The Sweet

Sweet
The Sweet posing in flamboyant matching costumes
Sweet in the mid-1970s. Left to right: Steve Priest, Brian Connolly, Andy Scott, Mick Tucker.
Background information
Also known asThe Sweetshop[1]
OriginLondon, England
Genres
Years active
  • 1968 (1968)–1982 (1982)
  • 1985 (1985)–present
Labels
Spinoffs
  • Andy Scott's Sweet
  • Brian Connolly's Sweet
  • Steve Priest's Sweet
  • New Sweet
MembersAndy Scott's Sweet:
Andy Scott
Paul Manzi
Lee Small
Tom Cory
Adam Booth
Past membersBrian Connolly
Steve Priest
Mick Tucker
Frank Torpey
Mick Stewart
Paul Day
Phil Lanzon
Mal McNulty
Jeff Brown
Steve Mann
Bodo Schopf
Chad Brown
Steve Grant
Tony O’Hora
Peter Lincoln
Bruce Bisland
Website

Sweet (known as The Sweet until the early 1970s[1]) are a British glam rock band who rose to prominence in the 1970s. Their best-known line-up consisted of lead vocalist Brian Connolly, bassist Steve Priest, guitarist Andy Scott and drummer Mick Tucker.

The band formed in London in 1968, originally with the name the Sweetshop, 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 showed a marked progression, from the Archies-like bubblegum style of "Funny, Funny" to a Who-influenced hard rock style, supplemented by a use of high-pitched backing vocals.

The band achieved success in the UK charts during the 1970, having thirteen Top 20 hits, with "Block Buster!" (1973) topping the chart, followed by three consecutive number-two hits: "Hell Raiser" (1973), "The Ballroom Blitz" (1973) and "Teenage Rampage" (1974). The band turned to a more hard rock style with their mid-career singles, such as 1974's "Turn It Down". "Fox on the Run" (1975) also reached number two on the UK chart. The band were popular in West Germany and other countries on the European mainland.[citation needed] The group achieved success in the US with the top ten hits "Little Willy", "The Ballroom Blitz", "Fox on the Run", and "Love is Like Oxygen".

Sweet had their last international success in 1978 with "Love Is Like Oxygen". Connolly left the group in 1979 to start a solo career, and the remaining members continued as a trio until they disbanded in 1981. From the mid-1980s, Scott, Connolly and Priest each played with their own versions of Sweet at different times. Connolly died in 1997, Tucker in 2002 and Priest in 2020. Andy Scott is still active with his version of the band. Sweet have sold over 35 million albums worldwide.

  1. ^ a b "Sweet | Biography & History". AllMusic. Retrieved 20 May 2021.

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