Sweet (band)
Encyclopedia
Sweet was a British rock band that rose to worldwide fame in the 1970s as one of the most prominent glam rock
acts, with the classic line-up of lead vocalist
Brian Connolly
, bass player
Steve Priest
, guitarist
Andy Scott
, and drummer
Mick Tucker
.
Sweet was formed in 1968 and achieved their first hit "Funny Funny" in 1971 after teaming up with songwriters Nicky Chinn
and Mike Chapman and record producer Phil Wainman
. During 1971 and 1972, their musical style followed a marked progression from the Archies
-like bubblegum
style of "Funny Funny" to a Who
-influenced hard rock style supplemented by a striking use of high-pitched backing vocals. The band achieved notable success in the UK charts, with thirteen Top 20 hits during the 1970s alone, with "Block Buster!
" (1973) topping the chart, followed by three consecutive number two hits in "Hell Raiser" (1973), "The Ballroom Blitz" (1973) and "Teenage Rampage" (1974). Their first self-written and produced single "Fox on the Run" (1975) also reached number two on the UK charts. From 1976 the success started to decline and Sweet had their last Top 10 hit in 1978 with "Love is Like Oxygen". The year after, Connolly left the group to start a solo career and the remaining members continued as a threesome until they finally disbanded in 1981.
Since the mid-1980s, Scott, Connolly and Priest have each played with their own versions of Sweet during different periods of time. Connolly died in 1997, and Tucker in 2002. The two surviving members are still active in their respective versions of the band; Scott's is based in the UK and Priest's in California
.
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 rhythm and blues
and psychedelia
. Gillan quit in May 1965 to join Episode Six
, and, later, Deep Purple
. The band recorded a number of tracks including a cover of The Hollies hit "Ain't That Just Like Me" which was officially released in February 2011 on a compilation CD "Rare Mod, Volume 3" on the Acid Jazz label (AJXCD 238). The track features Gillan on vocals, Tucker on drums and, according to band bassist Jan Frewer, is thought to have been recorded in 1965. Gillan's eventual replacement was vocalist Brian Connolly. Tucker and Connolly remained with Wainwright's Gentlemen until early 1968.
and lead vocalist Steve Priest of a local band called The Army, who had previously played with another local band The Countdowns. Frank Torpey, a friend of Tucker's, was recruited to play guitar. The quartet made its public debut at the Pavilion in Hemel Hempstead in March 1968 and it did not take long to develop a following on the pub circuit and they were signed to the Fontana
record label. At the time, another UK band released a single under the same name Sweetshop, so the band changed the name to The Sweet. Their debut single "Slow Motion" (July 1968) failed to chart
and due to its rarity now sells for several hundred pounds when auctioned. Sweet was released from the recording contract
and Frank Torpey left. Steve Priest in his autobiography (Are You Ready Steve) says Gordon Fairminer was approached to play for them when Torpey decided to leave but turned the job down as he wanted to concentrate on other interests.
's Parlophone
label. Three more bubblegum pop singles were released, "Lollipop Man" (September 1969), "All You'll Ever Get from Me" (January 1970), and a cover version
of The Archies' "Get on the Line" (June 1970), which all failed to chart. Stewart then quit, and was replaced by ex-Scaffold, Mayfield's Mule, and The Elastic Band
guitarist Andy Scott.
Out of all the members, 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 lone 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 (the U.S. excepted) record contract with RCA Records
. In the U.S., Sweet was on Bell Records
then later Capitol Records
.
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. The 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 and prefigured the hair metal of a decade later.
Another influence on The Sweet's music was 1960s drummer Sandy Nelson
, who partially influenced Mick Tucker's drumming style. In particular, Sweet tracks such as "The Ballroom Blitz" and "The Man with the Golden Arm" contain elements of Sandy Nelson's 1961 U.S. Top 10 hit
, "Let There Be Drums".
compilation called "Gimme Dat Ding.The Sweet and The Pipkins".EMI-MFP-5248, released in December 1970. The Sweet had one side only, The Pipkins
(after whose sole hit, "Gimme Dat Ding
", the LP took its name) had the other. The LP features the A- and B-sides
of the three commercially unsuccessful Parlophone singles before The Sweet finally found success with "Funny Funny", which was the band's first single release for RCA. Despite the album cover shot of The Sweet featuring Andy Scott, he was not actually a band member until "Funny Funny" and is not featured in any of these recordings.
In January 1971, The Sweet made their UK television debut on a pop show called Lift Off, performing "Funny Funny".
Sweet's first official full-size LP album entitled Funny How Sweet Co-Co Can Be
was released towards the end of 1971, and failed to chart. A collection of Chinn/Chapman novelty tunes (including "Chop Chop" and "Tom Tom Turnaround") and pop covers (such as The Lovin' Spoonful
's "Daydream" and The Supremes
' "Reflections"), the album was not a serious contender on the charts, although RCA did press 10,000 copies. As the LP faded into obscurity, Sweet found themselves being labelled by music critics as nothing more than a Top 40 singles band. Furthermore, Chinn and Chapman hindered the band's chance for respectability by bringing in session musician
s, as with The Monkees
, to play on the records, even though the members of Sweet were competent musically.
The relationship between Sweet, and Chinn and Chapman, was becoming increasingly tense. One major reason was that Sweet were not happy with the 'bubblegum' image that was being cast on them. At the band's insistence and as a conscious contrast, their B-sides got heavier with each release; for example, "Done Me Wrong All Right", the self-penned B-side of "Co-Co", amazed some listeners who had hated the pop sound but loved their rock style and realised there was more to the band than they had thought. 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 and roll
classics; rarely were the singles played live. A 1973 performance at the Palace Theatre and Grand Hall in Kilmarnock
which ended in Sweet being bottled off stage was one such performance; the disorder was attributed by some (including Steve Priest) to Sweet's lipstick and eye-shadow look and by others to the audience being unfamiliar with the concert set and would be immortalised later that year in the hit "The Ballroom Blitz".
February 1972 saw the release of "Poppa Joe" that peaked at number 11 in the UK Singles Chart
. The next two singles of that year, "Little Willy" and "Wig-Wam Bam", both reached #4 in the UK, and "Little Willy" peaked at #3 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100
after a re-issue in 1973, thus becoming the group's biggest American hit. 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 - largely because it was the first Sweet single on which only the real members of Sweet played. 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!
", Sweet's first chart-topping single, which quickly reached #1 on the UK chart, remaining there for five consecutive weeks. "Hell Raiser" was released in May and reached position #2, the success of which was repeated by the subsequent singles, "The Ballroom Blitz" (September 1973) and "Teenage Rampage" (January 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. In one performance of "Block Buster!" on Top of the Pops, Priest aroused complaints after he appeared wearing a German uniform and displaying a swastika armband. The band also capitalised on the glam rock explosion, rivalling Gary Glitter
, T. Rex, Queen
, Wizzard
, and Slade
for outrageous stage clothing.
decided to record without the duo. The resulting album, Sweet Fanny Adams
, was their first Top 40 entry in the UK Albums Chart
. Sweet's technical proficiency was demonstrated for the first time on self-penned hard rock tracks such as "Sweet F.A." and "Set Me Free". Sweet also dropped their glam rock 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 tracks.
The Sweet Fanny Adams album also featured compressed high-pitched backing vocal harmonies
, which was a trend that continued on all of Sweet's albums. Sweet, and later Queen, were recognised as some of the main exponents of high-pitched harmonies during the 1970s. During sessions for the album Brian Connolly was injured in a fight in Staines High Street. His throat was badly injured and his ability to sing severely limited. Priest and Scott filled in on lead vocals on some tracks ("No You Don't", "Into The Night" and "Restless") and Connolly under treatment from a Harley Street specialist managed to complete the album. The band did not publicise the incident and told the press that subsequent cancelled shows were due to Connolly having a throat infection.
