I don't know much about the Sweet

axisus · July 2023

The Sweet - the band. I was too young for them really, I 'discovered' charts music around 1977 I guess. I remember being blown away by Ballroom blitz though when I heard it. I never looked into the band though as I didn't like blokes in make-up (still don't!).

Anyway, I just had it in my head that they were maybe a slightly 'artificial' band, obviously without looking into them at all all these years, until now ....

For some reason today I was faffing around on Youtube looking at 70s music (as I'm having a bit of a 70s thing right now), and I thought I'd look up Sweet live. Well, blow me down, they were a kick ass band live! How's this for a ballsy song with attitude from 1974:

Philly_Q · July 2023

They were almost two bands at the same time, having hit singles written by Chinn and Chapman, then filling the rest of their albums with rock songs they wrote themselves. I don't think they were so great that I'd go and collect all their albums, but they were certainly a "proper" rock band.

idiotwind · July 2023

There was a TV series back in the early 2000s where Gene Simmons of Kiss taught children about rock music. I said to my dad that as far as I could tell we didn't really have Kiss over here. He replied "we didn't need Kiss, we had the Sweet". I don't think it was intended as a compliment to either band. I think about that and chuckle every time they are mentioned

springhead · July 2023

Love is like Oxygen. My favourite of theirs.

prowla · July 2023

axisus said:

The Sweet - the band. I was too young for them really, I 'discovered' charts music around 1977 I guess. I remember being blown away by Ballroom blitz though when I heard it. I never looked into the band though as I didn't like blokes in make-up (still don't!).

Anyway, I just had it in my head that they were maybe a slightly 'artificial' band, obviously without looking into them at all all these years, until now ....

For some reason today I was faffing around on Youtube looking at 70s music (as I'm having a bit of a 70s thing right now), and I thought I'd look up Sweet live. Well, blow me down, they were a kick ass band live! How's this for a ballsy song with attitude from 1974:

That was a hoot!

The band didn't take themselves too seriously, which is always a good idea.

I think the singer got badly beaten up once when a gang decided they didn't like blokes wearing makeup.

scrumhalf · July 2023

Sweet must be one of the most ripped off bands of all time.

They were the template for so many bands - falsetto backing vocals, silly costumes, catchy riffy hits.

"Alexander Graham Bell" must be one of the weirdest singles of all time.

guitars4you · July 2023

Slade, Sweet and T-Rex is what got me into music and the desire to play guitar - aged 13/14 around 1973/74 - So music of my youth, hence I've still got a soft spot for them when I hear them on the radio

Vintage65 · July 2023

The 70's were officially the worst decade in history for dancing.

Bellycaster · July 2023

Fantastic Band. Get your listening gear round this one @axisus ;

It wasn't a Single but is fantastic and quite a "heavy" track. If this don't get you pumping, nowt will

.

Reverend · July 2023

Set me free was covered by Heathen.

Burning is heavy as lead

Bellycaster · July 2023

Reverend said:

Set me free was covered by Heathen.

Burning is heavy as lead

I'll be on it this weekend.

ICBM · July 2023

springhead said:

Love is like Oxygen. My favourite of theirs.

I’ve been familiar with that song since the 1970s but only realised remarkably recently that it was the same Sweet who did Block Buster, Ballroom Blitz and Teenage Rampage.

It doesn’t sound like the same band at all.

guitars4you · July 2023

Is Sweet's Brian Connelly related to the actor who played Taggart - Mark McManus

Philly_Q · July 2023

guitars4you said:

Is Sweet's Brian Connelly related to the actor who played Taggart - Mark McManus

The Wikipedia entry sums it up nicely:

Connolly was born in 1945 in Hamilton, South Lanarkshire. His mother was a teenage waitress, Frances Connolly, who left him in a Glasgow hospital as an infant whilst he was possibly suffering from meningitis. The identity of his biological father was never made public. Connolly was fostered at the age of two by Jim and Helen McManus of Blantyre, South Lanarkshire and took their family name. After inadvertently discovering his lineage, he eventually reverted to the name Connolly. The McManuses were the family of Mark McManus, of Taggart fame. Both men perceived a resemblance between them, and supposed McManus's father to have also been Connolly's.

Offset · July 2023

Desolation Boulevard is a fab album. Live At The Marquee 1986 is good fun, and Andy Scott's Sweet came out with New York Connection (covers) and Isolation Boulevard (re-recording of DB) in 2012 and 2020 respectively. I love both. They were a great band.