The young people of today think Harry Styles & Co are something new and revolutionary. Me a a 60 year old starts laughing: Look at The Sweet, Bavid Bowie, Elton John and others from the 70s - THAT was new!
@@tonkabeanpumpkin-fh4fz And don't forget late 17th and 18th century nobleman fashion. All make-up, wigs, fine materials like velvet, vivid colours, high heels, and lots and lots of lace! Check out the movie Amadeus for some of the more flamboyant fashion of the time. Men's fashion got really boring in the Victorian era when they all started wearing black all the time.
The lead singer Brian Connelly was not wearing a wig. And he had a tragic life from childhood to his early death from alcoholism. He was known to be a humble, gentle soul.
A lovely guy who was as beautiful on the inside as on the outside. His teenage single mother did not name his father and abandoned him in hospital as a baby when he became ill. He was fostered and later adopted by the family of 'Taggart' actor, Mark McManus, who it later turned out was the family of their mutual father.
How DARE you! Kids today invented it! just ask them! Us old people do not understand them because they are SO hip. Meanwhile nothing is new under the sun.
This was part of the "Glam Rock" music style. It's theatrical metal from the '70's. People you will have heard of who went through Glam Rock are David Bowie, Queen, Slade, and Marc Bolan and T-Rex. It was a lot of glitter, long hair and makeup. However, while acting androgynous, they were mostly treated like sex idols from women at the time. The majority of them were straight. (Ziggy Stardust was Bowie's Glam Phase.)
It is 1975, I am 12 years old, I am in Year 8 (first year of High School). My bestie (Elise) and I have on our glitter eyeshadow in shades to match our eyes (green for me, blue for her). Sweet are playing at the Embassy Ballroom in Perth, Western Australia. It was my very first music concert and I thought it was the coolest thing EVER! To this very day (and I am 61 now), Ballroom Blitz is played regularly by DJs in pub gigs and parties and NOTHING will get me on the dance floor faster!
They were not ahead of their time, they were of their time. The early 70's was when bands were experimenting with the fluidity of gender stereotypes. Bowie, T Rex and many others were doing the same thing. It was the genre of "Glam Rock" and it gave birth to the Rocky Horror Show. You can hear it in the music. Their look was never pushed down anyone's throat in a demand for recognition, it was fun and they were accepted just the way they were. Some were gay, most were straight, some, like Bowie, swung both ways, sometimes only temporarily. It's all become so much more aggressive now but there's nothing new under the sun, we've seen it all before. We were more advanced in the 70's, the attitude was "live, and let live.
This was fire in the 70's, this was fire in the 80's, this was fire in the 90's and it's still fire today ! One of the greatest party songs of all time !
Your reaction made me laugh so much, thank you. The song is about what happened on January 27, 1973, The Sweet were playing at the Grand Hall (Kilmarnock, Scotland), and were driven offstage by a “bottling,” as angry fans began to throw things onto the stage. Don't feel too bad about not knowing they were guys, I can still remember my dad asking "what are they", when I first saw them on 'Countdown' (an Aussie pop show. Ahh, good old Glam Rock, confusing parents everywhere, which is why we always cranked up the sound. ;) This was always played as the second last song at the roller skating rink, I can remember as a beginner quickly getting off the rink, and letting the 'pros' handle it, there were injuries due to the fast pace. 🤣 We all quickly got back onto the rink for the final song, 'Nutbush City Limits', such fun, great times. 🤩 Cheers, from Australia 🐨🦘
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.
We did the whole AMAZING glam rock thing, with men in make up, glitter and long hair, while STILL knowing exactly what a women is. And NOBODY had a problem with it. Definitely put this on to get the party started 🤩🤩🤩
That’s not entirely true, I remember my WW2 era family members bashing many, KISS was evil to them. I also remember, quite distinctly, not being able to get a job in the 80’s as a metal dude with long hair. I suspect it has quite a bit to do with where you were at there. Let’s just say rural, small country town Ohio wasn’t exactly open minded or tolerant. Probably still isn’t, don’t know, graduated high school and bailed. Oh, it was also incredibly racist and sexist. The shit my WW2 era uncles would spew was quite vile.
@@Imathomeboredlol. I had such awesome hair in the 80’s, more than one gf did my hair before a show, don’t think I ever bought my own hairspray. 😂 2020 I decided to grow it out again, and I must say, it’s really a pain in the ass!
@@Imathomebored. That brings back memories! I was dating my husband at the time and he had the most glorious hair. Very straight, very thick and jet black. I got used to him getting all the attention!!
I'm a 70yr old Brit, I loved this band, They were one of the Original Glam Rock groups(before your American Prog Rock)The idea about are they aren't they, was to mess with your parents heads, a rebel song, @ about 5yrs later their was a Brit Disco song called, "somebodies going to get, their head kicked in tonight"
Just four straight guys in a "Glam-Rock" band. The costumes and makeup were simply show business props for that era. The hair?... well, it was the early 70s
I went and saw him with The Sweet about 14 yrs ago in Australia. He was the only original member left but it was still a good show. I still have my Fox on the Run single from 1975, loved that band as a teen.
Im British.. this was the70’s .. a game changer when boys started wearing makeup, it was rock n roll on a different level.. people where free to express themselves..think u need to understand what the word blitz means, they smashed it!!😊😊💕
The judgments and racism of today's era were non existent in the70's. We had FUN with our music, loving, laughing, crying, dying, daydreaming... you name it and there was a song for it.
I'm the youngster here only in my fifties but I remember this era fondly zero f*ck were given you wanted if you wanted to dress like a 50's scifi rock god go for it, but you wanted to wear a tux and crooning no problem. hope you ready for a get of my lawn cranky old man rant, people these days need to chill the hell out stop taking everything so seriously. And before anyone jumps on me I may wear glasses but they aren't rose tinted there were thing back then that weren't good but I don't know if its really better now
"Ballroom Blitz" was inspired by an incident at a concert in Scotland when the band was booed and pelted with bottles, and reached the top of the charts in Canada and Australia, and the top five in the UK and the US.
I don't know if they were booed and pelted with stuff, but it certainly was in Scotland. The Grand Hall of the Palace Theatre in Kilmarnock, in fact, back in 1973. 🙏
You are so right. I think we had an open mind and really didn't give a Frick, just enjoyed it. Glam Rock was big in the early 1970s and it started with T. REX. When I was 12/13 my wall over the bed was full with all different Glam Rock posters.