No previous singles appeared on the album and none were released except in Japan and Australia where "Peppermint Twist/Rebel Rouser" gained a high chart position.
's guitarist, Pete Townshend
. Sweet had also frequently cited The Who as being one of their main influences and played a medley of their tracks in their live set for many years. At Townshend's invitation, Sweet were invited to support The Who, who were playing at Charlton Athletic
's football ground, The Valley in June 1974. Connolly's badly bruised throat kept them from fulfilling the role. Some critics maintain that Connolly's voice never really recovered after this incident, and he was unable to sing with the strength and purity he had on their album and single releases.
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). This album, produced by Mike Chapman in place of the now-departed Phil Wainman, was recorded in a mere six days and featured a rawer "live" sound.
The first single from the LP, the heavy-melodic "The Six Teens" (July 1974) was a Top 10 hit in the UK, Germany and the Netherlands. However, the subsequent single release, "Turn It Down" (November 1974) reached only #41 on the UK chart. "Turn It Down" received minimal airplay on UK radio and was banned by some radio stations because of certain lyric
al content - "God-awful sound" and "For God's sakes, turn it down" - which were deemed "unsuitable for family listening."
The U.S. version of this album, not released until 1975, was actually a combination of songs from Sweet Fanny Adams and the UK version of Desolation Boulevard. One side contained all Chapman-Chinn penned songs, with the other side featuring songs written and produced by Sweet.
entitled The Sweet Singles Album
(Australia and New Zealand only). This LP featured singles recordings, including the hits "The Ballroom Blitz", "Teenage Rampage", "Block Buster" and "Hell Raiser". The album coincided with their Australian and New Zealand tour and was a big seller. A double album, Strung Up was released in November (except USA), which contained one (and first for the band) live disc, recorded in the UK in December 1973, the other disc being a compilation 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".With the B side "Where D'Ya Go" This was accompanied by a solo video clip of Scott playing the song (A subsequent alternative version was later added to the Japanese and U.S. versions of the 1976 Give Us a Wink
album, and to the Andy Scott 30 Years CD with an alternate version. This song also appeared on the Desolation Boulevard album, but with a softer remix
). In Europe the single was also released with "Where D'Ya Go" as the A side and "Lady Starlight" as the B side with a different picture sleeve cover to the UK version.
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, Denmark, and South Africa, number two in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Norway and the Netherlands and number three in Austria and Switzerland. In Australia it not only made it to the top of the single charts, it also became the biggest selling single of that year. In North America, where it was only released the following year (1976), it was equally successful and reached number two in Canada and number five in the U.S.
The following single release, "Action" (July 1975), peaked at number 15 in the UK. 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 German sound engineer Reinhold Mack
, who later recorded with Electric Light Orchestra
and co-produced Queen
.
Since 1975, all subsequent RCA and Polydor single releases were now referred to as simply Sweet.
During 1976, Sweet strove to build on their growing popularity in America with a heavy schedule of more than fifty headline concert dates. Even though "Give Us A Wink's" release was imminent, the band were still in effect promoting the USA version of "Desolation Boulevard" and the only song from the new album played live was "Action" which had recently reached #20 as a single there. During an appearance at Santa Monica Civic Auditorium
in California on 24 March, Sweet played "All Right Now
" with Ritchie Blackmore
as a tribute to mark the death of Free
guitarist Paul Kossoff
, who was to have supported Sweet with his band "Back Street Crawler". Following the end of the US tour the band went on to Scandinavia and Germany before finally playing 8 dates in Japan. The second single from the LP, The Lies In Your Eyes went into the Top 10 in Germany, Denmark, Sweden, the Netherlands, and Australia, but only reached #35 on the UK charts.
Between October 1976 and January 1977, Sweet wrote and recorded new material at Kingsway Recorders and Audio International London studios for their next album. The first single from the yet to be released album was "Lost Angels". This single was only a hit in Germany and Sweden. In April 1977, Off the Record
was released, which was Sweet's final RCA album release. The next single from the album, "Fever of Love", represented the band heading in a somewhat more Europop hard rock direction, and once again charting in Germany and Sweden, but also a surprise hit in South Africa (No.10 on its national Top 20 Charts). On this album, Sweet again worked with Give Us A Wink engineer Louis Austin, who would later engineer Def Leppard
's On Through The Night
1980 début album.
The 1976 and 1977 years featured Sweet as a more album-oriented, glam 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.
The first album for new label Polydor, Level Headed in 1978 found Sweet experimenting by combining rock and classical sounds "a-la clavesin", an approach similar to UK band ELO
- indeed "Love Is Like Oxygen" is often mistaken for an ELO song. Largely recorded at Château d'Hérouville
near Paris, France and Clearwell Castle in the Forest Of Dean UK,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. The ballad, "Lettres D'Amour", featured a duet between Brian and emerging singer Stevie Lange (who would emerge as lead singer with the group Night
in 1979).
Whilst the band had seen Andy Scott and Steve Priest occasionally sing lead on an album track, this album tellingly saw Brian relegated to singing lead on only half the tracks. With the addition of session and touring musicians keyboardist Gary Moberley and guitarist Nico Ramsden, Sweet undertook a short European and Scandinavian tour followed by a single British concert at London's Hammersmith Odeon on 24 February 1978. However, "Love Is Like Oxygen" (January 1978) was their last UK, U.S. and German Top 10 hit. Scott was also nominated for an Ivor Novello Award for co-composing "Love Is Like Oxygen". One more single from the album, "California Nights" (May 1978), featuring Steve Priest as the lead vocalist, peaked at #23 on the German charts.
and the Silver Bullet Band. The tour included a disastrous date in Birmingham, Alabama
at which visiting Capitol Records executives in the audience were to see Brian Connolly give a drunken and incoherent performance that terminated early in the set with his collapse on stage leaving the rest of the group to play on without him. The band regrouped in England before resuming the US tour in late May supporting Seger and other acts, including Foghat and Alice Cooper, until they returned to the UK in early July.Unfortunately, Brian's alcoholism was steadily becoming a greater issue. Although all the Sweet members lived the extreme rock lifestyle during the 70s - with alcohol, drugs, and women, among other things - the others were not as severely affected as Connolly.
In late October, Sweet arrived at The Town House studio in Shepherds Bush, London to write and record new material for their next album. Things were now coming to a head, with tension and difficulty with Brian Connolly. As a last ditch effort, the group organised for Connolly's long-time friend and fellow founding member, Mick Tucker, to go into the studio without Andy Scott as producer, to attempt an outcome. A number of tracks were then recorded featuring Connolly on vocals for the "Cut Above the Rest
" album, with the singles "Call Me" and "Big Apple Waltz" being released.
Efforts were deemed unsatisfactory and some of the contributions were then erased from the ensuing album. Two tracks however, featuring Brian on lead vocals, "That Girl" and "Stay With Me", remain from the sessions. Later, Connolly would reflect on the difficulty, as a combination of musical and personal differences, particularly with Andy Scott.
On 23 February 1979, Brian Connolly's departure from Sweet was announced by Handle Artists Manager, David Walker, at a press conference. Publicly, Connolly was said to be pursuing a solo career with an interest in recording country rock.
Sweet then continued as a trio with Steve Priest and Andy Scott, now both handling lead vocals (Scott says that Ronnie James Dio
, who'd just departed from Rainbow
, was approached in January 1979 to join as the group's new singer. But Steve Priest disputes this. At any rate, Dio ended up joining Black Sabbath
shortly thereafter). Keyboard
player Gary Moberley continued to augment the group on stage and on record and guitarist Ray McRiner also joined their touring line-up in 1979 as well as contributing songs to their next album, Waters Edge with "Too much talking" and the single "Give The Lady Some Respect". In Europe and the USA it was titled Sweet VI. One more studio album, Identity Crisis
, was recorded in 1980-81 and Sweet performed their last live show at Glasgow
University on 20 March 1981. Steve Priest had relocated to the US and they effectively disbanded by mid 1981. "Identity Crisis", was released late during the following year. With no band to promote it, Polydor carefully released it only in West Germany and Mexico.
