Sweet

Wednesday, 20 February 2013

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Eurythmics - Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This)

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Capitol Records
Capitol Records is a major American record label, formerly located in Los Angeles, but as of 2011^[update] 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. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of EMI.
The Capitol Records Company was founded by songwriter Johnny Mercer in 1942, with the financial help of fellow songwriter and film producer Buddy DeSylva and the business acumen of Glenn Wallichs (1910–1971), owner of Music City, at the time the biggest record store in Los Angeles.
Johnny Mercer first suggested the idea of starting a record company while he was golfing with Harold Arlen and Bobby Sherwood. He told them, "I’ve got this idea of starting a record company. I get so tired of listening to the way everyone treats music. I keep feeling they’re selling out. And I don’t like the way artists are treated either. Bing Crosby isn’t the only one who can make records. I don’t know, I think it would be fun." By 1941, Mercer was not only an experienced songwriter, but a singer with a number of records to his name. Mercer next suggested starting a record company to his friend Glenn Wallichs while Mercer was visiting Wallichs' record store. Wallichs responded, "Fine, you run the record company and find the artists,' and Mercer added, "and you run the business."

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Glasgow
Coordinates: 55°51′29″N 4°15′32″W / 55.858°N 4.259°W / 55.858; -4.259
Glasgow (ⁱ/ˈɡlɑːzɡəʊ/, locally /ˈɡlazɡo/, GLAZ-goh; Scots: Glesga listen (help·info); Scottish Gaelic: Glaschu ([ˈkɫ̪as̪əxu] listen (help·info))) 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.
Glasgow grew from a small rural settlement on the River Clyde to become one of the largest seaports in Britain. Expanding from the medieval bishopric of Glasgow and the later establishment of the University of Glasgow in the 15th century, it became a major centre of the Scottish Enlightenment in the 18th century. From the 18th century the city also grew as one of Britain's main hubs of transatlantic trade with British North America and the British West Indies. With the Industrial Revolution, the city and surrounding region shifted to become one of the world's pre-eminent centres of heavy engineering, most notably in shipbuilding and marine engineering industry, which produced many innovative and famous vessels. Glasgow was known as the "Second City of the British Empire" for much of the Victorian era and Edwardian period. Today it is one of Europe's top ten financial centres and is home to many of Scotland's leading businesses. Glasgow is also ranked as the 57th most liveable city in the world.

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Kilmarnock
Coordinates: 55°36′40″N 4°29′45″W / 55.61106°N 4.49571°W / 55.61106; -4.49571
Kilmarnock (Scottish Gaelic: Cille Mheàrnaig) is a large burgh in East Ayrshire, Scotland with a population of 44,734, making it the 14th most populated place in Scotland, it is also 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'. Kilmarnock is often shortened to 'Killie', especially when it is referenced in a footballing situation.
Kilmarnock is the main town within East Ayrshire, and the East Ayrshire HQ is located on London Road in Kilmarnock, leading to the villages Crookedholm and Hurlford, which furthermore leads to Loudoun. Kilmarnock is the second largest town in Ayrshire, after only Ayr. Kilmarnock is most-notably known worldwide for its publications of the first Robert Burns book, which went onto be known as The Kilmarnock Edition, and is very rare these days. Aside, the distributed internationally whisky brand Johnnie Walker's is situated in the town, where it has been situated since the 19th century. Protest and backing from the Scottish Government took place in 2009, after Diageo, the owner of Johnnie Walker announced plans to close the bottling plant in the town after 289 years.

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Bob Seger
Robert Clark "Bob" Seger (born May 6, 1945) 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. By the early 1970s, he had dropped the "System" from his recordings, and he continued to strive for broader success with other various bands. In 1973, he put together The Silver Bullet Band, an evolving group of Detroit-area musicians, with whom he became most successful. In 1976, he achieved a national breakout with the album Night Moves. On his studio albums, he also worked extensively with the Alabama-based Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section, which appeared on several of Seger's best-selling singles and albums.
A roots rocker with a classic raspy, shouting voice, Seger wrote and recorded songs that dealt with blue-collar themes and was an exemplar of heartland rock. Seger has recorded many hits, including "Night Moves", "Turn the Page", "We've Got Tonight", "Against the Wind", and "Like a Rock", and also co-wrote the Eagles' number-one hit "Heartache Tonight". His iconic recording of "Old Time Rock and Roll" was named one of the Songs of the Century in 2001.

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Brian Connolly
Brian Francis Connolly (5 October 1945 – 9 February 1997) was a Scottish musician, best known as the lead singer of the British rock band, Sweet.
Brian Connolly was born in 1945 in Govanhill, Glasgow, (some early Sweet biographies claim he was born in 1949). Whilst the true identity of Brian's father was never made public, his mother was a teenage waitress named Frances Connolly who left him in a Glasgow hospital as an infant whilst possibly suffering effects of meningitis. He was fostered, aged two, by Jim and Helen McManus of Blantyre and took their family name. In his earliest years Connolly was also affectionately known as "snowball" referring to his almost white blonde hair. In a radio interview, Connolly reported that singing was a large part of growing up since there was no television, and that he was regularly called upon to sing for family and friends. Connolly has credited the Everly Brothers as being his earliest musical influence. When Brian was aged about eighteen he inadvertently discovered his lineage and reverted to the name Connolly. Numerous sources have incorrectly asserted that he was a half brother of the late actor Mark McManus (who found fame in the title role of detective series "Taggart") but they were not related. Mark "Taggart" McManus was actually the nephew of Brian's foster father.