I remember being more shocked when Freddy Mercury changed his look for a more muscular look, I was about 9 and I remember shouting to my Dad in another room come look at Freddy Mercury!
If you're my age (almost 60) & from the UK, this song (& Sweet generally) is pretty much inseperable from memories of your childhood. For some of us the best examples of glam rock were what prepared our ears for punk when it arrived a few years later. It was pretty much punk, punk & more punk for me from 1977 to 1980, but I never forgot those early 70s glam jukebox singles. I still have all of them. Tangible memories of childhood that you can hold in your hand & let them take you back. Over 50 years ago now. The oldest things I own.
It’s called Glam Rock! It’s a genre from the 70s. Outrageous Costumes, makeup, and theatrics are what it’s about … there’s also Glam Metal…such as Twisted Sister
My dad used to be a bodyguard for The Sweet and other British bands back in the 70s and 80s. Got loads of cool photos and stories from The Sweet, Phil Collins, Mud, you name it. Crazy days back then. This was called The Glam Rock era btw. 70s.
💯!! That's probably why he's equating it to Halloween. That's when they play Rocky Horror and everyone gets all dressed up and brings their props. They used to anyway 😂
I remember the old wooden floored skating rink in the '70s. Someone would play this song on the jukebox and suddenly everyone in the place was on their feet and skating/dancing around the room.
I am this old: I was the winner of that Sweet vinyl album. I called into a radio station and was the winner! Love this reaction - it brought back some great memories. The 70s were a different animal, that's for sure.
I'm a 70s kid. This is THE song that epitomizes my youth. Saturday morning bowling alley, jukebox, billiard room and wall of pinball machines. This song blaring from the jukebox. Yes!
Sweet were regarded as "Glam", along with acts such as Slade, T-Rex, Roxy Music, Gary Glitter, Mud etc. They played some of the best pop/rock of the day and their hits were extensive. Do more Sweet.
First production of the Rocky Horror Show (stage version) was 1973. So they were contemporaries, both out of the UK. The movie happened in 1975. The UK has a relatively long tradition of men/boys cross-dressing on stage, from Shakespeare (when women weren't allowed to act so men did female roles) to pantomimes for kids where there was usually an older female character played by a male. The Kenny Everett show in the 70s/80s on TV & others. (In Australia, Aunty Jack). The US always was a bit more uptight about those things.
The song was inspired by an incident in Jan 1973. Sweet was performing at the Grand Hall in Kilmarnock,Scotland. The band was driven offstage by what's called "bottling" or when the audience is so angry they throw things at the stage.
@@theodoreritola7641 What part of smoke on the water sounds like ballroom blitz to you? Two totally different songs tempo wise sound wise and feeling? Not knocking what you're saying, just curious to see what makes you say it reminds you of it?
In 1974, The lead singer Brian Connolly was badly beaten after leaving a nightclub in Staines where he received several kicks to his throat resulting in him being unable to sing for some time and permanently losing some of his previously wide vocal range. You're right BP hate always has something to do with it. Is it really that much better today? Sadly, It really depends on who you ask.
It's an energy song. Whether you need a boost when you're tired, depressed, partying, exercising...this kind of song is what you play. What they look like doesn't matter. What the song means doesn't matter. The only thing that matters is the energy. Some songs are like that.
Sweet were a working class band. They were navvies and factory workers and, despite the glam rock androgeny, these were the guys that the young men in the clubs were getting together to mosh pit and headbang to. They certainly weren't Prog. The Prog snobs at the time were turning up their noses at these guys. They were pretty unique in their way. Suzie Quatro had similar energy and maybe Mark Bolan and T-Rex. Glam rock was a wildly creative genre.
@@digitig Prog snobbery was definitely a big thing at my school, but we were out in the sticks so we didn't have access to Saturday night discos. West Cumbria in the 70s was so backwards that we didn't get Punk until 2 years after everyone else. We also had a lot of leftover Hippies. My music tastes are about the same as those of someone born three or four years earlier.
In America, "Ballroom Blitz" was the second hit for Sweet, following "Little Willy." They had more success and notoriety in their native UK, where their outlandish lyrics caused some controversy. In America they were more of a curiosity, delivering fun, relatively mindless entertainment. The band members do a roll call at the beginning of Ballroom Blitz, which is a great way to introduce themselves to listeners. Lead singer Brian Connolly asks: Are you ready Steve? (bass player Steve Priest), Andy? (guitarist Andy Scott), Mick? (drummer Mick Tucker).
Background. "The Ballroom Blitz" was inspired by an incident on 27 January 1973 when the band were performing at the Grand Hall in Kilmarnock, Scotland, and were driven offstage by a bottling. Also the word blitz were used during 2ond war world about the bombing in London.
They're glam rock. It came out of the UK in the 70s. They are all men. Think early David Bowie, Queen, T Rex, Mott the Hoople and even Kiss fall into that genre. All great bands. I'm not sure if you've watched any early stuff from those bands but you need to. Lol
First of all they are all guys. They formed in London UK in 1968. In the 1970's they had 13 top 20 hits in the UK singles charts. The only surviving member of the band is the lead guitarist Andy Scott. He still tours with a band.
I was born in the Scottish town of Kilmarnock where the Ballroom Blitz took place. It really happened and the boys took their bottle pelted selves back south to London and wrote this song. Killie takes no prisoners.
@@punkpopnotdead You do realize Chinn and Chapman were inspired by what happened to the band in Scotland and wrote this song for them. It's definitely not rubbish, unlike your post.
@@timmarshall2491[the boys took their bottle pelted selves back south to London and wrote this song] is rubbish they only wrote 2 good songs at the end of there time
This is the height of rock that brought grunge and eventually metal on the scene. This was and is peak owning yourself. And when I tell you the ladies love the makeup...🥵
“In 1974, Connolly was badly beaten after leaving a nightclub in Staines where he received several kicks to his throat resulting in his being unable to sing for some time and permanently losing some of his previously wide vocal range.”
This was the 70s its called glam rock the Sweet were one of the best groups around. We no longer have Brian the singer Mick the drummer and Steve the guitar player waring the big collar with us Andy playing the other guitar is now 75 years old and still playing gigs with his new band still called the Sweet, who I am going to see in concert again in Dec 2024.
