" (October, 1971) was only a minor hit (UK #33).

Funny How Sweet Coco Can Be album cover, 1971.

Sweet's first official LP titled Funny How Sweet Coco Can Be was released towards the end of 1971, but failed to chart. As the LP faded into obscurity, Sweet found themselves being labelled by music critics as nothing more than a Top 40 singles band.

The relationship between Sweet and Nicky Chinn/Mike Chapman was becoming increasingly tense. One major reason was that Sweet were not happy with the Bubblegum image that was being cast on them. As a result, their B-sides got heavier with each release. This dichotomy of bubblegum A-sides and heavy rock B-sides only served to confuse their teenage fan following. Indeed, The Sweet's live performances consisted of B-sides, album tracks and various medleys of rock n roll classics, rarely were the singles played live.

In February 1972, "Poppa Joe" was released and stopped at the gates of the British Top 10. The next two singles of the year, "Little Willy" and "Wig-Wam Bam" both peaked at #4 on the UK charts. Although "Wig-Wam Bam" remained largely true to the style of Sweet's previous recordings, the vocals and guitars had a harder, more rock-oriented sound. It was in many ways, a transition single, paving the way for the change of musical emphasis that came in January 1973 with "Block Buster" (later often as "Blockbuster"), Sweet's first (and only) single, which quickly reached #1 on the UK singles chart. "Hell Raiser" was released in May and reached position #2, which was repeated by the subsequent singles, "Ballroom Blitz" (September, 1973) and "Teenage Rampage" (February, 1974).

As the group's popularity grew, Sweet put in a heavy schedule of UK and European TV promotional appearances, including numerous Top Of The Pops and Supersonic slots. Sweet soon picked up a large teenage audience. The band also capitalised on the Glam explosion, rivalling Gary Glitter, T. Rex, Queen, Wizzard, and Slade for outrageous stage clothing.

Sweet Fanny Adams album cover, 1974.

By 1974, Sweet had grown tired of the artistic control Nicky Chinn and Mike Chapman exerted over their career, hence the group decided to record without the duo. The resulting album, Sweet Fanny Adams, was their first UK Top 40 chart album. Sweet's technical proficiency was demonstrated for the first time on self-penned hard rock tracks such as "Sweet FA" and "Set Me Free". Sweet also dropped their Glam image in favour of a more conventional hard rock appearance. In response to UK music critics, Sweet concentrated on proving their musical talents with self-written, hard rock/pop album tracks.

The Sweet Fanny Adams album (first for the band as Sweet) also featured compressed high-pitched backing vocal harmonies, which was a trend that continued on all of Sweet's albums. Sweet, and contemporary UK band Queen, were both recognised as one of the main exponents of high-pitched harmonies during the 1970s.

Desolation Boulevard album cover, 1974.

A second album was released during 1974, called Desolation Boulevard. One of the tracks off this album was a cover of The Who's "My Generation" (not on the U.S. version of the album). Sweet received public praise from The Who's guitarist, Pete Townshend. Sweet also frequently cited The Who as being one of their main influences. At Townshend's invitation, Sweet were invited to support The Who at Charlton Athletics' Football Ground. Unfortunately, in June of 1974, Brian Connnolly was attacked before the group went on as support, and he took time out from singing as his throat was badly bruised. The first single from the LP, the heavy-melodic "The Six Teens" (July, 1974) was a Top 10 hit in UK, Germany and Holland. However, the subsequent single release, "Turn It Down" (November, 1974) reached only #41 on the British charts. "Turn It Down" received minimal airplay on UK radio and was banned by some radio stations because of certain lyrical content.

Sweet Singles Album album cover, 1975.

In 1975, RCA released a compilation album titled The Sweet Singles Album (only issued in Australia and New Zealand). This LP featured 1972-1973 B-side single recordings, including the hits "Ballroom Blitz", "Teenage Rampage", "Block Buster" and "Hell Raiser". A double album Strung Up was released in November, which contained one live disc, recorded in Great Britain in December 1973, and the other disc being a complilation of previously released A and B side singles (plus a new song by Chinn and Chapman - "I Wanna Be Committed"). Also at the end of the year Andy Scott released his first solo single titled "Lady Starlight". A subsequent alternative version was later added to the Japanese and U.S. versions of the 1976 Give Us A Wink album.