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Gary Glitter
Gary Glitter (born Paul Francis Gadd on 8 May 1944) is an English former glam rock singer-songwriter and musician.
Glitter first came to prominence in the glam rock era of the early 1970s. He had a long solo UK chart run during the 1970s, with several hits including "Rock and Roll, Parts One and Two", "I Love You Love Me Love", "I'm the Leader of the Gang (I Am)" and "Hello, Hello, I'm Back Again". Between 1972 and 1995, Glitter had 26 hit singles which spent a total of 180 weeks in the UK Top 100; twelve of those reached the Top 10, with three charting at number 1. He continued to record in the 1980s and 1990s, with his 1984 song "Another Rock N' Roll Christmas" being one of the Top 30 Christmas hits of all time. He released seven studio albums, and at least^[specify] 15 greatest hits collections or live albums. In 1998, his recording of "Rock and Roll" was listed as one of the top 1,001 songs in music history. The mostly instrumental "Rock and Roll, Part 2" has been played as a popular cheering song at American sporting events for several decades.

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Ian Gillan
Ian Gillan (born 19 August 1945 in Hounslow, London) 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 Webber's rock opera Jesus Christ Superstar. In his prime, Gillan was known for his wide vocal range - particularly the high pitched screams evidenced in the song "Child In Time".
Gillan was born at Chiswick Maternity Hospital, Middlesex. Gillan's father was a storekeeper at a factory in London. He grew up moving between council flats before settling in a three-bedroom semi-detached on a council estate in Cranford, Hounslow.
Between 1962 and 1964 Gillan was in a band called The Javelins, where he was known as Jess Thunder. He then joined Wainwright's Gentlemen until 1965. 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, Mick Tucker (later of Sweet) on drums and, according to band bassist Jan Frewer, is thought to have been recorded in 1965. Between 1965 and '69, when he joined Deep Purple, he achieved minor success with Episode Six.

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Mick Tucker
Michael Thomas "Mick" Tucker (17 July 1947, Harlesden, North West London – 14 February 2002) was the drummer and backing vocalist of the English glam rock band, Sweet.
In 1965, Mick joined "Wainwright's Gentlemen" and was later joined by vocalist Brian Connolly playing a mixture of R&B, Motown, and early psychedelic sounds. The band split in 1968. There are a number of recordings in existence 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 Tucker on drums and, according to band bassist Jan Frewer, is thought to have been recorded in 1965.
He was a founding member of the band "Sweetshop" in January 1968 along with Steve Priest, Brian Connolly, and Frank Torpey, who was later replaced by Mick Stewart who was himself succeeded by Andy Scott. "Sweetshop" was shortened to "The Sweet" in 1968.
From 1973 Tucker used a large Ludwig drum kit, comprising two bass drums, three mounted tom-toms and two floor toms, complimented by Paiste cymbals. On an objective view he was a very talented drummer with a range of complex rhythms who could have helped any band considerably. The glam rock image of Sweet sometimes eclipsed this.

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Mike Chapman
Mike Chapman (born Michael Donald Chapman, 15 April 1947, Nambour, Queensland, Australia) is an Australian born record producer and songwriter who was a major force in the British pop music industry in the 1970s. He created a string of hit singles for artists including Sweet, Suzi Quatro, Smokie, Mud and Racey with co-writer and co-producer Nicky Chinn, creating a formularised sound that became identified with the "Chinnichap" brand. He later produced breakthrough albums for Blondie and The Knack.
Chapman was born in Queensland, Australia, but moved to Britain where he became a member of the group Tangerine Peel. They released an album in 1969 and had several near-hit singles between 1967 and 1970. In 1970 met Nicky Chinn while working as a waiter at a London nightclub, Tramp. The pair struck up a song-writing partnership, and began working with high-profile producer Mickie Most on his RAK Records label, which quickly became home to a roster of artists including Suzi Quatro, Smokie, and Mud.

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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. The duo wrote hits for such notable UK-based artists as Suzi Quatro, Mud, Sweet, Arrows ("Touch Too Much"), Racey, Smokie, Tina Turner and Huey Lewis and the News.
Chinn was born to an affluent London Jewish family that owned a string of service stations and car sales distributorships. However as a young man his talent for writing successful pop songs proved so obvious that within a month or two of his first efforts as a songwriter Chinn co-wrote with Mike d'Abo (the ex Manfred Mann lead singer) the two main songs for the hit film, There's a Girl in My Soup.
It was at this point that Chinn joined the Australian-born Chapman, who was a waiter at a night club Chinn frequented, and they decided to team up. Chapman was already a professional musician with the band Tangerine Peel and the two quickly joined up with Mickie Most's RAK label and began writing songs for a new glam rock band Sweet and their catchy compositions accounted for all the singles the band released in their early years.