I saw Wayne's World in the cinema at least 5 times in 1992, ..., it was just great! All the hidden references, great! Until NOW I always thought the song was by Tia Carrere. Well I was wrong, thanks Black Pegasus. Greetings from Switzerland.
I was madly in love with Brian Connolly (blond in red) and wouldn’t have said no 😂😂. This was glam rock. Brian died in the next town to where I lived after repeated heart attacks. He was abandoned when he was young and adopted by a family who had a son called mark McManus who went on to be the main person in a Scottish tv program called Taggart. Mark died of alcohol problems.
This is what gave rise to the glam metal of the 80s. Steve Priest, the bassist, was a badass and the drummer, Mick Tucker was killing it. The ladies loved The Sweet in the day. I like their song Blockbuster, and also Love Is Like Oxygen. Fox on the Run is pretty wild. All four of them are amazing singers.
This song came out around 1973/4. We didn't use the terminology "fire" back then, but it really was. And no they were not crossdressers. They were part of the rock genre known as Glam Rock, mostly started by David Bowie and Marc Bolin (T. Rex) and others. Sweet has had a good many great songs before and after this great big hit. Songs to consider checking out include "Little Willy", "Wig Wam Bam", "Fox On The Run" and "Love Is Like Oxygen".
"The Ballroom Blitz" (often called "Ballroom Blitz") is a song by British glam rock band The Sweet, written by Nicky Chinn and Mike Chapman. The song reached number one in Canada, number two in the UK Singles Chart and the Australian Chart, and number five on the US Billboard Hot 100. "The Ballroom Blitz" was inspired by an incident on 27 January 1973 when the band were performing at the Grand Hall in Kilmarnock, Scotland, and were driven offstage by a bottling. Brian Connolly - lead vocals Steve Priest - bass guitar, backing vocals Andy Scott - guitar, backing vocals Mick Tucker - drums, backing vocals Year-end charts Chart (1973) Rank UK 17 Chart (1974) Rank Australia (Kent Music Report) 9 Chart (1975) Rank Canada 22 US Billboard Hot 100 16
They were awesome, listened to them all the time when I was at high school and I'm in my 60s now, thats how long ago these guys played. December 1974 this was released I was 14 years old me and my friends played it so loud, loved it!
Sweet were at the top through the glam rock era, massively popular in the UK and Europe and here too in Australia. Many line up changes due the the sad passing of every member except Andy. They'll be back in Australia again later this year.
I met the sweet many many years ago I’m 72 but if you like this I recommend you listen to Suzi Quattro she was an American singer songwriter she had a lot of hits early 70s here in the UK she’s fire 🔥 also .
Suzi's first record came out in '65, with The Pleasure Seekers. Suzi sang lead on the b-side, a song that celebrates the joys of underage drinking. I think that she was about 15 at that time.
GLAM ROCK.. Everyone had long hair in the 70's (myself included).. GOTTA check out "Love is Like Oxygen".. "Action".. "Fox on the Run".. Ballroom Blitz was HUGE HIT in 70's.. Luvit!
Dude, glad you enjoyed it. Good music is timeless. Sweet were one of the biggest bands in the UK in the 1970s. Their contemporaries were Slade, Mud, Marc Bolan and T Rex, David Bowie in his Ziggy Stardust period, early Queen, Led Zeppelin, The Who, Deep Purple, Pink Floyd etc. They were one of the progenitors of the Glam-Rock era. They were all totally straight guys, glam rockers just wore a lot of makeup and were kind of androgynous. It was a fashion back then. The point is that they were a really tight rock band who created some great tunes and were very talented musicians. Remember, no auto tune or synthetic music back in those days. These guys could play!
The Sweet were Glam Rockers. Glam rock is a style of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom in the early 1970s and was performed by male musicians who wore flamboyant and feminine clothing, makeup, and hairstyles, particularly platform shoes and glitter, and female musicians who wore masculine clothing.
@@patriciakern-butler732 NYD formed in 71, i think... They still borrowed their style from the UK, where glam originated in the late 60's... NYD, Stooges and The Ramones invented punk, though: Even though the UK usually gets the credit.
A Ballroom Blitz was a riot of fight in a concert. This was done in the day before every single had a music video. The videos were done to introduce the group to DJs. or they came from appearances on TV shows. They were what became known as Glam Rock or Hair Rock.
So loved this group in the 70s. They were glam rock. You can't sit still, listening to this group. 1970s. The lead singer died not long ago. Amazing time in the UK.
Early 70s - celebrating end of exams - a group of us went to a local nightclub. I'd never even heard of the sweet at the time and to be honest i was a little surprised by the groups dress sense but when they started to perform - fantastic.
The Sweet were a group that started the Glam Rock Style. They wanted to be different and Steve started the show by walking passed a shoe shop and saw a pair of shimmering purple platform boots for women, the shoe shop was owned by a family friend and said he would like a pair like them. A pair was specially made for him. The others in the band liked them and decided to trawl women’s boutiques and brought wild clothing, they painted one hand with black nail varnish. This was the start of the movement which also had Elton John, Marc Bolan, Slade etc in it. It was a fun era. Just like Lord Sutch sort of started Shock Rock which Alice Cooper is part of in the 1960’s. Glam Rock was a sort of Shock Rock of the 1970’s. Ballroom Blitz is one of my top 10 songs.
Sweet were part of the Glam Rock movement which was extremely important in Britain. So many great bands and icons emerged during this period eg Roxy Music. Marc Bolan and T Rex were amazing before his very sad passing 😢 Slade and Wizard are still permanent fixtures at Christmas. There was someone else who was very popular too but we don't mention his name now after his horrible crimes ✖️
LOL. Yes, I was about to mention him... but held back. LOL. Cheers.
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In the UK the biggest music show on TV was "Top of the Pops" on the BBC. The show had an all girl dance troupe called "Pans People" who were the height of glamour. Apparently, their dressing room in the TV studio was behind the make up room for the artists, therefore the longer you sat in the makeup chair, the more opportunities you had to "get off with" one of Pan's People. This is supposedly the origin of "Glam rock" in the early '70's
UK 1973. This always takes me back to the waltzers at the local fair. The Sweet's genre is Glam Rock and they're dudes. This song is one of my favourites.