, Wildfire
), keyboardist Phil Lanzon (ex-Grand Prix, Lionheart
; now with Uriah Heep
), and bass player Malcolm McNulty (who became lead singer for fellow glam rockers Slade
). Steve Priest was asked to join Tucker and Scott for their 1986 Australian tour, but he declined. Reasons given were for Priest to remain with his family, as they were now resident in New York. Later, Steve Priest would comment further, saying the money being offered was not enough. Adding to the confusion, was Brian Connolly who had in early 1984, also reformed his own version of the Sweet, but without any of the original members.
Singer Paul Mario Day ended up marrying the band's Australian tour guide and relocating down under. He continued with Sweet for a bit, commuting back & forth to Europe for the group's tours until this proved to be too cumbersome. He departed in late 1988. As McNulty moved into the front man spot, Jeff Brown came in to take over bass early in 1989. Lanzon too went back and forth between Sweet and Uriah Heep during 1986-1988 before Heep's schedule grew too busy. Ian Gibbons (who had played with The Kinks
and The Records
) and then Malcolm Pearson both filled in for Lanzon until Steve Mann (ex-Liar, Lionheart
, McAuley Schenker Group
) arrived in December 1989 for a five and a half year term.
In 1991, Tucker departed due to ill health.
In 1990 the classic lineup was again reunited for the promotion of a music documentary entitled Sweet's Ballroom Blitz. This UK video release, which contained UK television performances from the 1970s and current-day interviews, was released at Tower Records, London.
Brian Connolly died at the age of 51 from liver failure and repeated heart attacks, attributed to his chronic alcoholism, on 9 February 1997. Mick Tucker subsequently died on 14 February 2002 from leukaemia, aged 54.
On 28 April 2009, Shout! Factory
released a two-disc, career-spanning greatest hits album called Action: The Sweet Anthology
. It received a coveted four-star (out of five) rating in Rolling Stone
.
Glam rock
Glam rock is a style of rock and pop music that developed in the UK in the early 1970s, which was performed by singers and musicians who wore outrageous clothes, makeup and hairstyles, particularly platform-soled boots and glitter...
acts, with the classic line-up of lead vocalist
Singing
Singing is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
Brian Connolly
Brian Connolly
Brian Francis Connolly was a Scottish musician, best known as the lead singer of the British rock band, Sweet.-Early life:...
, bass player
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
Steve Priest
Steve Priest
Steve Priest is a founding member and bass player/backing vocalist of the glam rock band Sweet.-Biography:...
, guitarist
Electric guitar
An electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker...
Andy Scott
Andy Scott (guitarist)
Andy Scott is a British musician and songwriter. He is best known for being the lead guitarist and a vocalist in the band Sweet.-Early years:Scott started out playing bass guitar...
, and drummer
Drum kit
A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
Mick Tucker
Mick Tucker
Michael Thomas "Mick" Tucker was the drummer and backing vocalist of the English glam rock band, Sweet.-Bands:...
.
Sweet was formed in 1968 and achieved their first hit "Funny Funny" in 1971 after teaming up with songwriters Nicky Chinn
Nicky Chinn
Nicky Chinn born Nicholas Barry Chinn, 16 May 1945, London, UK) is a British songwriter and record producer. Together with Mike Chapman he had a long string of hit singles in the UK and US in the 1970s and early 1980s, including several number-one records...
and Mike Chapman and record producer Phil Wainman
Phil Wainman
Phil Wainman is a British record producer and songwriter, primarily active in the 1970s. He is noted for his work with Sweet, XTC, Dollar, Mud, and the Bay City Rollers...
. During 1971 and 1972, their musical style followed a marked progression from the Archies
The Archies
The Archies are a garage band founded by Archie Andrews, Reggie Mantle, and Jughead Jones, a group of adolescent fictional characters of the Archie universe, in the context of the animated TV series, The Archie Show...
-like bubblegum
Bubblegum pop
Bubblegum pop is a genre of pop music with an upbeat sound contrived and marketed to appeal to pre-teens and teenagers, produced in an assembly-line process, driven by producers, often using unknown singers.Bubblegum's classic period ran from 1967 to 1972...
style of "Funny Funny" to a Who
The Who
The Who are an English rock band formed in 1964 by Roger Daltrey , Pete Townshend , John Entwistle and Keith Moon . They became known for energetic live performances which often included instrument destruction...
-influenced hard rock style supplemented by a striking use of high-pitched backing vocals. The band achieved notable success in the UK charts, with thirteen Top 20 hits during the 1970s alone, with "Block Buster!
Block Buster!
"Block Buster!" is a popular song by The Sweet. Written by Nicky Chinn and Mike Chapman, and produced by Phil Wainman, "Block Buster!" was the band's sole UK #1 hit...
" (1973) topping the chart, followed by three consecutive number two hits in "Hell Raiser" (1973), "The Ballroom Blitz" (1973) and "Teenage Rampage" (1974). Their first self-written and produced single "Fox on the Run" (1975) also reached number two on the UK charts. From 1976 the success started to decline and Sweet had their last Top 10 hit in 1978 with "Love is Like Oxygen". The year after, Connolly left the group to start a solo career and the remaining members continued as a threesome until they finally disbanded in 1981.
Since the mid-1980s, Scott, Connolly and Priest have each played with their own versions of Sweet during different periods of time. Connolly died in 1997, and Tucker in 2002. The two surviving members are still active in their respective versions of the band; Scott's is based in the UK and Priest's in California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
.
Origins
Sweet's origins go back to 1965, with UK soulSoul music
Soul music is a music genre originating in the United States combining elements of gospel music and rhythm and blues. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of...
band Wainwright's Gentlemen, which included drummer Mick Tucker and vocalist Ian Gillan
Ian Gillan
Ian Gillan is an English rock music vocalist and songwriter, best known as the lead singer and lyricist for Deep Purple. During his career Gillan also fronted his own band, had a year-long stint as the vocalist for Black Sabbath, and sang the role of Jesus in the original recording of Andrew Lloyd...
. The group were limited to small UK clubs playing a mixture of rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues, often abbreviated to R&B, is a genre of popular African American music that originated in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly to urban African Americans, at a time when "urbane, rocking, jazz based music with a...
and psychedelia
Psychedelic music
Psychedelic music covers a range of popular music styles and genres, which are inspired by or influenced by psychedelic culture and which attempt to replicate and enhance the mind-altering experiences of psychedelic drugs. It emerged during the mid 1960s among folk rock and blues-rock bands in the...
. Gillan quit in May 1965 to join Episode Six
Episode Six
Episode Six was a British vocal pop-rock group during the mid 1960s. The band was not well known, but foreshadowed the arrival of Deep Purple in late 1960s...
, and, later, Deep Purple
Deep Purple
Deep Purple are an English rock band formed in Hertford in 1968. Along with Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath, they are considered to be among the pioneers of heavy metal and modern hard rock, although some band members believe that their music cannot be categorised as belonging to any one genre...
. The band recorded a number of tracks including a cover of The Hollies hit "Ain't That Just Like Me" which was officially released in February 2011 on a compilation CD "Rare Mod, Volume 3" on the Acid Jazz label (AJXCD 238). The track features Gillan on vocals, Tucker on drums and, according to band bassist Jan Frewer, is thought to have been recorded in 1965. Gillan's eventual replacement was vocalist Brian Connolly. Tucker and Connolly remained with Wainwright's Gentlemen until early 1968.