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Paul Kossoff
Paul Francis Kossoff (14 September 1950 – 19 March 1976) 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".^{[dead link]}
Kossoff was the son of Margaret (Jenkins) and the British actor David Kossoff. His father was of Russian-Jewish descent. Kossoff started playing guitar in the mid 1960s, taught by session guitarist Colin Falconer. He became a professional at age 15 when he was a founding member of Black Cat Bones. The band played with touring blues piano player Champion Jack Dupree, did many supporting shows for Fleetwood Mac and other gigs with Fleetwood Mac cofounder Peter Green. Kossoff would jam and spend hours discussing blues playing and players. Kossoff's bandmate in Black Cat Bones was drummer Simon Kirke, and the two would go on to play on Champion Jack Dupree's April 1968 album When You Feel the Feeling you was Feeling.
In April 1968 Kossoff and Kirke teamed up with Paul Rodgers (vocals) and Andy Fraser (bass) to form Free. They did the "Transit" circuit for two years and recorded two albums: Tons of Sobs (1968) and Free (1969). Both albums showcased the band's blues- and soul-influenced sound, a style which was in contrast to some of their progressive and heavier counterparts at the time.

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Pete Townshend
Peter Dennis Blandford "Pete" Townshend (born 19 May 1945) 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. His career with The Who spans more than 40 years, during which time the band grew to be considered one of the most influential bands of the 1960s and 1970s, and, according to Eddie Vedder, "possibly the greatest live band ever."
Townshend is the primary songwriter for The Who, having written well over 100 songs for the band's 11 studio albums, including concept albums and the rock operas Tommy and Quadrophenia, plus popular rock and roll radio staples like Who's Next, and dozens more that appeared as non-album singles, bonus tracks on reissues, and tracks on rarities compilations like Odds & Sods. He has also written over 100 songs that have appeared on his solo albums, as well as radio jingles and television theme songs. Although known primarily as a guitarist, he also plays other instruments such as keyboards, banjo, accordion, synthesiser, bass guitar and drums, on his own solo albums, several Who albums, and as a guest contributor to a wide array of other artists' recordings. Townshend has never had formal lessons in any of the instruments he plays.

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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. His greatest chart success, however, was the production of "I Don't Like Mondays" by The Boomtown Rats, written by Bob Geldof and arranged by Fiachra Trench.
In 1964 Wainman was working the European cabaret circuit with a band called The High Grades. He returned to the UK and joined The Paramounts in 1965 for a short period. The Paramounts had had a minor UK hit with a cover of The Coasters', "Poison Ivy", but Wainman does not appear on this track.
Wainman was originally a drummer with a session band named The Quotations. He released two drum-themed beat/pop singles, 1966's, "Hear Me A Drummer Man" / "Hear Those Drums" and 1968's "Going, Going Gone" / "Hey Paradiddle". "Going, Going Gone" is now a highly coveted rarity among collectors, selling for up to £500 on eBay.
He and pianist Harold Spiro later wrote The Yardbirds "Little Games" single, which was produced by Mickie Most. Wainman was working as a music publisher and songwriter when he was introduced to Middlesex-based pop group The Sweetshop. Liking what he heard he produced the band's first single 'Slow Motion' which was released in July 1968. The band shortened its name to The Sweet just prior to the single hitting the shops. The track did nothing and he and The Sweet went their separate ways.

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Reinhold Mack
Reinhold Mack (aka 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. His third son, John Frederick Mack, was named by Freddie Mercury and was a godson of both Mercury and Queen bassist John Deacon.
Mack is referenced in the lyrics of the Queen song "Dragon Attack" on their 1980 album The Game, which he produced: "gonna use my stack/it's gotta be Mack".
Albums worked on as sound engineer:
Albums produced or co-produced by Mack:

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Ritchie Blackmore
Richard Hugh "Ritchie" Blackmore (born 14 April 1945) is a British guitarist and songwriter, who is known as one of the first guitarists to fuse classical music elements with blues rock. He began his professional career as a studio session musician and was subsequently a member of Deep Purple, after which Blackmore established a successful career fronting his own band Rainbow, and later progressed to the traditional folk rock project Blackmore's Night with his wife.
Blackmore was born at Allandale Nursing Home, Weston-super-Mare, Somerset, South West England, but moved to Heston, Middlesex (now Greater London) at the age of two. Although the surname Blackmore is thought to be of English origin, his father was of Welsh ancestry and his mother of English. He was 11 when he got his first guitar. His father bought it for him on certain conditions, including learning how to play properly, so he took classical guitar lessons for one year.
While at school he did well at sports including the javelin. Blackmore left school at age 15 and started work as an apprentice radio mechanic at nearby Heathrow Airport. He was given guitar lessons by Big Jim Sullivan.

