This Promising Rock Band Was DECIMATED After Their SINGER Was ATTACKED By THUGS | Professor of Rock
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 28 ก.ย. 2024
- If there was ever a cautionary tale about a rock group making a deal with the devil to hit the big time, it would be the story of the rise and fall of SWEET. A saga of talent, fame & excess, followed by violence, frustration, alcoholism, disaster, poverty, and death. Along this bumpy journey, there are a lot of GREAT songs that will make you stand up and cheer. I want to warn you….it’s gonna be electric and frantically hectic.. the story of their biggest american hit Ballroom Bltiz from the 70s is .NEXT…on Professor of Rock.
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#70s #Vinyl #Story
Hey music junkies and vinyl junkies Professor of Rock always here to celebrate the greatest artists and the greatest 70s songs of all time for the music community and vinyl community with music history video essay's including today's 70s Sweet story of ballroom blitz reaction. If you’ve ever owned records, cassettes and CD’s at different times in you life or still do this is your place Subscribe below right now to be a part of our daily celebration of the rock era with exclusive stories from straight from the artists and click on our patreon link in the description to become an Honorary Producer. Enjoy our in-depth wheel in the sky reaction.
“The Ballroom Blitz” by Sweet….a song one misguided British music critic called “unabashed rubbish” was a massive smash with listeners around the world in ’73, and became an enduring glam rock anthem. Before we get into the creation of the track...let’s go back to ’67, when singer Brian Connolly & drummer Mick Tucker formed a band called SweetShop, with bassist Steve Priest & guitarist Frank Torpey. The lads gigged wherever they could around the London scene in the late 60s, quickly losing Torpey, and replacing him with Mick Stewart.Producer/ songwriters Mike Chapman & Nicky Chinn discovered Sweathshop, and followed the formula that vaulted The Monkees into pop stardom, by turning the band into a fabricated act that lip-synched to songs that were actually performed by studio musicians.
Despite their disdain for being miming puppets, the foursome begrudgingly went along with Chapman & Chinn's plan, until their first 4 singles were dismal flops, and a reinvention was in order. The band changed their name to The Sweet, and convinced their manager that they should be known as a real band- playing their own instruments, and establishing an identity. The classic core lineup of The Sweet was set with: Brian Connelly doing lead vocals Steve Priest on bass Mick Tucker on drums
And…. Andy Scott on lead guitar Scott was the last player to be added to the core unit, after the departure of Mick Stewart.
Prior to joining The Sweet, Scott played with Paul McCartney’s younger brother, Mike in a band named The Scaffold.
Not only was Scott the final piece to the lineup, he is also the last surviving member of The Sweet. All four of the guys had 'day jobs' before they had their breakthrough hit: Connelly was a carpet salesman. Scott worked at a bank. Tucker & Priest were automotive mechanics.
The guys quit their day jobs when the band’s 5th single “Funny Funny” rose to #13 on the UK Singles Chart in ’71: Their next single, the Caribbean flavored “Co-Co” was even bigger- climbing all the way to #2:Then came “Alexander Graham Bell” that went to #33, and another tropical island ditty “Poppa Joe” that reached #11 in the UK- in ’72: The song that broke The Sweet in America was their ninth single- the irresistibly catchy “Little Willy” that was ultimately the group's highest charting single in the U.S at #3:
A year later in the fall of ’73, The Sweet, who by then had shortened their name to just ’Sweet,’ hit pay dirt in the states AGAIN, with their future pop culture classic “The Ballroom Blitz.”
Poll: What is your pick for the most compelling album cover of the 70s... One that made you want to listen to the record just from seeing the cover?
ELO's "Out of the Blue"... So futuristic at the time!
The ones I really like were Dark side of the Moon and Born to Run
Just a Game, by Triumph
Rainbow Rising
Machine Head. Deep Purple.
The Sweet is so underrated. They were doing the harmonizing vocal thing before Queen. They could all sing well, and were great musicians. Mick Tucker, phenomenal drummer.
Sweet ,Lawrence
Brian Connoly had one hell of a voice
At the same time as Queen
I still listen to Sweet! Steve Priest, my favorite bassist! BTW Professor 8tracks didn't rewind
They weren't under rated. All their good songs made the charts, and those songs were all over the airwaves, but then you'd go buy the album and alot of the songs weren't nearly as good as the song that got you to buy the album in the first place. That's the thing with them and a lot of bands in the 70's, the albums were never consistently good; there wasn't any follow up, but their good songs, yea, they Were great.