Early years
In January 1968, Brian Connolly and Mick Tucker left Wainwright's Gentlemen to form another band, calling themselves The Sweetshop. They recruited the bass guitaristBassist
A bass player, or bassist is a musician who plays a bass instrument such as a double bass, bass guitar, keyboard bass or a low brass instrument such as a tuba or sousaphone. Different musical genres tend to be associated with one or more of these instruments...
and lead vocalist Steve Priest of a local band called The Army, who had previously played with another local band The Countdowns. Frank Torpey, a friend of Tucker's, was recruited to play guitar. The quartet made its public debut at the Pavilion in Hemel Hempstead in March 1968 and it did not take long to develop a following on the pub circuit and they were signed to the Fontana
Fontana Records
Fontana Records is a record label which was started in the 1950s as a subsidiary of the Dutch Philips Records; when Philips restructured its music operations it dropped Fontana in favor of Vertigo Records. In the seventies PolyGram acquired the dormant label....
record label. At the time, another UK band released a single under the same name Sweetshop, so the band changed the name to The Sweet. Their debut single "Slow Motion" (July 1968) failed to chart
Record chart
A record chart is a ranking of recorded music according to popularity during a given period of time. Examples of music charts are the Hit parade, Hot 100 or Top 40....
and due to its rarity now sells for several hundred pounds when auctioned. Sweet was released from the recording contract
Recording contract
A recording contract is a legal agreement between a record label and a recording artist , where the artist makes a record for the label to sell and promote...
and Frank Torpey left. Steve Priest in his autobiography (Are You Ready Steve) says Gordon Fairminer was approached to play for them when Torpey decided to leave but turned the job down as he wanted to concentrate on other interests.
New line-up and new record deal
In 1969, guitarist Mick Stewart joined, and The Sweet signed a new record contract with EMIEMI
The EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...
's Parlophone
Parlophone
Parlophone is a record label that was founded in Germany in 1896 by the Carl Lindström Company as Parlophon. The British branch was formed in 1923 as "Parlophone" which developed a reputation in the 1920s as a leading jazz label. It was acquired in 1927 by the Columbia Graphophone Company which...
label. Three more bubblegum pop singles were released, "Lollipop Man" (September 1969), "All You'll Ever Get from Me" (January 1970), and a cover version
Cover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
of The Archies' "Get on the Line" (June 1970), which all failed to chart. Stewart then quit, and was replaced by ex-Scaffold, Mayfield's Mule, and The Elastic Band
The Elastic Band
The Elastic Band were a musical group formed in North Wales in the 1960s, They were one of the exponents of the UK psychedelic rock scene from the late 60’s and featured Andy Scott who would go on to become guitarist with Sweet...
guitarist Andy Scott.
Out of all the members, Scott had the most professional experience. As a member of The Elastic Band, he had played guitar on two singles for Decca
Decca Records
Decca Records began as a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934; however, owing to World War II, the link with the British company was broken for several decades....
"Think of You Baby" and "Do unto Others". He also appeared on the band's lone 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
Nicky Chinn
Nicky Chinn born Nicholas Barry Chinn, 16 May 1945, London, UK) is a British songwriter and record producer. Together with Mike Chapman he had a long string of hit singles in the UK and US in the 1970s and early 1980s, including several number-one records...
and Mike Chapman. Phil Wainman
Phil Wainman
Phil Wainman is a British record producer and songwriter, primarily active in the 1970s. He is noted for his work with Sweet, XTC, Dollar, Mud, and the Bay City Rollers...
was the executive producer. This management deal also included a worldwide (the U.S. excepted) record contract with RCA Records
RCA Records
RCA Records is one of the flagship labels of Sony Music Entertainment. The RCA initials stand for Radio Corporation of America , which was the parent corporation from 1929 to 1985 and a partner from 1985 to 1986.RCA's Canadian unit is Sony's oldest label...
. In the U.S., Sweet was on Bell Records
Bell Records
Bell Records was an American record label founded in 1952 by Arthur Shimkin in New York, the owner of children's record label Golden Records, and initially a unit of Pocket Books, after the rights to the name were acquired from Benny Bell who used the Bell name to issue risque novelty records. A...
then later Capitol Records
Capitol Records
Capitol Records is a major United States based record label, formerly located in Los Angeles, but operating in New York City as part of Capitol Music Group. Its former headquarters building, the Capitol Tower, is a major landmark near the corner of Hollywood and Vine...
.
Sweet initially attempted to combine various musical influences, including 1960s bubblegum pop groups such as The Archies and The Monkees
The Monkees
The Monkees are an American pop rock group. Assembled in Los Angeles in 1966 by Robert "Bob" Rafelson and Bert Schneider for the American television series The Monkees, which aired from 1966 to 1968, the musical acting quartet was composed of Americans Micky Dolenz, Michael Nesmith and Peter Tork,...
, with more heavy rock-oriented groups such as The Who. The Sweet adopted the rich vocal harmony style of The Hollies
The Hollies
The Hollies are an English pop and rock group, formed in Manchester in the early 1960s, though most of the band members are from throughout East Lancashire. Known for their distinctive vocal harmony style, they became one of the leading British groups of the 1960s and 1970s...
, with distorted guitars and a heavy rhythm section. This fusion of pop and hard rock would remain a central trademark of Sweet's music and prefigured the hair metal of a decade later.
Another influence on The Sweet's music was 1960s drummer Sandy Nelson
Sandy Nelson
Sandy Nelson is an American drummer. Nelson, one of the best-known rock drummers of the early 1960s, had several solo instrumental Top 40 hits and was a session drummer on many other well-known hits, and released over 30 albums.-Career:His first recording, with a band called The Renegades Sandy...
, who partially influenced Mick Tucker's drumming style. In particular, Sweet tracks such as "The Ballroom Blitz" and "The Man with the Golden Arm" contain elements of Sandy Nelson's 1961 U.S. Top 10 hit
Hit record
A hit record is a sound recording, usually in the form of a single or album, that sells a large number of copies or otherwise becomes broadly popular or well-known, through airplay, club play, inclusion in a film or stage play soundtrack, causing it to have "hit" one of the popular chart listings...
, "Let There Be Drums".
First album appearance
Sweet's first longplay appearance was on a Music for PleasureMusic for Pleasure (record label)
Music for Pleasure was a record label that issued budget-priced albums of popular and classical music, although the latter were marketed under the Classics for Pleasure name...
compilation called "Gimme Dat Ding.The Sweet and The Pipkins".EMI-MFP-5248, released in December 1970. The Sweet had one side only, The Pipkins
The Pipkins
The Pipkins were a short-lived novelty duo, best known for their hit single "Gimme Dat Ding" , which reached No. 6 in the UK Singles Charts and #9 on the U.S. charts in 1970...
(after whose sole hit, "Gimme Dat Ding
Gimme Dat Ding (song)
"Gimme Dat Ding" is a 1970 popular song sung by "one-hit wonder" The Pipkins, written by Albert Hammond and Mike Hazlewood. Released as a single, it is the title track of an album by The Pipkins on EMI Columbia, the song also appeared on a compilation of the same name, which The Pipkins shared with...
", the LP took its name) had the other. The LP features the A- and B-sides
A-side and B-side
A-side and B-side originally referred to the two sides of gramophone records on which singles were released beginning in the 1950s. The terms have come to refer to the types of song conventionally placed on each side of the record, with the A-side being the featured song , while the B-side, or...
of the three commercially unsuccessful Parlophone singles before The Sweet finally found success with "Funny Funny", which was the band's first single release for RCA. Despite the album cover shot of The Sweet featuring Andy Scott, he was not actually a band member until "Funny Funny" and is not featured in any of these recordings.
In January 1971, The Sweet made their UK television debut on a pop show called Lift Off, performing "Funny Funny".