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Sandy Nelson
Sandy Nelson (born Sander L Nelson, December 1, 1938, Santa Monica, California) 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.
His first recording, with a band called The Renegades (Richard Podolor, Bruce Johnston and Nick Venet), was "Geronimo", written by Venet, produced by Kim Fowley and released on the Original Sound Records label. Although it flopped on the national charts, it charted in some of the midwest markets. The song, along with "Charge", is part of the soundtrack of 1959 film Ghost of Dragstrip Hollow released by American International Pictures.
Nelson attended high school with Jan Berry, Dean Torrence (who became Jan and Dean), and Kim Fowley. After gaining respect as a session drummer, he played on such songs as "To Know Him Is To Love Him" (Phil Spector's Teddy Bears, 1958), "Alley-Oop" (The Hollywood Argyles, 1960), and "A Thousand Stars" (Kathy Young and the Innocents, 1960).

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Steve Priest
Steve Priest (born Stephen Norman Priest, 23 February 1948,Hayes, Middlesex, England) is a founding member and bass player/backing vocalist of the glam rock band Sweet.
Priest crafted his own homemade bass guitar and began playing in local bands as a young teenager, after being influenced by artists such as Jet Harris of The Shadows, The Rolling Stones and The Who.
In January 1968, Priest was invited to form a four-piece band with vocalist Brian Connolly, drummer Mick Tucker, and guitarist Frank Torpey — the band that was to become The Sweet. Torpey was replaced by Mick Stewart in 1969. Guitarist Andy Scott joined in August 1970, following Stewart's departure and the classic line-up established.
The Sweet was a band that went through many up and downs. Initial success for the Sweet began in 1971, after the band teamed up with songwriters Nicky Chinn and Mike Chapman. However, the Sweet would pen a number of their own hits, with Priest often directly backing up Brian Connolly's vocals and taking distinctive short vocal leads. After Brian Connolly left the Sweet in early 1979, Priest took over the majority of vocal duties for the band. This continued until 1982, when the original Sweet disbanded. By this time, Priest had divorced his first wife, Pat, and moved to New York City. On June 18, 1981, he remarried, this time to his current wife Maureen (née O'Connor), who was then East Coast Director of Publicity and Artist Relations for Capitol/EMI Records in New York. While in New York, he formed a band called The Allies with guitarist Marco Delmar and drummer Steve Missal. Success was elusive, although their composition "Talk To Me" was featured in a film, Fast Food.

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Wizzard
Wizzard were 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."
Not long after the release of Electric Light Orchestra's first album, Wood found himself frequently at odds with co-leader Jeff Lynne. Deciding he wanted to head off in a different musical direction, Wood left, taking band members Bill Hunt (keyboards and french horn) and Hugh McDowell (cello) and ELO's sound engineer, Trevor Smith, with him, to found Wizzard. Also in the line-up were former Move bassist Rick Price, drummers Charlie Grima and Keith Smart (all formerly of Birmingham group Mongrel), and saxophone players Mike Burney and Nick Pentelow (the son of actor Arthur Pentelow). Hunt was later replaced by Bob Brady.

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Sweet Blockbuster

You better beware, you better take care You better watch out if you've got long black hair...

published: 04 Mar 2008

author: willie1two

The Sweet: Wig Wam Bam

This clip is dedicated to Martina and Sille who have Birthday today. But its also for all ...

published: 02 Nov 2006

author: teledealer

Sweet Fox on the Run

Sweet in full flight, the original promo film....

published: 19 Sep 2006

author: clockworklou

the sweet - little willy (with lyrics)

North side east side little Willy Willy wears the crown he's the king around town. Dancing...

published: 02 Sep 2008

author: lebleufleur

Sweet-Love is Like Oxygen ( 12" long version )

Off the album "Level Headed"....

published: 15 Oct 2007

author: hakkman2007

THE SWEET-Teenage Rampage

Teenage Rampage from Crackerjack www.the-sweet.de.tc...

published: 06 Jan 2009

author: Tarzan Hoppenstedt

Guns N' Roses - Sweet Child O' Mine

Music video by Guns N' Roses performing Sweet Child O' Mine. YouTube view counts pre-VEVO:...

published: 25 Dec 2009

author: GunsNRosesVEVO

The Sweet - Hell Raiser

Sweet mit Hell Raiser....

published: 13 Jan 2009

author: DoppelAgentSam

The Verve - Bitter Sweet Symphony

Pre-VEVO play count: 22581204 Music video by The Verve performing Bitter Sweet Symphony....

published: 28 Feb 2009

author: emimusic

Eurythmics - Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This)

published: 25 Oct 2009

author: EurythmicsVEVO

Sweet Child O' Mine Music Video

The music video from the greatest song ever. No Copyright infringement intended. If you wa...

published: 05 Jun 2006

author: GNRrox

Common - Sweet ( Official Video )

published: 15 Nov 2011

author: thinkcommon

Beyoncé - Sweet Dreams

published: 03 Oct 2009

author: beyonceVEVO

Fox On The Run -Sweet

Video...

published: 01 Apr 2007

author: kkjabe

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photo: AP / Themba Hadebe

Olympic athlete Oscar Pistorius stands inside the court as a police officer looks on during his bail hearing at the magistrate court in Pretoria, South Africa, Wednesday, Feb. 20, 2013.