In 1975, Sweet went back into the studio to re-arrange and record a more pop oriented version of track "Fox On The Run", which originally appeared on the 1974 Desolation Boulevard LP. Sweet's first self-written and produced single, "Fox On The Run" (March, 1975) was released worldwide and instantly became their biggest selling hit, reaching number one in Germany and Australia, number two in Great Britain and Holland and number five in the U.S.A. (1976 release). The following single issue, "Action" (July, 1975) peaked at UK #15 (Since 1975, all subsequent RCA and Polydor single releases were now referred to as simply Sweet).

The cover to Sweet's 1976 single, The Lies in Your Eyes.

Now confident in their own songwriting and production abilities, Sweet spent the latter half of 1975 in Musicland Studios in Munich, Germany, where they recorded the Give Us A Wink album with engineer 'Mack', who later recorded with Queen.

January 1976 saw the release of "The Lies In Your Eyes". This single was not very successful around the world, except parts of Europe and Australia. As a result of its success, Australia was the only country to get the follow up single "4th Of July". The following single was the world-wide release of "Lost Angels". This single was only popular in Germany. "Give Us A Wink", Sweet's first fully produced and written LP was released in March 1976.

During 1976, Sweet attempted to gain popularity in America by promoting new material from their Give Us A Wink album, with a heavy schedule of more than fifty concert dates. During one appearance, Sweet played "All Right Now" with Ritchie Blackmore in a tribute to mark the death of Free guitarist Paul Kossoff. The second single from the LP, "The Lies In Your Eyes" went into the Top 10 in Germany, Holland, and Australia, but only reached #35 on the UK charts.

Give US A Wink album cover, 1976.

Between October 1976 and January 1977, Sweet wrote and recorded new material at Kingsway Recorders and Audio International London studios for their next album. In April 1977, Off The Record was released, which was Sweet's final RCA album release. Sweet again worked with Give Us A Wink engineer Louie Austin, who would later engineer Def Leppard's On Through The Night 1980 debut album.

The 1976 and 1977 years featured Sweet as a more album oriented, pop-metal act. Albums such as Give Us a Wink and Off the Record were undoubtedly Sweet's heaviest studio albums. Indeed, U.S. Top 20 chart entry "Action" was the group's hardest rocking hit single. "Stairway To The Stars" was Sweet's final single release for RCA.

Sweet split from RCA in late 1977. The first album for new label Polydor, Level Headed, found Sweet experimenting by combining rock and classical sounds "a-la clavesin", an approach similar to UK band ELO. The resulting Level Headed album represented a new musical direction with its Led Zeppelin influenced rock style, interspersed with ballads accompanied by a 30-piece orchestra. With the addition of session musicians Gary Moberley and guitarist Nico Ramsden, Sweet undertook a successful British tour in February 1978. However, "Love Is Like Oxygen" (January, 1978) was their last UK, U.S. and German Top 10 hit. Andy Scott also received an Ivor Novello Award for composing "Love Is Like Oxygen". One more single from the album, "California Nights" (May, 1978) only peaked at #23 on the German charts.

Off The Record album cover, 1977.

In late 1978, Sweet stayed at The Town House studio, Shepherds Bush, London, to write new material for their next album. Just before Brian Connolly announced his departure, his vocals were erased from the recorded material for the ensuing album Cut Above The Rest. Two album tracks titled "That Girl" and "Stay With Me" featuring Connolly on lead vocals remain from the late 1978 Cut Above The Rest recording sessions.

On February 23 1979, Brian Connolly left the band under acrimonious circumstances, and neither he, nor the band, fully recovered. Brian was particularly suffering from the effects of substantial alcohol intake. After Connolly's departure, Sweet continued on as a trio, with Scott and Priest now both handling lead vocals. Keyboard player Gary Moberley completed the four-piece line-up. Two more studio albums, Water's Edge, and Identity Crisis were recorded in 1979 and 1980 before the group finally disbanded in 1981. Sweet performed their last live show at Glasgow University on March 20, 1981. In 1982, Identity Crisis was only released in Germany.

Level Headed album cover, 1978.

Since leaving Sweet in 1979, Connolly issued two solo singles for Polydor. "Take Away The Music" and "Don't You Know A Lady" were both minor hits in Germany in 1980. Connolly's other single was titled "Hypnotised" released in 1982.

Andy Scott releases his second solo single titled "Krugerrands". This 1983 release failed to chart, except in South Africa where it was a top 10 hit. In 1984, Scott released two more solo singles, "Let Her Dance" and "Invisible".