International success
In March 1971, "Funny Funny" became their first international hit, climbing to the Top 20 on many of the world's charts. EMI reissued their 1970 single, "All You'll Ever Get from Me" (May 1971) and it again failed to chart. "Co-Co" (June 1971) became a hit (UK #2). But the following single, "Alexander Graham Bell" (October 1971) was only a minor hit (UK #33).Sweet's first official full-size LP album entitled Funny How Sweet Co-Co Can Be
Funny How Sweet Co-Co Can Be
Funny How Sweet Co-Co Can Be was Sweet's first official album, released in 1971 on RCA Records in the UK. The same year it was released in West Germany under the title Funny Funny, How Sweet Co-Co Can Be with a different album cover and an extra song.This song was included as an extra track on...
was released towards the end of 1971, and failed to chart. A collection of Chinn/Chapman novelty tunes (including "Chop Chop" and "Tom Tom Turnaround") and pop covers (such as The Lovin' Spoonful
The Lovin' Spoonful
The Lovin' Spoonful is an American pop rock band of the 1960s, named to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000. When asked about his band, leader John Sebastian said it sounded like a combination of "Mississippi John Hurt and Chuck Berry," prompting his friend, Fritz Richmond, to suggest the name...
's "Daydream" and The Supremes
The Supremes
The Supremes, an American female singing group, were the premier act of Motown Records during the 1960s.Originally founded as The Primettes in Detroit, Michigan, in 1959, The Supremes' repertoire included doo-wop, pop, soul, Broadway show tunes, psychedelic soul, and disco...
' "Reflections"), the album was not a serious contender on the charts, although RCA did press 10,000 copies. As the LP faded into obscurity, Sweet found themselves being labelled by music critics as nothing more than a Top 40 singles band. Furthermore, Chinn and Chapman hindered the band's chance for respectability by bringing in session musician
Session musician
Session musicians are instrumental and vocal performers, musicians, who are available to work with others at live performances or recording sessions. Usually such musicians are not permanent members of a musical ensemble and often do not achieve fame in their own right as soloists or bandleaders...
s, as with The Monkees
The Monkees
The Monkees are an American pop rock group. Assembled in Los Angeles in 1966 by Robert "Bob" Rafelson and Bert Schneider for the American television series The Monkees, which aired from 1966 to 1968, the musical acting quartet was composed of Americans Micky Dolenz, Michael Nesmith and Peter Tork,...
, to play on the records, even though the members of Sweet were competent musically.
The relationship between Sweet, and Chinn and Chapman, was becoming increasingly tense. One major reason was that Sweet were not happy with the 'bubblegum' image that was being cast on them. At the band's insistence and as a conscious contrast, their B-sides got heavier with each release; for example, "Done Me Wrong All Right", the self-penned B-side of "Co-Co", amazed some listeners who had hated the pop sound but loved their rock style and realised there was more to the band than they had thought. 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 and roll
Rock and roll
Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...
classics; rarely were the singles played live. A 1973 performance at the Palace Theatre and Grand Hall in Kilmarnock
Kilmarnock
Kilmarnock is a large burgh in East Ayrshire, Scotland, with a population of 44,734. It is the second largest town in Ayrshire. The River Irvine runs through its eastern section, and the Kilmarnock Water passes through it, giving rise to the name 'Bank Street'...
which ended in Sweet being bottled off stage was one such performance; the disorder was attributed by some (including Steve Priest) to Sweet's lipstick and eye-shadow look and by others to the audience being unfamiliar with the concert set and would be immortalised later that year in the hit "The Ballroom Blitz".
February 1972 saw the release of "Poppa Joe" that peaked at number 11 in the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
. The next two singles of that year, "Little Willy" and "Wig-Wam Bam", both reached #4 in the UK, and "Little Willy" peaked at #3 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
after a re-issue in 1973, thus becoming the group's biggest American hit. 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 - largely because it was the first Sweet single on which only the real members of Sweet played. 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!
Block Buster!
"Block Buster!" is a popular song by The Sweet. Written by Nicky Chinn and Mike Chapman, and produced by Phil Wainman, "Block Buster!" was the band's sole UK #1 hit...
", Sweet's first chart-topping single, which quickly reached #1 on the UK chart, remaining there for five consecutive weeks. "Hell Raiser" was released in May and reached position #2, the success of which was repeated by the subsequent singles, "The Ballroom Blitz" (September 1973) and "Teenage Rampage" (January 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
Top of the Pops
Top of the Pops, also known as TOTP, is a British music chart television programme, made by the BBC and originally broadcast weekly from 1 January 1964 to 30 July 2006. After 25 December 2006 it became a radio program, now hosted by Tony Blackburn...
and Supersonic
Supersonic (TV series)
Supersonic is a British children's television music show which featured pop music artists of the day. Launched in 1975, it was produced by London Weekend Television for the ITV network and ran for two years...
slots. Sweet soon picked up a large teenage audience. In one performance of "Block Buster!" on Top of the Pops, Priest aroused complaints after he appeared wearing a German uniform and displaying a swastika armband. The band also capitalised on the glam rock explosion, rivalling Gary Glitter
Gary Glitter
Gary Glitter is an English former glam rock singer-songwriter and musician.Glitter first came to prominence in the glam rock era of the early 1970s...
, T. Rex, Queen
Queen (band)
Queen are a British rock band formed in London in 1971, originally consisting of Freddie Mercury , Brian May , John Deacon , and Roger Taylor...
, Wizzard
Wizzard
Wizzard was a Birmingham-based band formed by Roy Wood, former member of The Move and co-founder of Electric Light Orchestra. The Guinness Book of 500 Number One Hits states, "Wizzard was Roy Wood just as much as Wings were Paul McCartney."-Biography:...
, and Slade
Slade
Slade are an English rock band from Wolverhampton, who rose to prominence during the glam rock era of the early 1970s. With 17 consecutive Top 20 hits and six number ones, the British Hit Singles & Albums names them as the most successful British group of the 1970s based on sales of singles...
for outrageous stage clothing.
Forming a new image
By 1974, Sweet had grown tired of the artistic control Chinn and Chapman exerted over their career, hence the group and Phil WainmanPhil Wainman
Phil Wainman is a British record producer and songwriter, primarily active in the 1970s. He is noted for his work with Sweet, XTC, Dollar, Mud, and the Bay City Rollers...
decided to record without the duo. The resulting album, Sweet Fanny Adams
Sweet Fanny Adams (album)
Sweet Fanny Adams is the first of two 1974 albums by Sweet, and also their first album simply as Sweet. The album was a turning point and change in the band's sound...
, was their first Top 40 entry in the UK Albums Chart
UK Albums Chart
The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart...
. Sweet's technical proficiency was demonstrated for the first time on self-penned hard rock tracks such as "Sweet F.A." and "Set Me Free". Sweet also dropped their glam rock image in favour of a more conventional hard rock
Hard rock
Hard rock is a loosely defined genre of rock music which has its earliest roots in mid-1960s garage rock, blues rock and psychedelic rock...
appearance. In response to UK music critics
Music journalism
Music journalism is criticism and reportage about music. It began in the eighteenth century as comment on what is now thought of as 'classical music'. This aspect of music journalism, today often referred to as music criticism , comprises the study, discussion, evaluation, and interpretation of...
, Sweet concentrated on proving their musical talents with self-written tracks.
The Sweet Fanny Adams album also featured compressed high-pitched backing vocal harmonies
Harmony
In music, harmony is the use of simultaneous pitches , or chords. The study of harmony involves chords and their construction and chord progressions and the principles of connection that govern them. Harmony is often said to refer to the "vertical" aspect of music, as distinguished from melodic...
, which was a trend that continued on all of Sweet's albums. Sweet, and later Queen, were recognised as some of the main exponents of high-pitched harmonies during the 1970s. During sessions for the album Brian Connolly was injured in a fight in Staines High Street. His throat was badly injured and his ability to sing severely limited. Priest and Scott filled in on lead vocals on some tracks ("No You Don't", "Into The Night" and "Restless") and Connolly under treatment from a Harley Street specialist managed to complete the album. The band did not publicise the incident and told the press that subsequent cancelled shows were due to Connolly having a throat infection.