Pistorius witness ‘heard screams night of killing'

France24

20 Feb 2013

An unnamed witness heard a gunshot, screams and more gunshots at the home of Paralympian Oscar Pistorius on the night of his girlfriend's killing, a police officer told a court on Wednesday. By News Wires (text).  . “Blade Runner” Oscar Pistorius returned to court Wednesday to hear explosive allegations that he fought “non-stop” with his slain girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp on the night of her killing ... S ... ....(size: 9.7Kb)

photo: AP / Valentina Petrova

Protesters are detained by the riot police during a protest against high electricity prices in Sofia, on late Tuesday, Feb. 19, 2013.

Bulgaria's government resigns amid protests

Al Jazeera

20 Feb 2013

Bulgaria's government resigned from office after nationwide protests against high electricity prices, joining a long list of European administrations felled by austerity. Prime Minister Boiko Borisov had tried to calm protests by sacking his finance minister, pledging to cut power prices and punish foreign-owned companies but the measures failed to defuse discontent and protests continued on Tuesday ... News....(size: 5.8Kb)

photo: AP/Keystone, Laurent Gillieron

General view of the headquarters of food and drink company Nestle in Vevey, Switzerland, prior to a press conference, Thursday Oct. 18, 2007. Nestle said Thursday that sales for the first nine months of the year rose 9 percent as it saw strong growth fro

Nestle removes beef pasta meals after finding horsemeat

Joy Online

19 Feb 2013

Nestle, the world's biggest food company, has removed beef pasta meals from shelves in Italy and Spain after tests revealed traces of horse DNA. The Swiss-based firm has halted deliveries of products containing meat from a German supplier. Nestle is the latest in a string of major food producers to find traces of horsemeat in beef meals ... ....(size: 1.9Kb)

photo: AP / Gregorio Borgia

A woman walks past a trash bin defaced with a graffiti reading "Electoral boot. Vote here " in Rome, Monday, Feb. 18, 2013.

Insight: Rome will burn, regardless of Italian election result

Daily Press

20 Feb 2013

ROME (Reuters) - Regardless of who wins next weekend's parliamentary election, Italy's long economic decline is likely to continue because the next government won't be strong enough to pursue the tough reforms needed to make its economy competitive again ... Daily Press Eyewitness. Submit photos and videos from your mobile device. You might find your picture featured on Page 2 of the Daily Press ... CAMPER VAN POLITICS ... "The big question is ... ....(size: 4.7Kb)

photo: AP / Arshad Butt

Pakistani relatives of Saturday's bombing victims mourn next to their bodies in a mosque in Quetta, Pakistan, Sunday, Feb. 17, 2013.

Pakistan's Hazara Shias refuse to end protest

Al Jazeera

20 Feb 2013

Thousands of Hazara Shia Muslims in the southwestern Pakistani city of Quetta continue to refuse to bury their dead and end a sit-in that has entered its fourth day, despite community leaders calling off the protest. The protesters are demanding that the army be deployed to ensure their security, after the latest attack targeting their community on Saturday killed at least 84 people ... Other community leaders, however, disagreed ... Share ... ....(size: 8.2Kb)

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75th birthday comes with sweet birthday gift

Star Telegram

21 Feb 2013

"more healthful," which had relatively higher intakes of fruit, vegetables, whole grains, eggs, nuts, legumes and dairy; "Westernlike," which was characterized by an intake of starchy vegetables, refined grains, meats, fried poultry and fish, oils, and fats; and "low produce, high sweets," which was defined by high saturated fat and low dietary fiber and vitamin C intakes....(size: 2.3Kb)

Logan Square’s Reno a hidden gem for thin-crust pies

Chicago Sun-Times

21 Feb 2013

At night, after a few beers (I particularly like the lightly hopped cream ale, Sweet Action from Brooklyn brewery Six Point), bathed in the light of the Logan Theatre marquee and the Chase bank across the street, I feel pretty good ... My favorite pie is “The Southern,” a Korean/Kentucky mash-up of salty country ham, sweet roast garlic, fiery fizzy kimchi and juicy tendrils of spinach....(size: 5.5Kb)

Adam Carolla’s Mangria

The Examiner

21 Feb 2013

Rating for Adam Carolla’s Mangria. 0. I recently went to a comedy show at Cobb’s San Francisco to see one of my favorite comedians, Adam Carolla. I was pleasantly surprised when I learned that Adam’s “Mangria” was on the drink menu ... The Mangria has fruit forward aromas of orange and cherry. On the palate, Mangria is sweet with a thinner body ... There is a long sweet finish with an additional kick from the higher alcohol (20.9% to be exact) ... ....(size: 4.7Kb)

Tony Sheridan, British rocker who performed with the Beatles in the early 1960s, dies at 72