In 1985, Andy Scott and Mick Tucker re-formed Sweet with various new vocalists and bass players, the most notable being a 1986 reunion featuring Paul Mario Day (the first singer of Iron Maiden), keyboardist Phil Lanzon, and bass player Malcolm McNulty. Steve Priest was asked to join Tucker and Scott for the 1985 Australian tour, but declined at the last moment. Vocalist and bass player Jeff Brown joined in 1988. In 1991, Mick Tucker departed due to ill health, leaving Andy Scott as the only original member. After Tucker's departure, Andy Scott changed the band's name to 'Andy Scott's Sweet'. In 2003, Tony O'Hora replaced Jeff Brown as lead vocalist. As of 2006, the line-up consists of Andy Scott, Bruce Bisland, and Steve Grant.

Despite serious health problems, Connolly toured the UK and European circuit on a regular basis during the 1980s and 1990s, backed by his New Sweet and Brian Connolly's Sweet backing bands, playing a mixture of Sweet hits and cover versions.

Final Reunions

Andy Scott, Steve Priest, Mick Tucker, 1981.

In 1988, Connolly, Scott, Priest, and Tucker briefly reformed to record music for the first time in nine years. Some reworked studio versions of "Action", and "Ballroom Blitz", were recorded in Los Angeles. However, Connolly's vocals were deemed unsatisfactory by the three other group members, hence the reunion was brief.

In 1990, all four members were again re-united for the promotion of a video music documentary, titled Sweet's Ballroom Blitz. This UK release, which contained UK television performances from the 1970s, including current-day interviews, was released at Tower Records, London.

Brian Connolly died from liver failure in February 1997, aged 51, having been content in his final years, to appear in retrospective documentaries, to demonstrate the damage he had inflicted upon himself. Mick Tucker also died in February 2002 from leukaemia, aged 54. He is buried in an un-named grave in Chorleywood. The location is 51 deg 39.644 minutes North, 0 degrees 30.330 minutes West (WGS84). It is marked by a sleeping angel.

Sweet's two remaining members are still active in the music industry. Andy Scott currently continues to tour as 'Andy Scott's Sweet'. February 2006 saw the release of a new Suzi Quatro album, "Back To The Drive", which was produced by Andy Scott. March 2006 saw the release of a new AS Sweet album, "Sweetlife". [link]

Cover Versions of Sweet Material

In 1984 Saxon did a cover version of the Sweet track "Set Free Me"; which they included on their album Crusader.

Sweet's hit song "Ballroom Blitz" has been covered by numerous bands. These include The Damned in 1979, Krokus on The Blitz album released in 1984, Nuclear Assault on their album Out of Order in 1991, Tia Carrere in the movie "Wayne's World" in 1992, plus another by The Peacocks in 2000.

Pat Benatar covered the Sweet song "No You Don't" on her debut album In The Heat of the Night in 1979.

In 1987, the multi-platinum Punk-pop band The Offspring covered "Ballroom Blitz" - live in San Berubin, Canada - a full seven years before they gained fame.

In 1988, "Blockbuster" was sampled by The Timelords (later The KLF) as part of their number one single, Doctorin' The Tardis. The track also featured samples of Gary Glitter's Rock And Roll (Part 1) and the Doctor Who theme, and reached number one in the UK charts on June 12.

In 1993 Def Leppard released a successful cover version of "Action", charting higher than the original, and more recently recorded "Hellraiser" for their 2006 covers album, Yeah!.

In 2005 Canadian rock band, Robin Black, covered the song 'Hellraiser' on their second album Instant Classic.

In 2006, Joan Jett covered AC/DC on her album Sinner.

Members

Brian Connolly: lead vocals (born Brian Francis McManus, 5 October, 1945 in Hamilton, Scotland; died 9 February, 1997).
Andy Scott: lead guitar, lead and backing vocals, synthesizer (b Andrew David Scott, 30 June, 1949 in Wrexham, Wales).
Steve Priest: bass, lead and backing vocals (b Stephen Norman Priest, 23 February, 1948 in Hayes, Middlesex).
Mick Tucker: drums, lead and backing vocals (b Michael Thomas Tucker, 17 July, 1947 in Harlesden, London; died 14 February, 2002).

Early members

Frank Torpy: lead guitar (1968).
Mick Stewart: lead guitar (1969).

Session musicians

Gary Moberley: keyboards (1978-1981)[.]
Nico Ramsden: rhythm guitar (1978)[.]