I will always love "Love is like Oxygen." I was 15 that year and music was the only thing keeping me grounded. Alcoholic father, ghost of a mother, angry siblings, living out in the country with no idea what the future would or could bring. Drawing my little comic strips for myself, looking over at the woods. I was a sad kid, a 'dime a dozen,' as my father called me. But songs like that just energized me and kept me going. Thank you for the history.
Bless you, every child deserves better.
Mary, I was the same kid in the 90’s. It was Megadeth, Pantera, Slayer, and the like that made me feel real and alive. My asshole father used that same dime a dozen bullshit too, his second favorite was telling me doors were closing and I was gonna end up flipping burgers for a living if I had a bad grade in grammar school. As a personal rule in life, I’d rather die than flip a burger for employment, never have never will.
It's pronounced Kilmarnoook!
Got to love an American pronouncing Scottish town names 😂🤣😂
you're describing my life
Little Willy is my favorite Sweet song
SWEET's iconic Drummer was MICK TUCKER! not 'Mick Taylor', he was the STONES guitarist ...
I know. I was going top of head and messed up. Sometimes that happens. I apologize.
@@ProfessorofRock It’s alright since you are still sublime!
@@xxlilly_playsxxkiz9980 Yeah, and the Micks are both Great Brits. It's an easy mistake to make.
Mick Tucker is one of the most underrated drummers of all time. Some great drummers since go out of their way to give him props. Most people have never heard of him. He was unique and a fantastic drumner!
mick tucker is so under the radar ‘rolling stone’ magazine failed to have him in their top 100 drummers of all time😡criminal
The attack on Brian… or rather the aftermath of the attack, is one of the saddest and most overlooked stories in the history of rock and roll. It just destroyed him, and in the long term it destroyed Sweet. I’ve seen and listened to some interviews with the other members of Sweet talking about how there was a big “before and after” thing, where Brian was concerned. They all basically said that before it happened, Brian was a pretty carefree, happy go-lucky kind of guy who liked to drink, but never let the booze get the better of him until after the assault. According to Steve Priest, Brian was like a completely different person afterward. He almost instantly became paranoid, agoraphobic, and his drinking just started spiraling out of control. By the time of the Level Headed album (1978), he was so messed up that he wasn’t capable of touring, so that’s when they had no choice but to part ways with him. They obviously were never anywhere near as good as a 3-piece. That pretty well ended Sweet, even if they did try to make a go of it for a few more years.
Brian just never did process through what happened. Just tried to drown it out of his mind with booze. It was a long, dark descent and it ultimately led to him dying with a wet brain. Just f’n tragic.
I hope the creeps that beat him got caught.
@@alexcerdan4500 I’m honestly not sure what the outcome of that was, or whether or not Brian’s attackers were ever identified or arrested. I’m not even really sure why he was attacked, other than it started as a car chase. The only witness who was close to Brian was one of Sweet’s roadies, and he’s changed his stories several times, for whatever reasons. No one’s really sure how it started. There were rumors of a jealous husband (or maybe boyfriend), but that’s never been confirmed. They never really found out if the attack was random or personal. The one thing all the witnesses agreed on was that it was extremely vicious and brutal in nature, and the kick to the throat was intentional. There were three attackers, and one of them was heard to say “Yeah, that should do it” right after the throat-kick.
Finding legitimate information regarding this incident on the internet has always proven a bit challenging. Brian didn’t like to discuss it in interviews and he didn’t really talk much about it with his bandmates or even his family and close friends. He took the story to the grave with him. Like I mentioned, the roadie is the only one who saw everything, and he can’t seem to come clean with any of it.
Another tragic bit of fallout that occurred in the immediate aftermath of the attack was the fact that they had to cancel what would have been their most important concert ever. I copy and pasted this bit from a 2010 article in The Guardian:
“It also meant cancelling the most important concert of Sweet's career. Pete Townshend had invited them to support the Who at Charlton Athletic's football ground in May 1974, where Scott believes they would have proved to critics and fans alike that they were serious rock contenders, not a superficial glam machine.”
Now, whether or not “superficial glam machine” was the way everyone viewed Sweet in 1974, at the pinnacle of their success and popularity, to me is quite debatable. It wouldn’t be the first time Andy has talked out of his neck… but either way that concert probably would have boosted Sweet to the next level. For all intents and purposes, the attack really was the point of origin for Sweet’s demise.
Well said. God bless you.
😢
Let's be real, every track on Desolation Boulevard(America's version)is just pure "sweetness"! I love this album/8-track. I owned and wore out this tape in 1975.
I had that 8- track!
me too!
There wasn't a bad track on that album!
Wowsers! Me too!
