The Sweet - A Cut Above The Rest
In November 2004, as part of the liner notes for the first of the remastered CD albums by British rock band The Sweet, guitarist Andy Scott wrote that the group went "...through many musical styles, from pure pop, through glam rock to progressive rock. I cannot think of another band achieving this and it makes me proud."
He should be proud of the musical legacy left by The Sweet and he's got a point.
Once the classic line-up was established in 1971 every Sweet release (whether album or single) over the next decade had something to offer and they were a band that dipped their toes in many musical waters.
Yet as regards Andy Scott's "musical styles" comment I find it a little inaccurate, but I'll come back to that towards the end of this article.
The band started life as The Sweetshop in 1968 featuring singer Brian Connolly, bass player Steve Priest, drummer Mick Tucker and guitarist Frank Torpey.
The band soon became The Sweet, with Mick Stewart replacing Torpey in 1969.
Their first four pop orientated singles didn't chart, but two significant moves in the latter half of 1970 meant a dramatic change in their fortunes was just around the corner.
First Andy Scott replaced Stewart, then the band got into bed with a new up and coming song writing team, Nicky Chinn and Mike Chapman.
Those two moves meant The Sweet smell of success was soon in the air(waves).
Funny Funny (1971)
In November 2004, as part of the liner notes for the first of the remastered CD albums by British rock band The Sweet, guitarist Andy Scott wrote that the group went "...through many musical styles, from pure pop, through glam rock to progressive rock. I cannot think of another band achieving this and it makes me proud."
He should be proud of the musical legacy left by The Sweet and he's got a point.
Once the classic line-up was established in 1971 every Sweet release (whether album or single) over the next decade had something to offer and they were a band that dipped their toes in many musical waters.
Yet as regards Andy Scott's "musical styles" comment I find it a little inaccurate, but I'll come back to that towards the end of this article.
The band started life as The Sweetshop in 1968 featuring singer Brian Connolly, bass player Steve Priest, drummer Mick Tucker and guitarist Frank Torpey.
The band soon became The Sweet, with Mick Stewart replacing Torpey in 1969.
Their first four pop orientated singles didn't chart, but two significant moves in the latter half of 1970 meant a dramatic change in their fortunes was just around the corner.
First Andy Scott replaced Stewart, then the band got into bed with a new up and coming song writing team, Nicky Chinn and Mike Chapman.
Those two moves meant The Sweet smell of success was soon in the air(waves).
Funny Funny (1971)
Chinn and Chapman became a formidable duo in the '70s, going on to write hugely successful hard pop and glam rock hits for many artists including The Sweet, Mud, Suzie Quatro and Smokie. But, ironically, The Sweet's relationship with the songwriters that put them on the musical map also became their Achilles Heel...
Although charting with 'Funny Funny' in 1971, which started a run of 15 hit singles in the UK over the next five years (including a #1 with 'Blockbuster' and six others making the Top 5), the word on the street was The Sweet were just a singles and glam band directed by the Chinnichap brand and not to be taken seriously.
In relation to their career in the early '70s the Chinnichap and glam labels are entirely accurate, but as regards the latter comment nothing could be further from the truth.
While contemporaries such as Slade were taken seriously (writing their own material, known as a genuinely hard working rock band, a great live act and producing albums that were as successful as the glam-based singles), The Sweet were seen as just a singles act.
Other than a mini-recovery in 1978 on the back of their classic 'Love is Like Oxygen' they were almost forgotten or, more accurately, ignored in their own country after that glam-tastic run circa 1972-74.
To be fair some of it was of their own making.
The band were tied to the Chinnichap team too long (they would eventually part during 1974) and they played on the glam image to such a degree (extravagant outfits, lipstick and effeminate posturing, particularly from Priest) that they had a difficult time shaking that image off in the UK. Even years after the event.
Although charting with 'Funny Funny' in 1971, which started a run of 15 hit singles in the UK over the next five years (including a #1 with 'Blockbuster' and six others making the Top 5), the word on the street was The Sweet were just a singles and glam band directed by the Chinnichap brand and not to be taken seriously.
In relation to their career in the early '70s the Chinnichap and glam labels are entirely accurate, but as regards the latter comment nothing could be further from the truth.
While contemporaries such as Slade were taken seriously (writing their own material, known as a genuinely hard working rock band, a great live act and producing albums that were as successful as the glam-based singles), The Sweet were seen as just a singles act.
Other than a mini-recovery in 1978 on the back of their classic 'Love is Like Oxygen' they were almost forgotten or, more accurately, ignored in their own country after that glam-tastic run circa 1972-74.
To be fair some of it was of their own making.
The band were tied to the Chinnichap team too long (they would eventually part during 1974) and they played on the glam image to such a degree (extravagant outfits, lipstick and effeminate posturing, particularly from Priest) that they had a difficult time shaking that image off in the UK. Even years after the event.