The Washington Post

21 Feb 2013

Loading... Comments Weigh In Corrections?. Recommend. Personal Post ... Gallery ... Mr. Sheridan, 72, died Feb ... Mr ... Mr ... Sheridan, which also yielded one song with Lennon singing the lead vocal on the 1920s pop love song “Ain’t She Sweet,” and one instrumental credited to Lennon and Harrison, “Cry for a Shadow.” ... 26. “Ain’t She Sweet” broke into the Top 20 a few months later, reaching as high as No. 19 ... ....(size: 4.7Kb)

Soothing spas become ultimate getaways

Star Telegram

21 Feb 2013

McClatchy-Tribune. Ah. A new year, a fresh outlook ... Reconnect with your inner harmony ... the Centre for Well-Being ... Immerse your hands in a dreamy nectar soak, followed by a sweet cream salt scrub exfoliation and whoopie shea butter cream massage ... Show your feet some love with a 50-minute treatment that includes a nectar milk soak, sweet cream salt scrub, dark chocolate mask for feet and legs, and whoopie shea butter cream massage ($85) ... ....(size: 5.1Kb)

'Biggest Loser's' Francelina Morillo on boyfriend: 'We're motivating each other' (Photos)

The Examiner

21 Feb 2013

Photo credit. . NBC ... The cranky episodeJillian Michaels wants you to be ‘Slim for Life’ in new bookFollow Bob Harper’s ‘Skinny Rules’ to weight loss in new bookRachel Beller, RD, shakes up your weight loss in 'Eat to Lose, Eat to Win' Devin Alexander's 'Biggest Loser' breakfast pizza, loaded sweet potato recipes ... Devin Alexander's 'Biggest Loser' breakfast pizza, loaded sweet potato recipes ... ....(size: 6.6Kb)

Congrats to 'My Super Valentine,' Indiewire's Project of the Week!

IMDb

21 Feb 2013

That winner will be awarded with a consultation from the Tribeca Film Institute ... My Super Valentine is a cute and sweet short film with a tense plot ... ». - Indiewire. ....(size: 1.0Kb)

Daugherty’s mom, sister testify during Smyrnes’s penalty phase trial

WPXI

21 Feb 2013

Channel 11’s Courtney Brennan reported that Daugherty’s mother and sister told the jury that Jennifer was a sweet soul who wanted to be liked and that she wanted attention, something ......(size: 0.9Kb)

Frank Ocean working on new album, tour

Celebrity Café

21 Feb 2013

Frank Ocean revealed he is hard at work on new music, and is hoping to tour this summer ... Ocean’s first album, Channel Orange, won a Grammy last year ... I think it'll be pretty sweet when I do.” 0. No votes yet ... None ... ....(size: 1.2Kb)

Your _____ Featured In Tanlines’ Interactive “Not The Same” Music Video, Like Right Now

Yahoo Music

21 Feb 2013

Ever wanted to be a music video vixen? Or feel the stardom of a karaoke background video love interest? Brooklyn-based indie group Tanlines have recently launched a pretty sweet interactive music video for their song “Not The Same,” that really is not the same with each view ... Follow Tiffany on Twitter & Instagram. @tiffanycanfly. Follow "YahooMusic" on Instagram ....(size: 1.6Kb)

Canucks' Hansen suspended 1 game for hit on Hawks' Hossa

Sun Sentinel

21 Feb 2013

The NHL suspended Vancouver Canucks forward Jannik Hansen one game after his hit to the head of the Chicago Blackhawks' Marian Hossa during Tuesday night's game at the United Center ... Related Photos. Chicago Blackhawks' sweet 16 Hawks' Hossa leaves after hit to the head 'Humble swagger' fits these Hawks Hawks survive for 4-3 shootout victory Video ... Canucks.   ... ckuc@tribune.com ... ....(size: 1.7Kb)

Zaytoon serves juicy Mideastern fare

San Francisco Chronicle

21 Feb 2013

It's easy to pass over tiny Zaytoon, wedged in among larger restaurants and stores along Valencia Street ... For beverages, try a salty Abali yogurt drink ($2.75), and then give yourself a little sugar rush with halvah ($1.75) or sweet crunchy sesame bar ($1.75). If you go. Zaytoon. 1136 Valencia St ... daily....(size: 1.4Kb)

Wings & Pool Night

Skiddle

21 Feb 2013

Shooters Sports Bar, Leeds Thu 21st February 2013. Take part in our pool tournament and enjoy our delicious oven-baked chicken wings from 6PM onwards!!. Date. Thursday 21st February 2013. Venue. Shooters Sports Bar ». Location. Leeds » ... Mild, garlic and herb, sweet chilli, BBQ, medium, hot -or for you brave ones out there- nuclear!! ... ....(size: 1.6Kb)

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This article is about the band Sweet. For other uses, see Sweet (disambiguation).