No previous singles appeared on the album and none were released except in Japan and Australia where "Peppermint Twist/Rebel Rouser" gained a high chart position.
Desolation Boulevard
In early 1974 Sweet had received public praise from The WhoThe Who
The Who are an English rock band formed in 1964 by Roger Daltrey , Pete Townshend , John Entwistle and Keith Moon . They became known for energetic live performances which often included instrument destruction...
's guitarist, Pete Townshend
Pete Townshend
Peter Dennis Blandford "Pete" Townshend is an English rock guitarist, vocalist, songwriter and author, known principally as the guitarist and songwriter for the rock group The Who, as well as for his own solo career...
. Sweet had also frequently cited The Who as being one of their main influences and played a medley of their tracks in their live set for many years. At Townshend's invitation, Sweet were invited to support The Who, who were playing at Charlton Athletic
Charlton Athletic F.C.
Charlton Athletic Football Club is an English professional football club based in Charlton, in the London Borough of Greenwich. They compete in Football League One, the third tier of English football. The club was founded on 9 June 1905, when a number of youth clubs in the southeast London area,...
's football ground, The Valley in June 1974. Connolly's badly bruised throat kept them from fulfilling the role. Some critics maintain that Connolly's voice never really recovered after this incident, and he was unable to sing with the strength and purity he had on their album and single releases.
A second album was released during 1974 called Desolation Boulevard
Desolation Boulevard
Desolation Boulevard, released in 1974, is the second album by Sweet that year. It contains an original variant of one of the band's best known songs, "Fox on the Run"....
. One of the tracks off this album was a cover of The Who's "My Generation
My Generation
My Generation is the debut album by the English rock band The Who, released by Brunswick Records in the United Kingdom in December 1965. In the United States it was released by Decca Records as The Who Sings My Generation in April 1966, with a different cover and a slightly altered track...
" (not on the U.S. version of the album). This album, produced by Mike Chapman in place of the now-departed Phil Wainman, was recorded in a mere six days and featured a rawer "live" sound.
The first single from the LP, the heavy-melodic "The Six Teens" (July 1974) was a Top 10 hit in the UK, Germany and the Netherlands. However, the subsequent single release, "Turn It Down" (November 1974) reached only #41 on the UK chart. "Turn It Down" received minimal airplay on UK radio and was banned by some radio stations because of certain lyric
Lyrics
Lyrics are a set of words that make up a song. The writer of lyrics is a lyricist or lyrist. The meaning of lyrics can either be explicit or implicit. Some lyrics are abstract, almost unintelligible, and, in such cases, their explication emphasizes form, articulation, meter, and symmetry of...
al content - "God-awful sound" and "For God's sakes, turn it down" - which were deemed "unsuitable for family listening."
The U.S. version of this album, not released until 1975, was actually a combination of songs from Sweet Fanny Adams and the UK version of Desolation Boulevard. One side contained all Chapman-Chinn penned songs, with the other side featuring songs written and produced by Sweet.
The Sweet Singles Album and Strung Up
In 1975, RCA released a compilation albumCompilation album
A compilation album is an album featuring tracks from one or more performers, often culled from a variety of sources The tracks are usually collected according to a common characteristic, such as popularity, genre, source or subject matter...
entitled The Sweet Singles Album
The Sweet Singles Album
The Sweet Singles Album is a 1975 compilation album by The Sweet released on RCA Records for Australia and New Zealand only.-LP Track listing:Side 1#"The Ballroom Blitz" – 3:59#"Man From Mecca" – 2:45...
(Australia and New Zealand only). This LP featured singles recordings, including the hits "The Ballroom Blitz", "Teenage Rampage", "Block Buster" and "Hell Raiser". The album coincided with their Australian and New Zealand tour and was a big seller. A double album, Strung Up was released in November (except USA), which contained one (and first for the band) live disc, recorded in the UK in December 1973, the other disc being a compilation 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".With the B side "Where D'Ya Go" This was accompanied by a solo video clip of Scott playing the song (A subsequent alternative version was later added to the Japanese and U.S. versions of the 1976 Give Us a Wink
Give Us a Wink
Give Us a Wink is an album released in March 1976 by the British rock band Sweet. It was their first album to be fully written and produced by the band themselves...
album, and to the Andy Scott 30 Years CD with an alternate version. This song also appeared on the Desolation Boulevard album, but with a softer remix
Remix
A remix is an alternative version of a recorded song, made from an original version. This term is also used for any alterations of media other than song ....
). In Europe the single was also released with "Where D'Ya Go" as the A side and "Lady Starlight" as the B side with a different picture sleeve cover to the UK version.
Writing and producing their own material
In 1975, Sweet went back into the studio to re-arrange and record a more pop-oriented version of the track "Fox on the Run", which originally appeared on the 1974 Desolation BoulevardDesolation Boulevard
Desolation Boulevard, released in 1974, is the second album by Sweet that year. It contains an original variant of one of the band's best known songs, "Fox on the Run"....
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, Denmark, and South Africa, number two in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Norway and the Netherlands and number three in Austria and Switzerland. In Australia it not only made it to the top of the single charts, it also became the biggest selling single of that year. In North America, where it was only released the following year (1976), it was equally successful and reached number two in Canada and number five in the U.S.
The following single release, "Action" (July 1975), peaked at number 15 in the UK. Now confident in their own songwriting and production abilities, Sweet spent the latter half of 1975 in Musicland Studios in Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
, Germany, where they recorded the Give Us A Wink
Give Us a Wink
Give Us a Wink is an album released in March 1976 by the British rock band Sweet. It was their first album to be fully written and produced by the band themselves...
album with German sound engineer Reinhold Mack
Reinhold Mack
Reinhold Mack is a German record producer and sound engineer, mostly known for his collaborations with rock bands Electric Light Orchestra and Queen. Most of this work took place at Giorgio Moroder's Musicland Studios in Munich...
, who later recorded with Electric Light Orchestra
Electric Light Orchestra
Electric Light Orchestra were a British rock group from Birmingham who released eleven studio albums between 1971 and 1986 and another album in 2001. ELO were formed to accommodate Roy Wood and Jeff Lynne's desire to create modern rock and pop songs with classical overtones...
and co-produced Queen
Queen (band)
Queen are a British rock band formed in London in 1971, originally consisting of Freddie Mercury , Brian May , John Deacon , and Roger Taylor...
.
Since 1975, all subsequent RCA and Polydor single releases were now referred to as simply Sweet.
Decline in popularity
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 lack of success, Australia was the only country to get the follow-up single "4th Of July". Give Us A Wink!, Sweet's first fully produced and written LP was released in March 1976.During 1976, Sweet strove to build on their growing popularity in America with a heavy schedule of more than fifty headline concert dates. Even though "Give Us A Wink's" release was imminent, the band were still in effect promoting the USA version of "Desolation Boulevard" and the only song from the new album played live was "Action" which had recently reached #20 as a single there. During an appearance at Santa Monica Civic Auditorium
Santa Monica Civic Auditorium
Santa Monica Civic Auditorium is a multipurpose convention center in Santa Monica, California owned by the City of Santa Monica. It was built in 1958 and designed by Welton Becket....
in California on 24 March, Sweet played "All Right Now
All Right Now
"All Right Now" is a rock single by the English rock band Free. The song, released in mid-1970, hit #2 on the UK singles chart and #4 on the US Billboard Hot 100 singles chart. "All Right Now" originally appeared on the album Fire And Water, which Free recorded on the Island Records label, formed...