"Ballroom Blitz" was written by Nicky Chinn and Mike Chapman, who wrote many of the biggest glam rock hits. They also wrote Sweet's "Blockbuster," Suzi Quatro's "Devil Gate Drive" and Tony Basil's "Mickey."
You're overthinking their gender. The answer is in the first 30 seconds of the video: "You ready, Steve? Andy? Mick? All right, fellas...."
He sounds like my dad who was born 1923 😂
Thank you for stating this.
B.P. does this too much to the point that he takes the fun out of enjoying the experience.
I know it was all male, but at first glance, the resemblance was uncanny. Steve looked like Karen Carpenter .
Spot on.
The song depicts a real life event that actually happened. This was the era of Glam Rock the men wore make-up and famine clothing.
The young people of today think Harry Styles & Co are something new and revolutionary. Me a a 60 year old starts laughing: Look at The Sweet, Bavid Bowie, Elton John and others from the 70s - THAT was new!
Liberace in the 1950s. 🙂
@@tonkabeanpumpkin-fh4fz And don't forget late 17th and 18th century nobleman fashion. All make-up, wigs, fine materials like velvet, vivid colours, high heels, and lots and lots of lace! Check out the movie Amadeus for some of the more flamboyant fashion of the time. Men's fashion got really boring in the Victorian era when they all started wearing black all the time.
Has he ever done an elton john song? Now there's a rabbit hole!
Little Richard
Gary Glitter
Being of that era, I didn't know anyone who was confused. We all knew they were blokes, and us girls loved them.
absolutely. No confusion at all.
Oh yes ❤❤❤
The lead singer Brian Connelly was not wearing a wig. And he had a tragic life from childhood to his early death from alcoholism. He was known to be a humble, gentle soul.
A lovely guy who was as beautiful on the inside as on the outside.
His teenage single mother did not name his father and abandoned him in hospital as a baby when he became ill. He was fostered and later adopted by the family of 'Taggart' actor, Mark McManus, who it later turned out was the family of their mutual father.
crying shame about brian
Androgyny was the flavor of the day in the early 70s
Yep and that was absolutely fine.
How DARE you! Kids today invented it! just ask them! Us old people do not understand them because they are SO hip. Meanwhile nothing is new under the sun.
It's called 'Glam Rock'.
It was the era when David Bowie first gained popularity when he dressed androgynously.
Yep, and we all STILL knew what a women was.
This was part of the "Glam Rock" music style. It's theatrical metal from the '70's. People you will have heard of who went through Glam Rock are David Bowie, Queen, Slade, and Marc Bolan and T-Rex. It was a lot of glitter, long hair and makeup. However, while acting androgynous, they were mostly treated like sex idols from women at the time. The majority of them were straight. (Ziggy Stardust was Bowie's Glam Phase.)
Glam rock was a thing for such a short time, it's not surprising he wasn't aware of it
....and not to forget early Roxy Music 🌟
Or the New York Dolls!@@pinkstarphoenix6182
I came to comment this exactly. Thanks!
Glam rock eventually spawned Hair Metal which turned into Grunge when the guys got tired of teasing their hair on tour.
It is 1975, I am 12 years old, I am in Year 8 (first year of High School). My bestie (Elise) and I have on our glitter eyeshadow in shades to match our eyes (green for me, blue for her). Sweet are playing at the Embassy Ballroom in Perth, Western Australia. It was my very first music concert and I thought it was the coolest thing EVER! To this very day (and I am 61 now), Ballroom Blitz is played regularly by DJs in pub gigs and parties and NOTHING will get me on the dance floor faster!
They were not ahead of their time, they were of their time. The early 70's was when bands were experimenting with the fluidity of gender stereotypes. Bowie, T Rex and many others were doing the same thing. It was the genre of "Glam Rock" and it gave birth to the Rocky Horror Show. You can hear it in the music.
Their look was never pushed down anyone's throat in a demand for recognition, it was fun and they were accepted just the way they were. Some were gay, most were straight, some, like Bowie, swung both ways, sometimes only temporarily. It's all become so much more aggressive now but there's nothing new under the sun, we've seen it all before. We were more advanced in the 70's, the attitude was "live, and let live.
This was fire in the 70's, this was fire in the 80's, this was fire in the 90's and it's still fire today ! One of the greatest party songs of all time !
awesome album
Damn straight, can't wait until he does Sweet FA.
My party dancing song
Always gets a party or wedding going in the uk
My mother's favorite song. Put this on and the last 50 years just disappears and she dances like a 15 year old again.
Me too.
first pop song i remember hearing! i dance like a five year old too lol
Golly, I love this song, and always have. Your mom and I can probably sing it together, word for word. 😂
Your reaction made me laugh so much, thank you.
The song is about what happened on January 27, 1973, The Sweet were playing at the Grand Hall (Kilmarnock, Scotland), and were driven offstage by a “bottling,” as angry fans began to throw things onto the stage.
Don't feel too bad about not knowing they were guys, I can still remember my dad asking "what are they", when I first saw them on 'Countdown' (an Aussie pop show.
Ahh, good old Glam Rock, confusing parents everywhere, which is why we always cranked up the sound. ;)
This was always played as the second last song at the roller skating rink, I can remember as a beginner quickly getting off the rink, and letting the 'pros' handle it, there were injuries due to the fast pace. 🤣
We all quickly got back onto the rink for the final song, 'Nutbush City Limits', such fun, great times. 🤩
Cheers, from Australia 🐨🦘
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.
We did the whole AMAZING glam rock thing, with men in make up, glitter and long hair, while STILL knowing exactly what a women is. And NOBODY had a problem with it. Definitely put this on to get the party started 🤩🤩🤩
the only problem I had was half the guys I dated had better hair than me and some of them could do makeup better.. LOL
That’s not entirely true, I remember my WW2 era family members bashing many, KISS was evil to them. I also remember, quite distinctly, not being able to get a job in the 80’s as a metal dude with long hair.
I suspect it has quite a bit to do with where you were at there. Let’s just say rural, small country town Ohio wasn’t exactly open minded or tolerant. Probably still isn’t, don’t know, graduated high school and bailed.
Oh, it was also incredibly racist and sexist. The shit my WW2 era uncles would spew was quite vile.