The Sweet 1971-1973: From Pure Popsters to Ballroom Blitzers of Glam
Outside of the UK however they were highly successful throughout their career. Germany was a stronghold as were parts of Scandinavia and the States and there was a huge fanbase in Japan in the mid '70s.
And outside of the (admittedly great) glam singles there was some seriously solid musicianship and song writing to be heard, especially on the B-sides of the hit singles and their subsequent studio albums.
The flip sides of those Chinn-Chapman singles always featured self penned tunes, usually heavy rock numbers, and their 1974 album Sweet Fanny Adams is still, quite rightly, hailed as a hard rock tour-de-force, featuring guitar orientated burners, heavy melodic rock, and a little rock and roll.
Set Me Free (from Sweet Fanny Adams 1974)
Outside of the UK however they were highly successful throughout their career. Germany was a stronghold as were parts of Scandinavia and the States and there was a huge fanbase in Japan in the mid '70s.
And outside of the (admittedly great) glam singles there was some seriously solid musicianship and song writing to be heard, especially on the B-sides of the hit singles and their subsequent studio albums.
The flip sides of those Chinn-Chapman singles always featured self penned tunes, usually heavy rock numbers, and their 1974 album Sweet Fanny Adams is still, quite rightly, hailed as a hard rock tour-de-force, featuring guitar orientated burners, heavy melodic rock, and a little rock and roll.
Set Me Free (from Sweet Fanny Adams 1974)
The Sweet were truly great musicians and Mick Tucker was a superb drummer (but sorely under-rated). Each individual could also sing and would take lead vocals. Their two and three part backing vocals and vocal harmonies were some of the finest by any rock band and clearly an influence on acts such as Queen and their own vocal arrangements.
Indeed for all the negativity from some quarters they were a huge influence on many bands who followed, Def Leppard being one such notable.
They were also, for the most part, a great live act, with the likes of Ritchie Blackmore appearing with the band on stage (in Santa Monica in 1976, performing 'All Right Now' in tribute to Paul Kossoff who had died the week before).
I state "for the most part" because once drugs took hold (which they openly but regretfully admitted to) their performances were certainly less tight at times, especially in the vocal department.
And therein lies the greatest tragedy of The Sweet story...
I have written often of not treating musicians or artists as heroes or idols as they are no more or less than you and I, but as a young fan or early teenager you do tend to have a different perspective.
I was a fan of not just Brian Connolly the singer, but Brian Connolly the individual. To this (then) young fan he was cool. I wanted to be like him, sing like him and wear the same t-shirts (as did many others).
The girl fans were taken by his looks as well as his voice and wanted to marry him, but they were also annoyed that he was blessed with blond hair that no man should possess.
Andy Scott would later say that he thought Connolly's next step would have been the movies, but it wasn't to be, as the front man would later become more comfortable stepping towards his next drink than stepping towards his microphone.
Alcoholism was his downfall and he became so unreliable that he was dropped from the band in 1979. His later solo career never amounted to anything of note.
Mother Earth (from Cut Above the Rest 1979)
Indeed for all the negativity from some quarters they were a huge influence on many bands who followed, Def Leppard being one such notable.
They were also, for the most part, a great live act, with the likes of Ritchie Blackmore appearing with the band on stage (in Santa Monica in 1976, performing 'All Right Now' in tribute to Paul Kossoff who had died the week before).
I state "for the most part" because once drugs took hold (which they openly but regretfully admitted to) their performances were certainly less tight at times, especially in the vocal department.
And therein lies the greatest tragedy of The Sweet story...
I have written often of not treating musicians or artists as heroes or idols as they are no more or less than you and I, but as a young fan or early teenager you do tend to have a different perspective.
I was a fan of not just Brian Connolly the singer, but Brian Connolly the individual. To this (then) young fan he was cool. I wanted to be like him, sing like him and wear the same t-shirts (as did many others).
The girl fans were taken by his looks as well as his voice and wanted to marry him, but they were also annoyed that he was blessed with blond hair that no man should possess.
Andy Scott would later say that he thought Connolly's next step would have been the movies, but it wasn't to be, as the front man would later become more comfortable stepping towards his next drink than stepping towards his microphone.
Alcoholism was his downfall and he became so unreliable that he was dropped from the band in 1979. His later solo career never amounted to anything of note.
Mother Earth (from Cut Above the Rest 1979)
A possible full reunion ended before it started in 1988 when it was evident that Connolly could not deliver consistently or strongly enough vocally (as evident on the demos of 'Action' and 'Ballroom Blitz' recorded that year in Los Angeles).
The front man later toured as the New Sweet then Brian Connolly's Sweet and although he would later down tools on the drinking the physical and vocal damage was done. By the mid '90s he was a shadow of his former self.
Brian Connolly died in 1997 from liver failure and repeated heart attacks, due primarily to the damage caused by the chronic alcoholism of the past.
The band continued post-Connolly for three years and three albums before calling it a day in 1981 due to diminishing returns.
Their last album, Identity Crisis, was not released until 1982 by Polydor and then only in Germany, still a stronghold to the end.