" with Ritchie Blackmore
Ritchie Blackmore
Richard Hugh "Ritchie" Blackmore is an English guitarist and songwriter, who was known as one of the first guitarists to fuse Classical music elements with rock. He fronted his own band Rainbow after leaving Deep Purple where he was unhappy because his favourite musical style wasn't adequately...
as a tribute to mark the death of Free
Free (band)
Free were an English rock band, formed in London in 1968, best known for their 1970 signature song "All Right Now". They disbanded in 1973 and lead singer Paul Rodgers went on to become a frontman of the band Bad Company along with Simon Kirke on drums; lead guitarist Paul Kossoff died from a...
guitarist Paul Kossoff
Paul Kossoff
Paul Francis Kossoff was an English rock guitarist best known as a member of the band Free.Kossoff was ranked 51st in Rolling Stone magazine list of the "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time" -Early days:...
, who was to have supported Sweet with his band "Back Street Crawler". Following the end of the US tour the band went on to Scandinavia and Germany before finally playing 8 dates in Japan. The second single from the LP, The Lies In Your Eyes went into the Top 10 in Germany, Denmark, Sweden, the Netherlands, and Australia, but only reached #35 on the UK charts.
Between October 1976 and January 1977, Sweet wrote and recorded new material at Kingsway Recorders and Audio International London studios for their next album. The first single from the yet to be released album was "Lost Angels". This single was only a hit in Germany and Sweden. In April 1977, Off the Record
Off the Record (Sweet album)
-Original European LP release :# "Fever of Love" - 4:02# "Lost Angels" - 4:04# "Midnight to Daylight" - 3:32# "Windy City" - 7:30# "Live for Today" - 3:24# "She Gimme Lovin'" - 4:05# "Laura Lee" - 4:17# "Hard Times" - 4:02# "Funk It Up" - 3:36...
was released, which was Sweet's final RCA album release. The next single from the album, "Fever of Love", represented the band heading in a somewhat more Europop hard rock direction, and once again charting in Germany and Sweden, but also a surprise hit in South Africa (No.10 on its national Top 20 Charts). On this album, Sweet again worked with Give Us A Wink engineer Louis Austin, who would later engineer Def Leppard
Def Leppard
Def Leppard are an English rock band formed in 1977 in Sheffield as part of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal movement. Since 1992, the band have consisted of Joe Elliott , Rick Savage , Rick Allen , Phil Collen , and Vivian Campbell...
's On Through The Night
On through the Night
On Through the Night is the debut album by British rock band Def Leppard, released in 1980. The album charted at #51 on The Billboard 200 and #15 on the UK Albums Chart...
1980 début album.
The 1976 and 1977 years featured Sweet as a more album-oriented, glam metal
Glam metal
Glam metal is a subgenre of hard rock and heavy metal that arose in the late 1970s and early 1980s in the United States, particularly on the Los Angeles Sunset Strip music scene...
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.
Split from RCA, Joining Polydor and a change in style
Sweet split from RCA in late 1977. Earlier in the year, Sweet's Manager David Walker, from Handle artists, had been putting out feelers for a new record contract. Polydor of what was then, West Germany, showed extreme interest and a new record deal was signed, by mid 1977. However it would not come into force until later in the year. Reputed to be around 750,000 British Pounds Sterling, the event marked yet a new change in direction for the group.The first album for new label Polydor, Level Headed in 1978 found Sweet experimenting by combining rock and classical sounds "a-la clavesin", an approach similar to UK band ELO
Electric Light Orchestra
Electric Light Orchestra were a British rock group from Birmingham who released eleven studio albums between 1971 and 1986 and another album in 2001. ELO were formed to accommodate Roy Wood and Jeff Lynne's desire to create modern rock and pop songs with classical overtones...
- indeed "Love Is Like Oxygen" is often mistaken for an ELO song. Largely recorded at Château d'Hérouville
Château d'Hérouville
The Château d'Hérouville is a French château of the 18th century located in the village of Hérouville, in the Oise valley near Paris. The castle was built in 1740 by Gaudot, an architect of the school of Rome. In the 19th century, it was used as courier relay station and stabled a hundred...
near Paris, France and Clearwell Castle in the Forest Of Dean UK,the resulting Level Headed album represented a new musical direction with its Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin were an English rock band, active in the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s. Formed in 1968, they consisted of guitarist Jimmy Page, singer Robert Plant, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham...
influenced rock style, interspersed with ballads accompanied by a 30-piece orchestra. The ballad, "Lettres D'Amour", featured a duet between Brian and emerging singer Stevie Lange (who would emerge as lead singer with the group Night
Night (band)
Night was a rock band formed in 1978 in Los Angeles whose personnel were veteran British-based session musicians.-History:Night's vocalists Stevie Vann and Chris Thompson had met when Vann had provided backing vocals for the 1978 album Watch by Manfred Mann's Earth Band then fronted by Thompson...
in 1979).
Whilst the band had seen Andy Scott and Steve Priest occasionally sing lead on an album track, this album tellingly saw Brian relegated to singing lead on only half the tracks. With the addition of session and touring musicians keyboardist Gary Moberley and guitarist Nico Ramsden, Sweet undertook a short European and Scandinavian tour followed by a single British concert at London's Hammersmith Odeon on 24 February 1978. However, "Love Is Like Oxygen" (January 1978) was their last UK, U.S. and German Top 10 hit. Scott was also nominated for an Ivor Novello Award for co-composing "Love Is Like Oxygen". One more single from the album, "California Nights" (May 1978), featuring Steve Priest as the lead vocalist, peaked at #23 on the German charts.
Departure of Brian Connolly
Between March and May 1978 Sweet had extensively toured the USA. On this occasion, however, they had been reduced in status to a support act for Bob SegerBob Seger
Robert Clark "Bob" Seger is an American rock and roll singer-songwriter, guitarist and pianist.As a locally successful Detroit-area artist, he performed and recorded as Bob Seger and the Last Heard and Bob Seger System throughout the 1960s...
and the Silver Bullet Band. The tour included a disastrous date in Birmingham, Alabama
Birmingham, Alabama
Birmingham is the largest city in Alabama. The city is the county seat of Jefferson County. According to the 2010 United States Census, Birmingham had a population of 212,237. The Birmingham-Hoover Metropolitan Area, in estimate by the U.S...
at which visiting Capitol Records executives in the audience were to see Brian Connolly give a drunken and incoherent performance that terminated early in the set with his collapse on stage leaving the rest of the group to play on without him. The band regrouped in England before resuming the US tour in late May supporting Seger and other acts, including Foghat and Alice Cooper, until they returned to the UK in early July.Unfortunately, Brian's alcoholism was steadily becoming a greater issue. Although all the Sweet members lived the extreme rock lifestyle during the 70s - with alcohol, drugs, and women, among other things - the others were not as severely affected as Connolly.
In late October, Sweet arrived at The Town House studio in Shepherds Bush, London to write and record new material for their next album. Things were now coming to a head, with tension and difficulty with Brian Connolly. As a last ditch effort, the group organised for Connolly's long-time friend and fellow founding member, Mick Tucker, to go into the studio without Andy Scott as producer, to attempt an outcome. A number of tracks were then recorded featuring Connolly on vocals for the "Cut Above the Rest
Cut Above the Rest
Cut Above the Rest is an album by Sweet, released via Polydor Records in October 1979. It was the first album release by Sweet following the departure of their original lead vocalist Brian Connolly...
" album, with the singles "Call Me" and "Big Apple Waltz" being released.
Efforts were deemed unsatisfactory and some of the contributions were then erased from the ensuing album. Two tracks however, featuring Brian on lead vocals, "That Girl" and "Stay With Me", remain from the sessions. Later, Connolly would reflect on the difficulty, as a combination of musical and personal differences, particularly with Andy Scott.
On 23 February 1979, Brian Connolly's departure from Sweet was announced by Handle Artists Manager, David Walker, at a press conference. Publicly, Connolly was said to be pursuing a solo career with an interest in recording country rock.