I was digging that album on 8-track in friends of our family's pool room, shooting pool - good times.
Lee I have owned this album at least 5 times and is still my favorite album. The first album I ever owned. Great stuff. And yes I wore out at least two copies of it. 😁
My favorites from Sweet are "Fountain" "Fox On The Run" "Love Is Like Oxygen" "Little Willy" "Action" and so many more. They've always been one of my favorite bands.
I love Fox on the Run
@@mistiroberts1576 : NO song LIKE it, before OR since - and one I do LOVE singing; FILLS the freaking SKIES.....
They did fox on the run????
@@pika23 yep
@@pika23 Yes, it's one of their best known songs. A top 5 hit during the summer and fall of 1975.
It breaks my heart all they went through. They were so talented. May they RIP .... Rock in Peace
Andy still alive, he has a blonde/ white look now. He still rocking!
Steve Priest's falsetto and costumes went way beyond the simple "Glam" designated given. There are many things truly iconic about Ballroom Blitz, but his over-the-top contribution is too perfect for mere words.
Sweet. One of the true glam rock bands that had so much real talent. Desolation was indeed one of my first album purchases. I have memories of my lawn cutting business as I was a teen screaming lyrics to Sweet as no one could hear me over the riding mower. As an aging man in my 50's, I struggled to get any of my bands to cover Ballroom. And absolute favorite of mine. As like the record companies, most of my bandmates never "got it." I still have yet to play it live! But I never stop trying!
Well .... the meat sack may be aging but sounds to me like your soul is forever young 👍🏻
many blessings 💓
They also had some heavy metal songs too
I could never get any of the bands I've been in to cover Ballroom Blitz either, and I've never understood it - it's such a 'jumpy about' high energy fun track!
Casey Kasem told the story of the beating when "Love is Like Oxygen" was on the charts. I did not know at the time it was Sweet's last hit and alcohol was slowly killing Connally. Very sad story. I do think Ballroom Blitz qualifies as proto-punk. High-speed, raucous, and dangerous! I always get a kick out of it.
Ballroom Blitz doesn't get its due. It was exactly the type of infectious attack that the Ramones were aiming for when they started out.They were also into the Bay City Rollers! In trying to match these bands' pop-rock hooks with their limited skills came Blitzkrieg Bop and Beat on the Brat.
In fact, I still think Action could have been written by Dee Dee Ramone, it sounds so Ramone-ish to me. Come to think of it, I wish Sweet had the brilliance to cover the Ramones early on. It would be interesting to see what their musicianship and production chops could have brought to a song or two. And Lord knows the Ramones needed the money and exposure.
Punk history would be very different without the Ramones and the Ramones would be different without Sweet.
@@carlodave9 Absolutely the Ramones! The funny thing about glam, like Sweet, is you can hear and see its influence in sheeny synth pop bands! Ultravox and Duran Duran are two of my faves from that genere!
@@carlodave9 The Sweet continued to record and perform after Brian was out of the band. They recorded 3 albums as a 3 piece, then Steve Priest decided to leave and moved to America. Andy Scott continued working together in outher potential band projects (that can be heard on various Sweet titled CDs released of their 'Wilderness Years'). They then decided to put together a new version of the band, but after a short while Mick had to leave and passed away shortly after. They are still going, even though there has been many lineup changes and only have Andy left from the familiar lineup. I was actually writing akk of this because on their last studio album (If you don't count one they did since called Isolation Boulevard, a rerecording of hits). New York Connection, they do covers of songs by other artists, including the aforementioned Blitzkrieg Bop by The Ramones. Here's a live video:- th-cam.com/video/jv-HNZo1uKQ/w-d-xo.html&ab_channel=LadySElisabeth
I would say Everybody Wants a Piece of the Action is even more proto punk. In fact if you didn't know the Sweet, and said it was an early Punk band , it would pass muster.
@@magnu75 As far as I know, Andy's Sweet had a big euro hit a couple of years ago with a song called 'Defender' which is actually very good .
Their "Love Is Like Oxygen" has an iconic riff, and is my favorite from them!
Absolutely great song. Actually better than Ballroom Blitz.
Ballroom Blitz is a classic 13 year old girls pajama parties.
Totally agree!
Love it! Epic song one of the greatest soft rock hits in history
Such a great song!
@@ProfessorofRock The full song is a must listen, because most radio stations cut down “Oxygen” to fit the norm, and eliminated the mid-song instrumental which is one of my all time favorites!