@@Imathomeboredlol. I had such awesome hair in the 80’s, more than one gf did my hair before a show, don’t think I ever bought my own hairspray. 😂
2020 I decided to grow it out again, and I must say, it’s really a pain in the ass!
@@Imathomebored. That brings back memories! I was dating my husband at the time and he had the most glorious hair. Very straight, very thick and jet black. I got used to him getting all the attention!!
@@c1ph3rpunkwe did the glam rock thing in the UK. This was all perfectly normal to us in the 70’s. Sounds like things in the US were very different.
This era was full of flamboyant androgynous British glam rockers like Queen, David Bowie, even Elton John.
Don't forget Marc Bolan.
Yesss Marc Bolan
And Roxy Music!
...Slade...the list goes on, LOL
and then there was the one whom we shall NOT mention.
I am just glad I lived through the 60's & 70's 2 of the most creative musical decades ever.
I'm a 70yr old Brit, I loved this band, They were one of the Original Glam Rock groups(before your American Prog Rock)The idea about are they aren't they, was to mess with your parents heads, a rebel song, @ about 5yrs later their was a Brit Disco song called, "somebodies going to get, their head kicked in tonight"
Just four straight guys in a "Glam-Rock" band. The costumes and makeup were simply show business props for that era. The hair?... well, it was the early 70s
my dad rocked hair like that into the mid 90's.
Yah, my hair was down to my shoulder blades, 1973 5th former at boys high
My hair was platinum blond back then and I had it down to my waist I actually hated it being blond
Glam rock was massive in the UK in the 70s....See Slade, Marc Bolan, 70's Queen, Wizzard, Roxy Music, Chickory Tip (and US versions like Alice Cooper)
The guitarist, Andy, is the only surviving one now. Thanks for the great music boys. RIP Brian, Mick and Steve. ❤
Before Sweet, Andy was in a group called Elastic Band, had an album in 1969. Worth checking out.
I went and saw him with The Sweet about 14 yrs ago in Australia. He was the only original member left but it was still a good show. I still have my Fox on the Run single from 1975, loved that band as a teen.
Rocky Horror Picture Show!!!!
Andy still performs with a version of Sweet
They're guys. It 's glam rock,BP. Don't overthink it, just go with and enjoy it. Sweet is pure 70's glam rock. They are 🔥.
Im British.. this was the70’s .. a game changer when boys started wearing makeup, it was rock n roll on a different level.. people where free to express themselves..think u need to understand what the word blitz means, they smashed it!!😊😊💕
It refers to a concert in Ayr where the crowd rioted and attacked the stage.
Back in the 70s here in the UK, we called this genre Glam Rock.
Next banger by sweet "Blockbuster"
Then put him away with Sweet FA
We did in the States as well.
Teenage Rampage or Fox on the Run.
The judgments and racism of today's era were non existent in the70's. We had FUN with our music, loving, laughing, crying, dying, daydreaming... you name it and there was a song for it.
I couldn't of said it better, 67 and still rocking to the seventies greatest music ever made!! ❤
I'm the youngster here only in my fifties but I remember this era fondly zero f*ck were given you wanted if you wanted to dress like a 50's scifi rock god go for it, but you wanted to wear a tux and crooning no problem.
hope you ready for a get of my lawn cranky old man rant, people these days need to chill the hell out stop taking everything so seriously.
And before anyone jumps on me I may wear glasses but they aren't rose tinted there were thing back then that weren't good but I don't know if its really better now
@@alankohn6709 Today is raffly the same, except now it is polarized.
You are SO RIGHT! In spite of Constant Wars on OUR PLANET, WE PARTIED HARD TO ENJOY MUSIC FREEDOM!
Racism non existent in the 70's??? In the words of Gang of Four, "you must be joking, oh man you must be joking"
This music makes me think where did music go wrong. There will never be music like we had in the 70's and 80's.
You are right! Never. The era is gone.
I’m a 70s girl but I think the 90s (my kids’ music) were great.
90s music is nice too!
This song has every bit of rock and roll that can be crammed into a single song. Everything!! Its the perfect rock song! Everything is there!!
"Ballroom Blitz" was inspired by an incident at a concert in Scotland when the band was booed and pelted with bottles, and reached the top of the charts in Canada and Australia, and the top five in the UK and the US.
The interview I saw said girls attacked the band members with scissors to cut locks off their hair!! Now I need to look it up!!!
I don't know if they were booed and pelted with stuff, but it certainly was in Scotland. The Grand Hall of the Palace Theatre in Kilmarnock, in fact, back in 1973. 🙏
@@BuddyBoy68
Sounds like a standard night out back in the day 😂🎉...
They weren't booed, though.
70s glam rock! No one blinked an eye at the look/vibe - it was normal then :) It's interesting that 50 years later it's remarked on more. :)
You are so right. I think we had an open mind and really didn't give a Frick, just enjoyed it. Glam Rock was big in the early 1970s and it started with T. REX. When I was 12/13 my wall over the bed was full with all different Glam Rock posters.
I remember being more shocked when Freddy Mercury changed his look for a more muscular look, I was about 9 and I remember shouting to my Dad in another room come look at Freddy Mercury!
@@pippavombr5856 It was just clothes.
These days it's hormones and irreversible surgery. I think there's reason for concern, thank you very much.
Also saw them play one very hot night in tee shirts and jeans. The performance was still amazing
If you're my age (almost 60) & from the UK, this song (& Sweet generally) is pretty much inseperable from memories of your childhood. For some of us the best examples of glam rock were what prepared our ears for punk when it arrived a few years later. It was pretty much punk, punk & more punk for me from 1977 to 1980, but I never forgot those early 70s glam jukebox singles. I still have all of them. Tangible memories of childhood that you can hold in your hand & let them take you back. Over 50 years ago now. The oldest things I own.
It’s called Glam Rock! It’s a genre from the 70s. Outrageous Costumes, makeup, and theatrics are what it’s about … there’s also Glam Metal…such as Twisted Sister
I don't think that I heard the term glam rock until the eighties. In the seventies we called it glitter rock.
The Darkness - a thing called love (;
Little Willie , Action and Love is Like Oxygen are also worth a listen. They dressed for entertainment. RIP Brian.
Can;t forget Fox on the run
@@machtshnel Don't forget Hellraiser too! Fantastic band.