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (August 2008)

Sweet
Sweet at the height of their career in the mid-1970s. Clockwise from top left: Steve Priest, Brian Connolly, Mick Tucker, and Andy Scott. Sweet at the height of their career in the mid-1970s. Clockwise from top left: Steve Priest, Brian Connolly, Mick Tucker, and Andy Scott.
Background information
Also known as	The Sweet
Origin	United Kingdom
Genres	Glam rock, bubblegum pop (early) Hard rock, heavy metal (later)
Years active	1968–1982 1985-present
Labels	RCA, Polydor
Website	thesweet.com thesweetband.com
Past members
Mick Tucker Steve Priest Brian Connolly Frank Torpey Mick Stewart Andy Scott

Sweet (also referred to as the Sweet) were 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 were 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 in the USA.

History [link]

Origins [link]

Sweet's origins can be traced back to UK soul band Wainwright's Gentlemen. Mark Lay's history of the band states they formed around 1962 and were initially known as Unit 4. Founder members included Chris Wright (vocals), Jan Frewer (bass), with Jim Searle and Alfred Fripp on guitars. Phil Kenton joined on drums as the band changed its named to Wainwright's Gentlemen (due to there being another band known as Unit 4). They performed locally in the Hayes, Harrow and Wembley area. By 1964 the group was also playing in London, including at the Saint Germain Club in Poland Street. Frewer's father managed the band, which had acquired an impressive array of equipment and found much work in local clubs.

In January 1964 the band entered Mecca Dancing and Wells' Ice Cream national beat group contest. They won their area heat against competition which included The Detours (featuring vocalist Roger Daltrey). The band won through to the national finals held at the Lyceum, Strand on 4 May 1964. Highlights of that show, judged by Jimmy Saville were featured on the BBC1, with the show hosted by Alan Freeman but the band only finished 5th overall. Chris Wright left the lineup in late 1964 and was replaced by Ian Gillan. A female vocalist named Ann Cully joined the band soon after. Mick Tucker, from Ruislip, joined on drums, replacing Phil Kenton. The band recorded a number of tracks including a cover of The Hollies hit "Ain't That Just Like Me", which was probably recorded at Jackson Sound Studios in Rickmansworth. It was eventually 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 quit in May 1965 to join Episode Six, and, later, Deep Purple. Cully remained on as vocalist before departing some time later. Gillan's and Culley's eventual replacement was Scots-born vocalist Brian Connolly, who hailed more recently from Harefield. Tony Hall had joined on saxophone and when Fripp left he was replaced by Gordon Fairminer. Fairminer's position was eventually assumed by Frank Torpey- a schoolfriend of Tucker's. Torpey only lasted two or three months until mid-1967 when Robin Box took his place. Searle, regarded by many as the most talented musically, disappeared from the scene. Tucker and Connolly remained with Wainwright's Gentlemen until late 1967 or early 1968. Tucker was replaced in Wainwright's Gentlemen by Roger Hills. When the Gentlemen eventually broke up Hills and Box joined White Plains and scored a big hit with My Baby Loves Lovin'.

Early years [link]

In early 1968 Brian Connolly and Mick Tucker formed a new band, calling themselves The Sweetshop. They recruited the bass guitarist and lead vocalist Steve Priest of a local band called The Army, who had previously played with another local band The Countdowns. Frank Torpey 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), produced by Phil Wainman, failed to chart and due to its rarity now sells for several hundred pounds when auctioned. Sweet were 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.

New line-up and new record deal [link]

In 1969 guitarist Mick Stewart joined and The 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 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 Welsh-born 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 and on some recordings by The Scaffold.

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 were 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".^{[citation needed]}

First album appearance [link]

Sweet's first longplay appearance was on a Music for Pleasure 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".

International success [link]

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 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.^{[citation needed]} Furthermore, Chinn and Chapman hindered the band's chance for respectability by bringing in session musicians, 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.^[1] The band also capitalised on the glam rock explosion, rivalling Gary Glitter, T. Rex, Queen, Wizzard, and Slade for outrageous stage clothing.

Forming a new image [link]

By 1974, Sweet had grown tired of the artistic control Chinn and Chapman exerted over their career, hence the group and Phil Wainman 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.^{[citation needed]} 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.

[edit] Desolation Boulevard

In early 1974 Sweet had received public praise from The Who'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.^{[citation needed]}

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 lyrical 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.

Writing and producing their own material [link]

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 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, 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.^[2] 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 mid to 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. The new album release was held over until 1976 so as not to stifle the chart success the Desolation Boulevard album was enjoying in North America, peaking at #25 in the US and #5 in Canada.

Since 1975 all subsequent RCA and Polydor single releases were now referred to as simply Sweet.

[edit] The Sweet Singles Album and Strung Up

In 1975 RCA released a compilation album 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. Due to the delay in releasing Give Us A Wink! RCA decided to release a double album, Strung Up 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. Tucker played drums on both tracks. 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.

Decline in popularity [link]

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 strived 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. A 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. The band spent a week at The Who's Rampart Studio in Battersea demoing material for a new album before abandoning that project and playing eight dates in Japan.

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.

Split from RCA, Joining Polydor and a change in style [link]

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. 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 - 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.