Sweet then continued as a trio with Steve Priest and Andy Scott, now both handling lead vocals (Scott says that Ronnie James Dio
Ronnie James Dio
Ronald James Padavona , better known as Ronnie James Dio, was an American heavy metal vocalist and songwriter. He performed with, amongst others, Elf, Rainbow, Black Sabbath, Heaven & Hell, and his own band Dio, which means God in Italian. Other musical projects include the collective fundraiser...
, who'd just departed from Rainbow
Rainbow (band)
Rainbow were an English rock band, controlled by guitarist Ritchie Blackmore from 1975 to 1984 and 1994 to 1997. It was originally established with American rock band Elf's members, though over the years Rainbow went through many line-up changes with no two studio albums featuring the same line-up...
, was approached in January 1979 to join as the group's new singer. But Steve Priest disputes this. At any rate, Dio ended up joining Black Sabbath
Black Sabbath
Black Sabbath are an English heavy metal band, formed in Aston, Birmingham in 1969 by Ozzy Osbourne , Tony Iommi , Geezer Butler , and Bill Ward . The band has since experienced multiple line-up changes, with Tony Iommi the only constant presence in the band through the years. A total of 22...
shortly thereafter). Keyboard
Electronic keyboard
An electronic keyboard is an electronic or digital keyboard instrument.The major components of a typical modern electronic keyboard are:...
player Gary Moberley continued to augment the group on stage and on record and guitarist Ray McRiner also joined their touring line-up in 1979 as well as contributing songs to their next album, Waters Edge with "Too much talking" and the single "Give The Lady Some Respect". In Europe and the USA it was titled Sweet VI. One more studio album, Identity Crisis
Identity Crisis (Sweet album)
Identity Crisis is a 1982 album by Sweet. Originally only released in Germany via Polydor Records, was recorded between 1980/81 and finally released after the band split-up in 1981.- Track listing :...
, was recorded in 1980-81 and Sweet performed their last live show at Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
University on 20 March 1981. Steve Priest had relocated to the US and they effectively disbanded by mid 1981. "Identity Crisis", was released late during the following year. With no band to promote it, Polydor carefully released it only in West Germany and Mexico.
Re-formed Version
In 1985, Scott and Tucker re-formed the Sweet, with new players, singer Paul Day (of Iron Maiden, MoreMore (UK band)
More were a UK heavy metal band who were part of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal scene in the early 1980s. They recorded two albums in the early 1980s before splitting up...
, Wildfire
Wildfire (band)
Wildfire was formed in 2001 by four departing members of J. D. Crowe & The New South. Phil Leadbetter, Robert Hale, Darrell Webb and Curt Chapman recorded their first CD "Uncontained" for Pinecastle Records as a four-piece band with Scott Vestal filling in on banjo...
), keyboardist Phil Lanzon (ex-Grand Prix, Lionheart
Lionheart (band)
-History:Lionheart was a British hard rock band formed in late 1980, originally featuring singer Jess Cox , guitarist Dennis Stratton , guitarist Steve Mann , bassist/vocalist Rocky Newton , and drummer Frank Noon .They made their debut one Saturday night at the Marquee Club in...
; now with Uriah Heep
Uriah Heep (band)
Uriah Heep are an English rock band formed in London in 1969 and regarded as a seminal classic hard rock act of the 1970s. Uriah Heep's progressive/art rock/heavy metal fusion's distinctive features have always been massive keyboards sound, strong vocal harmonies and David Byron's operatic vocals...
), and bass player Malcolm McNulty (who became lead singer for fellow glam rockers Slade
Slade
Slade are an English rock band from Wolverhampton, who rose to prominence during the glam rock era of the early 1970s. With 17 consecutive Top 20 hits and six number ones, the British Hit Singles & Albums names them as the most successful British group of the 1970s based on sales of singles...
). Steve Priest was asked to join Tucker and Scott for their 1986 Australian tour, but he declined. Reasons given were for Priest to remain with his family, as they were now resident in New York. Later, Steve Priest would comment further, saying the money being offered was not enough. Adding to the confusion, was Brian Connolly who had in early 1984, also reformed his own version of the Sweet, but without any of the original members.
Singer Paul Mario Day ended up marrying the band's Australian tour guide and relocating down under. He continued with Sweet for a bit, commuting back & forth to Europe for the group's tours until this proved to be too cumbersome. He departed in late 1988. As McNulty moved into the front man spot, Jeff Brown came in to take over bass early in 1989. Lanzon too went back and forth between Sweet and Uriah Heep during 1986-1988 before Heep's schedule grew too busy. Ian Gibbons (who had played with The Kinks
The Kinks
The Kinks were an English rock band formed in Muswell Hill, North London, by brothers Ray and Dave Davies in 1964. Categorised in the United States as a British Invasion band, The Kinks are recognised as one of the most important and influential rock acts of the era. Their music was influenced by a...
and The Records
The Records
The Records were an English power pop band in the late 1970s. Allmusic notes that they are often referred to as the "British Big Star". They are best remembered for the hit single and cult favourite "Starry Eyes".-History:...
) and then Malcolm Pearson both filled in for Lanzon until Steve Mann (ex-Liar, Lionheart
Lionheart (band)
-History:Lionheart was a British hard rock band formed in late 1980, originally featuring singer Jess Cox , guitarist Dennis Stratton , guitarist Steve Mann , bassist/vocalist Rocky Newton , and drummer Frank Noon .They made their debut one Saturday night at the Marquee Club in...
, McAuley Schenker Group
McAuley Schenker Group
McAuley Schenker Group was a band featuring core members Robin McAuley and Michael Schenker , a successor to Schenker's earlier band Michael Schenker Group. McAuley was initially contacted to replace singer Gary Barden in MSG...
) arrived in December 1989 for a five and a half year term.
In 1991, Tucker departed due to ill health.
Brief reunions and the deaths of Brian Connolly and Mick Tucker
Mike Chapman contacted all four members of the classic lineup in 1988, offering to finance a recording session in Los Angeles. As he remembers, he was in for a ghastly surprise: "I met them at the airport and Andy and Mick came off the plane. I said, 'Where's Brian?' They said, 'Oh, he's coming.' All the people had come off the plane by now. Then this little old man hobbled towards us. He was shaking, and had a ghostly white face. I thought, 'Oh, Jesus Christ.' It was horrifying." Reworked studio versions of "Action" and "The Ballroom Blitz" were recorded, but it became clear that Connolly's voice lay in ruins. Priest remembers Chapman taking him aside and saying, "This is like icing a cake with shit." Consequently, the reunion attempt was aborted.In 1990 the classic lineup was again reunited for the promotion of a music documentary entitled Sweet's Ballroom Blitz. This UK video release, which contained UK television performances from the 1970s and current-day interviews, was released at Tower Records, London.
Brian Connolly died at the age of 51 from liver failure and repeated heart attacks, attributed to his chronic alcoholism, on 9 February 1997. Mick Tucker subsequently died on 14 February 2002 from leukaemia, aged 54.
Recent years
Today, two versions of The Sweet are still active with original members, Andy Scott's Sweet, who frequently tour across Europe as Sweet and makes occasional sojourns to other markets including regular visits to Australia and Steve Priest's Sweet who tour the USA and Canada.On 28 April 2009, Shout! Factory
Shout! Factory
Shout! Factory is an entertainment company founded in 2003 that was started by Richard Foos , Bob Emmer and Garson Foos initially as a specialty music label...
released a two-disc, career-spanning greatest hits album called Action: The Sweet Anthology
Action: The Sweet Anthology
- Personnel :* Andy Scott – guitar, synthesizer, background vocals* Steve Priest – lead vocals on "California Nights", "Call Me", "Big Apple Waltz", "Give the Lady Some Respect", and "Sixties Man", bass, background vocals...
. It received a coveted four-star (out of five) rating in Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
.