But, the long version of Oxygen. I love it
Teenage Rampage. Hellraiser. Blockbuster. Action. Fox on the Run.
Can’t believe no one entioned The Six Teens. Total banger.
So glad I grew up with the 60 and 70's music. It was all pure talent. You just don't get this level of talent with today's music.
Love the 60s and 70s that's what I call music
I was a little girl in England when Glam Rock was at its height. The Sweet and Slade were household names along with David Bowie, Mud etc. fire 🔥
My dad used to be a bodyguard for The Sweet and other British bands back in the 70s and 80s. Got loads of cool photos and stories from The Sweet, Phil Collins, Mud, you name it. Crazy days back then. This was called The Glam Rock era btw. 70s.
Rocky Horror Picture Show vibes for me! Always loved this song! ❤️🔥✌🏻🫶🏻
Yes absolutlly!!! I keep thinking it's on RHPS, it would definitely fit right in.
💯!! That's probably why he's equating it to Halloween. That's when they play Rocky Horror and everyone gets all dressed up and brings their props. They used to anyway 😂
@@christenwarner7558 Great times back in the day!
Let's do the time warp again!
Definitely!!!❤❤❤❤
I remember the old wooden floored skating rink in the '70s. Someone would play this song on the jukebox and suddenly everyone in the place was on their feet and skating/dancing around the room.
@@tfrank1326 oh yeah, those were the days.
I remember that too x
Yeah and ironically they'd go from this song to disco duck LOL... Skating in the '70s was always a blast
The sound of my youth, we had so much music in the 70’s it was a great time to be alive ❤🎶
I am this old: I was the winner of that Sweet vinyl album. I called into a radio station and was the winner! Love this reaction - it brought back some great memories. The 70s were a different animal, that's for sure.
I'm a 70s kid. This is THE song that epitomizes my youth. Saturday morning bowling alley, jukebox, billiard room and wall of pinball machines. This song blaring from the jukebox. Yes!
Yep this is THE one that lit us up 😄
Do we know each other or what! 😂😅
oi i waS THERE too lol
Yep! Was there, Did That, Good Times, Good Highs, Good Memories & Good Byes to The Past of Good Times. FREEDOM!
It's about a riot in a club they were playing in Scotland one time when they had to leave the stage because of flying bottles and ashtrays.
…….that’s why the 70’s were the best generation for creative music all played on the same radio stations (all genres) ❤️🎸🔥
TOTALY AGRE 1 TRILLION PERCENT Rock Country Jazz R You name it us 70s BRATS HAD IT ALL ,,EXSEPT 4 AIDS THAT CAME OUT IN THE 80s
Sweet were regarded as "Glam", along with acts such as Slade, T-Rex, Roxy Music, Gary Glitter, Mud etc. They played some of the best pop/rock of the day and their hits were extensive. Do more Sweet.
I'd forgotten just how much The Rocky Horror Picture Show owed to The Sweet...
First production of the Rocky Horror Show (stage version) was 1973. So they were contemporaries, both out of the UK. The movie happened in 1975. The UK has a relatively long tradition of men/boys cross-dressing on stage, from Shakespeare (when women weren't allowed to act so men did female roles) to pantomimes for kids where there was usually an older female character played by a male. The Kenny Everett show in the 70s/80s on TV & others. (In Australia, Aunty Jack). The US always was a bit more uptight about those things.
@@kathydurow6814 I was thinking more of the vocal style, not the glam androgeny.
Aah yes Glam , never mind the crimes against fashion, the music was banging ❤
As Bob sings, "Most time you can't hear 'em talk, other times you can. All the same old cliches, is that a woman or a man."
Sweet wrote so many classics, one of my favourite bands of the seventies
I am sooooo thankful that I grew up in the same era as Sweet, and others like them. The 70s were the best.
I'm 66 and Sweet was one of my top 5 favorite bands back in the early 70's. I think they've stood the test of time pretty damn good.
The song was inspired by an incident in Jan 1973. Sweet was performing at the Grand Hall in Kilmarnock,Scotland. The band was driven offstage by what's called "bottling" or when the audience is so angry they throw things at the stage.
Just up the road from me in Ayr
Reminds me of THE ROCK DEEP PURPLES SONG SMOKE ON THE WATER 1972🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥Big time top of the play list sog
PLAY LIST SONG SMOKE ON THE WATER BY DEEP PURPLE1972
@@theodoreritola7641 What part of smoke on the water sounds like ballroom blitz to you?
Two totally different songs tempo wise sound wise and feeling?
Not knocking what you're saying, just curious to see what makes you say it reminds you of it?
@Rab_Knox I'm assuming what they mean is that Smoke on the Water is similarly based on an ugly (and much more tragic) concert incident
He doesn't sound like a female, he sounds like a young man.
Just high pitch vocals
In 1974, The lead singer Brian Connolly was badly beaten after leaving a nightclub in Staines where he received several kicks to his throat resulting in him being unable to sing for some time and permanently losing some of his previously wide vocal range. You're right BP hate always has something to do with it. Is it really that much better today? Sadly, It really depends on who you ask.
😂I lived through this Era. I can still see my father shaking his head when this came on the TV in the UK.
It's an energy song. Whether you need a boost when you're tired, depressed, partying, exercising...this kind of song is what you play.
What they look like doesn't matter. What the song means doesn't matter. The only thing that matters is the energy.
Some songs are like that.
I think this was my first favorite song.❤
Sweet were a working class band. They were navvies and factory workers and, despite the glam rock androgeny, these were the guys that the young men in the clubs were getting together to mosh pit and headbang to. They certainly weren't Prog. The Prog snobs at the time were turning up their noses at these guys.
They were pretty unique in their way. Suzie Quatro had similar energy and maybe Mark Bolan and T-Rex. Glam rock was a wildly creative genre.
Quatro was from the same stable as Sweet, along with Mud and Smokie.
What Suzi Quatro song should he check out? Can the Can 1973 ???
@@Tsass0Stumbling In.
No we weren't. We'd listen to Genesis and ELP at home then headbang to this at the disco on Saturday night.
@@digitig Prog snobbery was definitely a big thing at my school, but we were out in the sticks so we didn't have access to Saturday night discos. West Cumbria in the 70s was so backwards that we didn't get Punk until 2 years after everyone else. We also had a lot of leftover Hippies. My music tastes are about the same as those of someone born three or four years earlier.