The front man later toured as the New Sweet then Brian Connolly's Sweet and although he would later down tools on the drinking the physical and vocal damage was done. By the mid '90s he was a shadow of his former self.
Brian Connolly died in 1997 from liver failure and repeated heart attacks, due primarily to the damage caused by the chronic alcoholism of the past.
The band continued post-Connolly for three years and three albums before calling it a day in 1981 due to diminishing returns.
Their last album, Identity Crisis, was not released until 1982 by Polydor and then only in Germany, still a stronghold to the end.
Brian Connolly in healthier and happier days. The Sweet continued as a
a trio post-Connolly and Identity Crisis was their final hard rock hurrah.
As was to be expected, many versions or variations of The Sweet later formed, with Andy Scott's Sweet having most longevity.
Formed in 1985 and still performing twenty-five years later, the band originally featured Mick Tucker (who left in 1991), but have had well over a dozen musicians in their ranks since that time, with Scott the only constant.
In 2002 Mick Tucker sadly died from leukemia.
In 2008, Steve Priest, having relocated to America in the 1980s, formed Steve Priest's Sweet.
I fully understand the need or wish to go out and perform those great Sweet songs as Scott and more lately Priest have done.
I also appreciate there is a new audience for such classic bands/ songs in this re-imagined and retro-rock resurgent musical world.
But for me The Sweet will always be that original decade covering the classic four-piece line-up and the post-Connolly trio. And the back catalogue legacy that incorporated so many styles of music, so solidly.
a trio post-Connolly and Identity Crisis was their final hard rock hurrah.
As was to be expected, many versions or variations of The Sweet later formed, with Andy Scott's Sweet having most longevity.
Formed in 1985 and still performing twenty-five years later, the band originally featured Mick Tucker (who left in 1991), but have had well over a dozen musicians in their ranks since that time, with Scott the only constant.
In 2002 Mick Tucker sadly died from leukemia.
In 2008, Steve Priest, having relocated to America in the 1980s, formed Steve Priest's Sweet.
I fully understand the need or wish to go out and perform those great Sweet songs as Scott and more lately Priest have done.
I also appreciate there is a new audience for such classic bands/ songs in this re-imagined and retro-rock resurgent musical world.
But for me The Sweet will always be that original decade covering the classic four-piece line-up and the post-Connolly trio. And the back catalogue legacy that incorporated so many styles of music, so solidly.
The Sweet 1974-1978: Heavy Rock with Harmonies to AOR Progressives.
I mentioned at the top of this article that I disagreed with Andy Scott's summary of their musical diversity... but that's only because he missed a couple.
The Sweet were also rock balladeers (from the the beautifully simple 'You're Not Wrong for Loving Me' to later pieces such as 'Laura Lee' and 'Lady of the Lake'), quality heavy rock exponents and melodic AOR merchants.
And they did them all pretty damn successfully, no matter what their UK sales charts and statistics may indicate.
Laura Lee (from Off the Record 1977)
The Sweet were also rock balladeers (from the the beautifully simple 'You're Not Wrong for Loving Me' to later pieces such as 'Laura Lee' and 'Lady of the Lake'), quality heavy rock exponents and melodic AOR merchants.
And they did them all pretty damn successfully, no matter what their UK sales charts and statistics may indicate.
Laura Lee (from Off the Record 1977)
But the glam period coupled with the Chinn and Chapman partnership produced their greatest successes and we shouldn't forget that together they created some of the finest glam rock ever heard.
'Ballroom Blitz' and 'Hellraiser' are two excellent and definitive examples.
Yet those songs were not their finest musical moments together and Andy Scott has stated many times he believes 'The Six Teens' to be the best song ever written by Chinn and Chapman.
I certainly don't disagree and it's therefore fitting it's probably the finest four minutes of The Sweet's career.
The Six Teens (from Desolation Boulevard 1974)
'Ballroom Blitz' and 'Hellraiser' are two excellent and definitive examples.
Yet those songs were not their finest musical moments together and Andy Scott has stated many times he believes 'The Six Teens' to be the best song ever written by Chinn and Chapman.
I certainly don't disagree and it's therefore fitting it's probably the finest four minutes of The Sweet's career.
The Six Teens (from Desolation Boulevard 1974)
It's also fitting that one of their albums was entitled Cut Above the Rest.
Because, at one time, they truly were.
Ross Muir
August 2010
Article dedicated to the memory of Brian Francis Connolly and Michael Thomas Tucker, who continue to "light the faded light."
The audio tracks are presented to accompany the above article and to promote the work of the artist/s. No infringement of copyright is intended.
Brian Connolly photo credit: Record Collector.
Because, at one time, they truly were.
Ross Muir
August 2010
Article dedicated to the memory of Brian Francis Connolly and Michael Thomas Tucker, who continue to "light the faded light."
The audio tracks are presented to accompany the above article and to promote the work of the artist/s. No infringement of copyright is intended.
Brian Connolly photo credit: Record Collector.