Departure of Brian Connolly [link]

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 Seger 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 returned briefly to England before resuming the second leg of their US tour in late May supporting Seger and other acts, including Foghat and Alice Cooper, finishing the US tour in early July 1978. 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.

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.

Three piece Sweet [link]

Sweet continued as a trio with Steve Priest and Andy Scott, now both handling lead vocals, with Mick Tucker continuing on drums. Guest Keyboard player Gary Moberley continued to augment the group on stage. Also guitarist Ray McRiner, joined their touring line-up in 1979, with a small tour in the eastern part of the United States, to support the "Cut Above The Rest" album. Ray McRiner would also contribute the songs "Too Much Talking" and the single "Give The Lady Some Respect" to the next Sweet album, "Waters Edge". In the USA, the "Waters Edge" album was retitled by Capitol Records, as Sweet VI. The main singles for the "Waters Edge - Sweet VI" albums, were the singles, "Sixties Man", followed by "Give The Lady Some Respect". Sadly, another track, "Tall Girls", recorded shortly after the departure of Brian Connolly in 1979, never made it to the "Waters Edge", album. It did, however, become a single b-side.

One more studio album, Identity Crisis, was recorded during 1980-81 and Sweet performed their last live show at Glasgow University on 20 March 1981. Steve Priest had already relocated to the US and the original Sweet had effectively disbanded by mid 1981. The album "Identity Crisis", was released late during 1982. With no band to promote it, Polydor carefully released it only in West Germany and Mexico.

Re-formed Version [link]

In 1985, Scott and Tucker re-formed the Sweet, with new players, singer Paul Day (of Iron Maiden, More, 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, Brian Connolly had in early 1984 also formed his own version of the Sweet, but without any other of the original members.

Singer Paul Mario Day ended up marrying the band's Australian tour guide and relocating to Australia. He continued with Sweet for a bit, commuting back and 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.

Brief reunions and the deaths of Brian Connolly and Mick Tucker [link]

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 and physical health had made Sweet's original member comeback too difficult to promote commercially. Consequently, the reunion attempt was aborted.^[3]

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 on 9 February 1997 from liver failure and repeated heart attacks, attributed to his earlier 1970s and early 1980s chronic drinking. Mick Tucker subsequently died on 14 February 2002 from leukaemia, aged 54.

Recent years [link]

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 released a two-disc, career-spanning greatest hits album called Action: The Sweet Anthology.^[4] It received a coveted four-star (out of five) rating in Rolling Stone.^[5]

Band member timeline [link]

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 at:01/08/1970 color:black layer:back
 at:23/02/1979 color:black layer:back
 at:30/06/1981 color:black layer:back

</timeline>

Discography [link]

Main article: Sweet discography

References [link]

^ Top of the Pops, January 1973 - see YouTube
^ Gibson, Mark (5 September 2007). "Australian Singles Chart For 1975". Australian Music History. http://www.australianmusichistory.com/australian-singles-chart-for-1975/. Retrieved 29 November 2010.
^ David Cavanagh (23 September 2010). "Glam rock bottom: why did it go so sour for Sweet?". The Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2010/sep/23/sweet-strange-history. Retrieved 8 October 2010.
^ "Action: The Sweet Anthology". Shout! Factory. http://www.shoutfactorystore.com/prod.aspx?pfid=5257013. Retrieved 16 April 2009.
^ "Rolling Stone Magazine". http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/sweet/albums/album/26654991/review/26749750/action_the_sweet_anthology. Retrieved 7 September 2009.

Ain't That Just Like Me- The Unsung Story of Wainwright's Gentlemen, Mark Lay (2011, Scribe, ISBN 5800072530987)

External links [link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Sweet (band)

v t e Sweet

Brian Connolly Andy Scott Steve Priest Mick Tucker Frank Torpey Mick Stewart

Studio albums	Funny How Sweet Co-Co Can Be Sweet Fanny Adams Desolation Boulevard Give Us a Wink Off the Record Level Headed Cut Above the Rest Waters Edge Identity Crisis

Live albums	Strung Up Live in Denmark 1976 Live at the Rainbow 1973

Compilation albums	Gimme Dat Ding The Sweet's Biggest Hits The Sweet The Sweet Singles Album Strung Up The Golden Greats The Ballroom Blitz & More Sweet Hits Action: The Sweet Anthology

Related articles	Discography

Category:Sweet

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Playlist

Film Summary

Sweet Filmography

Sweet, Will Filmography

Sweet Filmography

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Contents

History [link]

Origins [link]

Early years [link]

New line-up and new record deal [link]

First album appearance [link]

International success [link]

Forming a new image [link]

[edit] Desolation Boulevard

Writing and producing their own material [link]

[edit] The Sweet Singles Album and Strung Up

Decline in popularity [link]

Split from RCA, Joining Polydor and a change in style [link]

Departure of Brian Connolly [link]

Three piece Sweet [link]

Re-formed Version [link]

Brief reunions and the deaths of Brian Connolly and Mick Tucker [link]

Recent years [link]

Band member timeline [link]

Discography [link]

References [link]

External links [link]

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