In America, "Ballroom Blitz" was the second hit for Sweet, following "Little Willy." They had more success and notoriety in their native UK, where their outlandish lyrics caused some controversy. In America they were more of a curiosity, delivering fun, relatively mindless entertainment.
The band members do a roll call at the beginning of Ballroom Blitz, which is a great way to introduce themselves to listeners. Lead singer Brian Connolly asks: Are you ready Steve? (bass player Steve Priest), Andy? (guitarist Andy Scott), Mick? (drummer Mick Tucker).
The start of Glam Rock in the UK 1971/72 Sweet, T Rex etc. Mick Tucker the Drummer was very underated. I was around 11/12 when this came out.
Background. "The Ballroom Blitz" was inspired by an incident on 27 January 1973 when the band were performing at the Grand Hall in Kilmarnock, Scotland, and were driven offstage by a bottling. Also the word blitz were used during 2ond war world about the bombing in London.
They're glam rock. It came out of the UK in the 70s. They are all men. Think early David Bowie, Queen, T Rex, Mott the Hoople and even Kiss fall into that genre. All great bands. I'm not sure if you've watched any early stuff from those bands but you need to. Lol
1970’s glam rock, A lot of rock bands were wearing makeup during the 70’s, Rolling Stones,David Bowie,Kiss, etc
Now you will never forget this classic 😂
First of all they are all guys. They formed in London UK in 1968. In the 1970's they had 13 top 20 hits in the UK singles charts. The only surviving member of the band is the lead guitarist Andy Scott. He still tours with a band.
This was the beginning of an era when the guys in band had better hair than the gals in the audience. 😘
YES we did!!!😂😂😂 🤘
It was so unfair they had better and thicker hair than us.
I was born in the Scottish town of Kilmarnock where the Ballroom Blitz took place. It really happened and the boys took their bottle pelted selves back south to London and wrote this song. Killie takes no prisoners.
well they never wrote this song so that rubbish it was Nicky Chinn Mike Chapman
@@punkpopnotdead You do realize Chinn and Chapman were inspired by what happened to the band in Scotland and wrote this song for them. It's definitely not rubbish, unlike your post.
@@timmarshall2491[the boys took their bottle pelted selves back south to London and wrote this song] is rubbish they only wrote 2 good songs at the end of there time
We are the ayrshire killie boys🤣🤣
@@punkpopnotdead wheesht ya bampot!
This is the height of rock that brought grunge and eventually metal on the scene. This was and is peak owning yourself. And when I tell you the ladies love the makeup...🥵
I used to belt this out when I was cutting, raking, and bailing hay, back in the day.
They had about 4 hits, the biggest one being "Fox on the run". They also have the songs,"Little Willie" and," love is like oxygen "
Love is like oxygen would be a fantastic reaction. I cannot stress that enough.
Wigwam bam
Agreed but add Blockbuster to the list 🎉
Turn it Down, Teenage Rampage and anything from the Desolation Boulevard album is fire
Yeah, they had quite a few hits just some weren’t played. Even Def Leppard in the 2000’s did a cover of their song “Action”.
“In 1974, Connolly was badly beaten after leaving a nightclub in Staines where he received several kicks to his throat resulting in his being unable to sing for some time and permanently losing some of his previously wide vocal range.”
*SWEET* KINGS OF THE *GLAM ROCK* ERA. BIG FIRE IN THE U.K IN THE SEVENTIES🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥MUCH MORE TO CHECK
This was the 70s its called glam rock the Sweet were one of the best groups around. We no longer have Brian the singer Mick the drummer and Steve the guitar player waring the big collar with us Andy playing the other guitar is now 75 years old and still playing gigs with his new band still called the Sweet, who I am going to see in concert again in Dec 2024.
Sweet, was right out there in the 70s. Sad ending for the singer Brian Connolly. R.I.P. Brian.🙏🎸
This song became popular again in the movie with Mike Myers and Dana Carvey ,Wayne’s World a classic!
I saw Wayne's World in the cinema at least 5 times in 1992, ..., it was just great!
All the hidden references, great!
Until NOW I always thought the song was by Tia Carrere.
Well I was wrong, thanks Black Pegasus.
Greetings from Switzerland.
When i saw this video, my first thought was " Wayne's world".
Damn I hate being late to the party! 😂
I was madly in love with Brian Connolly (blond in red) and wouldn’t have said no 😂😂. This was glam rock. Brian died in the next town to where I lived after repeated heart attacks. He was abandoned when he was young and adopted by a family who had a son called mark McManus who went on to be the main person in a Scottish tv program called Taggart. Mark died of alcohol problems.
This was the beginnings of glam rock. The age of long hair, androgynous looks and flamboyant costumes.
This is what gave rise to the glam metal of the 80s. Steve Priest, the bassist, was a badass and the drummer, Mick Tucker was killing it. The ladies loved The Sweet in the day. I like their song Blockbuster, and also Love Is Like Oxygen. Fox on the Run is pretty wild. All four of them are amazing singers.
I grew up in the 70s and 80's. Sweet were an absolute blast! Still love them.
And the drummer, Mick Tucker RIP, is one, just one of rocks greatest yet underrated drummers
His drum solo on the Man With The Golden Arm is incredible.
What an fn fantastic song, danced our butts off. Been generations of dancin dude!
This song came out around 1973/4. We didn't use the terminology "fire" back then, but it really was. And no they were not crossdressers. They were part of the rock genre known as Glam Rock, mostly started by David Bowie and Marc Bolin (T. Rex) and others. Sweet has had a good many great songs before and after this great big hit. Songs to consider checking out include "Little Willy", "Wig Wam Bam", "Fox On The Run" and "Love Is Like Oxygen".
Marc BolAn, please
"The Ballroom Blitz" (often called "Ballroom Blitz") is a song by British glam rock band The Sweet, written by Nicky Chinn and Mike Chapman. The song reached number one in Canada, number two in the UK Singles Chart and the Australian Chart, and number five on the US Billboard Hot 100.
"The Ballroom Blitz" was inspired by an incident on 27 January 1973 when the band were performing at the Grand Hall in Kilmarnock, Scotland, and were driven offstage by a bottling.