[The Sweet - Love Is Like Oxygen excerpt] ([file info])
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Album Discography (up to 1982)

Gimme Dat Ding (one side only), December 1970 (EMI/MFP).
Funny How Sweet Coco Can Be, November 1971.
The Sweet's Biggest Hits (compilation), December 1972; # 58 Australia.
Poppa Joe (compilation), 1972 (RCA, Italy only).
The Sweet, July 1973 (1971-73 singles compilation, US title - "The Sweet featuring Little Willy & Block Buster"; RCA/Bell, reissued in 1976 on Kory).
Sweet Fanny Adams, April 1974; #27 UK; # 33 Australia.
Desolation Boulevard, November 1974; # 13 Australia; # 25 US (US version of 1975).
The Sweet Singles Album (compilation), 1975 (RCA, Australia & NZ only); # 2 Australia.
Strung Up (double live & studio album), November 1975; # 9 Australia.
Give Us A Wink, March 1976; # 27 US; # 17 Australia.
Off the Record, March 1977; # 51 Australia.
The Golden Greats (compilation), October 1977 (RCA/Capitol).
Level Headed, January 1978; # 52 US; # 40 Australia.
The Sweet (compilation), July 1978 (RCA/Camden).
Cut Above The Rest, June 1979; # 87 Australia.
Water's Edge (US title - "Sweet VI"), April 1980.
Identity Crisis, November 1982.

Hit Singles

1971 "Funny Funny" - #13 UK; - US; #5 Germany; #1 Holland; # 93 Australia.
1971 "Co-Co" - #2 UK; # 99 US; # 1 Germany; #3 Holland; # 42 Australia.
1971 "Alexander Graham Bell" - #33 UK; - US; #24 Germany; #38 Holland.
1972 "Poppa Joe" - #11 UK; - US; #3 Germany; #1 Holland; # 70 Australia.
1972 "Little Willy" - #4 UK; #3 US (1973 release); #1 Germany; #7 Holland; # 65 Australia.
1972 "Wig Wam Bam" - #4 UK; - US; #1 Germany; #6 Holland; # 15 Australia.
1973 "Block Buster" - #1 UK; #73 US; # 1 Germany; #1 Holland; # 29 Australia.
1973 "Hell Raiser" - #2 UK; - US; # 1 Germany; #4 Holland; # 49 Australia.
1973 "The Ballroom Blitz" - #2 UK; #5 US (1975 release); #1 Australia; # 1 Germany; #4 Holland.
1974 "Teenage Rampage" - #2 UK; - US; # 1 Germany; #11 Holland; # 10 Australia.
1974 "The Six Teens" - #9 UK; - US; #4 Germany; #7 Holland; # 48 Australia.
1974 "Turn It Down" - #41 UK; - US; #4 Germany.
1974 "Peppermint Twist" (Australia only) - #1 Australia.
1975 "Fox On The Run" - #2 UK; #5 US (1976 release); # 1 Australia; # 1 Germany; #2 Holland.
1975 "Action" - #15 UK; #20 US (1976 release); #2 Germany; #6 Holland; # 4 Australia.
1976 "The Lies In Your Eyes" - #35 UK; - US; #5 Germany; #9 Holland; #14 Australia.
1976 "4th Of July" (Australia only).
1976 "Lost Angels" - #13 Germany; # 74 Australia.
1977 "Fever Of Love" - #9 Germany.
1977 "Funk It Up" - #79 US.
1977 "Stairway To The Stars" - #15 Germany.
1978 "Love Is Like Oxygen" - #9 UK; #8 US; #10 Germany; #16 Holland; # 9 Australia.
1978 "California Nights" - #23 Germany.
1979 "Call Me" - #29 Germany.
1979 "Big Apple Waltz"
1980 "Give The Lady Some Respect"
1980 "Sixties Man"
1981 "Love Is The Cure"
1984 "It's... It's... The Sweetest Mix" - #45 UK.

Influences

Similar Artists

Famous Cover Versions

Peacocks: "Ballroom Blitz"
Def Leppard: "Action" and "Hellraiser"
Saxon: "Set Me Free"
Krokus: "Ballroom Blitz"
Pat Benatar: "No You Don't"
Vince Neil (Motley Crue) : "Set Me Free"
Lita Ford: "Hellraiser"
Saxon: Set Me Free

External links

Sweet
Brian Connolly \| Andy Scott \| Steve Priest \| Mick Tucker \|
Discography
Albums: Gimme Dat Ding \| Funny How Sweet Coco Can Be \| The Sweet's Biggest Hits \| Sweet Fanny Adams \| Desolation Boulevard \| The Sweet Singles Album \| Strung Up \| Give Us A Wink \| Off the Record \| The Golden Greats \| Level Headed \| Cut Above The Rest \| Water's Edge \| Identity Crisis

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