Brian Connolly - lead vocals
Steve Priest - bass guitar, backing vocals
Andy Scott - guitar, backing vocals
Mick Tucker - drums, backing vocals
Year-end charts
Chart (1973) Rank
UK 17
Chart (1974) Rank
Australia (Kent Music Report) 9
Chart (1975) Rank
Canada 22
US Billboard Hot 100 16
Thanks for mentioning Chinn and Chapman. They wrote so many hits for so many bands, just knocked it outta the park everytime.
They were awesome, listened to them all the time when I was at high school and I'm in my 60s now, thats how long ago these guys played. December 1974 this was released I was 14 years old me and my friends played it so loud, loved it!
Sweet were at the top through the glam rock era, massively popular in the UK and Europe and here too in Australia. Many line up changes due the the sad passing of every member except Andy. They'll be back in Australia again later this year.
Sadly, they are all gone now, except Andy. They were the glam rock kings, and lots of fun.
I met the sweet many many years ago I’m 72 but if you like this I recommend you listen to Suzi Quattro she was an American singer songwriter she had a lot of hits early 70s here in the UK she’s fire 🔥 also .
Suzi's first record came out in '65, with The Pleasure Seekers. Suzi sang lead on the b-side, a song that celebrates the joys of underage drinking. I think that she was about 15 at that time.
GLAM ROCK.. Everyone had long hair in the 70's (myself included).. GOTTA check out "Love is Like Oxygen".. "Action".. "Fox on the Run".. Ballroom Blitz was HUGE HIT in 70's.. Luvit!
Dude, glad you enjoyed it. Good music is timeless. Sweet were one of the biggest bands in the UK in the 1970s. Their contemporaries were Slade, Mud, Marc Bolan and T Rex, David Bowie in his Ziggy Stardust period, early Queen, Led Zeppelin, The Who, Deep Purple, Pink Floyd etc. They were one of the progenitors of the Glam-Rock era. They were all totally straight guys, glam rockers just wore a lot of makeup and were kind of androgynous. It was a fashion back then. The point is that they were a really tight rock band who created some great tunes and were very talented musicians. Remember, no auto tune or synthetic music back in those days. These guys could play!
The Sweet were Glam Rockers. Glam rock is a style of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom in the early 1970s and was performed by male musicians who wore flamboyant and feminine clothing, makeup, and hairstyles, particularly platform shoes and glitter, and female musicians who wore masculine clothing.
New York Dolls were glam rock before that in the late 60s.
@@patriciakern-butler732 NYD formed in 71, i think... They still borrowed their style from the UK, where glam originated in the late 60's... NYD, Stooges and The Ramones invented punk, though: Even though the UK usually gets the credit.
This band with their falsetto harmonies influenced bands like City Boy, Queen, and others.
I was about 12 when this song was released and I couldn’t stop playing it, still love it today.
This is an absolute classic - you must have heard of it! 😲
You actually looked scared! 😂
You sounded just like my dad back in the day "is that a boy or a girl?" (I am 60 years old by the way) xxx
A Ballroom Blitz was a riot of fight in a concert. This was done in the day before every single had a music video. The videos were done to introduce the group to DJs. or they came from appearances on TV shows. They were what became known as Glam Rock or Hair Rock.
I loved Sweet back in the day! You can't help but move when you hear them!
The Musicstyle of Sweet ist called "Glam Rock" !!! They played together since the early 70'Years!!!
Tell me you've never seen "Wayne's World," without telling me you've never seen "Wayne's World."
Great impression of Garth dancing. Lol
Damn! I missed your comment and pretty much expanded on that 😅
So loved this group in the 70s. They were glam rock. You can't sit still, listening to this group. 1970s. The lead singer died not long ago. Amazing time in the UK.
Brian died 27 years ago, Mick 22 years ago. Steve died more recently, in 2020. Andy is the only one left.
@@heidiv5488 I didn't realise it was that long ago. But we can still play their songs at a party and it kicks off a great time.
Brian was died in 1997 year
Early 70s - celebrating end of exams - a group of us went to a local nightclub. I'd never even heard of the sweet at the time and to be honest i was a little surprised by the groups dress sense but when they started to perform - fantastic.
The Sweet were a group that started the Glam Rock Style. They wanted to be different and Steve started the show by walking passed a shoe shop and saw a pair of shimmering purple platform boots for women, the shoe shop was owned by a family friend and said he would like a pair like them. A pair was specially made for him. The others in the band liked them and decided to trawl women’s boutiques and brought wild clothing, they painted one hand with black nail varnish. This was the start of the movement which also had Elton John, Marc Bolan, Slade etc in it. It was a fun era. Just like Lord Sutch sort of started Shock Rock which Alice Cooper is part of in the 1960’s. Glam Rock was a sort of Shock Rock of the 1970’s.
Ballroom Blitz is one of my top 10 songs.
The Sweet were part of the Glam Rock movement, other bands also part of Glam rock: T-Rex, New York Dolls, David Bowie.
Roxy Music were considered, I think, glam rockers when they started in the early 70's as well
Sweet were part of the Glam Rock movement which was extremely important in Britain. So many great bands and icons emerged during this period eg Roxy Music. Marc Bolan and T Rex were amazing before his very sad passing 😢 Slade and Wizard are still permanent fixtures at Christmas. There was someone else who was very popular too but we don't mention his name now after his horrible crimes ✖️
LOL. Yes, I was about to mention him... but held back. LOL. Cheers.
In the UK the biggest music show on TV was "Top of the Pops" on the BBC. The show had an all girl dance troupe called "Pans People" who were the height of glamour. Apparently, their dressing room in the TV studio was behind the make up room for the artists, therefore the longer you sat in the makeup chair, the more opportunities you had to "get off with" one of Pan's People. This is supposedly the origin of "Glam rock" in the early '70's
UK 1973. This always takes me back to the waltzers at the local fair. The Sweet's genre is Glam Rock and they're dudes. This song is one of my favourites.
"Ballroom Blitz" was written by Nicky Chinn and Mike Chapman, who wrote many of the biggest glam rock hits. They also wrote Sweet's "Blockbuster," Suzi Quatro's "Devil Gate Drive" and Tony Basil's "Mickey."
Now that you mention it, this definitely has "Devil Gate Drive" vibes.