I do wonder how much the vicious assault on Brian contributed to his battles with the demon drink. For a singer to lose vocal range would be like a painter losing their hands. It is so sad the way his life came to its inevitable end. He deserved better. As for the song Ballroom Blitz - it is a true classic - and I loved Tia's cover of it in Wayne's World.
Tia??? LMAO ughhh
@@freetob1 she introduced it to a new generation....gotta give credit to Wayne's World for that🤷♀️
@@LauraBeeDannon In the 80's the band Krokus covered it and sounded great! The drummer of Krokus was my art teachers son.
I believe the assault was the beginning of the end for Brian. I also believe it was a targeted attack, to put him out of action, by stamping on his throat.
Tia sounded like a dadgum chipmunk 🐿️.
I've been a huge 'Sweet' fan since I first heard 'Ballroom Blitz' on the radio in 1974, when I was 13 years old. While I love the song 'Ballroom Blitz', my favorite song by Sweet is 'Fox On The Run'.
That’s my favorite too. And the first single actually written by the band.
The synthesizer wind up at the beginning
Same for me. Heard it on the radio as an 11 year old in ‘77. Felt like “what is this?” Been a fan ever since. Recently turned my 16 yr old guitar playing son on to Sweet. His response? “ what is this?”
For ‘Foxsake’ is a classic moment in pop music…
1973 christmas eve at the rainbow was grand!!
I knew these guys personally. I was still at school but was in rock bands from the age of 10. They became good mates & spent many a crazy weekend at after gig parties with these guys & they were all great chaps. Sadly had to witness brians slow & painful downhill slide. Miss them very much. ♥️
@coot I just hope that the cowardly thugs who kicked Brian are rotting in hell.
one more thingi luv about’the sweet’is they were down to earth easygoing and accessible to the fans and the press👌🏼they are and were good sorts☝🏻
When I was in my 20s we used to rehearse in a rehearsal studio called Ram Studios in Hayes, Middlesex. Brian would sometimes be just hanging out there for no apparent reason. By this time his mind was gone. I tried to talk to him but he really didn't know what was going on. It broke my heart to see a guy go from this good looking and very funny man to an incoherent mess. I'm in my 60s now and I still think of those guys. ✌❤
@@coot1925 yes it’s a sad story alright🥲i guess not everybody make’s it i suppose😩ī been listening to the ‘level headed tour rehearsal’s’ a lot cause i love the sound they generate it sounds fantastic but brians voice changed dramatically really raspy and can’t hit any high notes you can hear his frustration that he’s knows his days were numbered as a quality vocalists✊🏻obviously when that tour finished he just drank himself stupid to ease the pain of not doing what he loved 🥰another rock tragedy unfortunately😵💫rock on bro🤘🏻
Good memories to have. Good stories.
The whole band came and sat at our table between performing at a nightclub in the 70s .Great guys , down to earth and great music of course.
What a talented Band Sweet was. Lots of tragic details though. So many great songs, and some real rockers too. Harmonies were so cool. It’s no wonder why Def Leppard were such fans of theirs. Mick Tucker was an AMAZING drummer.
One of your best videos ever, Professor!! The attention to detail regarding the band members is extraordinarily focused and much appreciated.The long version of “Love is like Oxygen “ remains one of my favorite all-time songs. Brilliantly crafted with stellar guitar and drum play. I was graduating high school in ‘78 when it became a hit, and I recall only the best FM stations in Philly would play the long version. Thanks for this great report on one of the most under appreciated and misunderstood rock bands Sweet. Love your channel!!
This was a great tribute to the band, Professor! Love it. Thanks for doing it.
I grew up with their music and they have always been one of my favorite bands.Very sad how their career took such a tragic nosedive. Ballroom Blitz definitely has it's place in both memories and appreciation of the powerful energy. Love Is Like Oxygen is another one. But it's difficult to to say which song is the biggest favorite since they had several SWEET songs that are still just as enjoyable today as back when. Thanks for this wonderful segment once again Mr. Professor!!🎵
I NEVER heard this song until about 1983 or 84.. I went to sleep over at my friend's house and she played it for me. I was blown away!! Have loved it ever since.
"Action" and "Wig Wam Bam" are still absolute joys to listen to. I'm 29, and my dad played a 'greatest hits' CD that he'd bought for about 5 bucks, when I was about 8 years old. I enjoyed all of the stuff on that album.
Wig warm bam my favourite
You'd probably enjoy the entire "Give Us A Wink" album then. It's their hard rock album, and it really rocks hard from beginning to end. It's the album that "Action" came from, and every song is done in that hard and fast and catchy style.
I’m from the Kilmarnock area and i can tell you that people from “Killie” are very proud of their connection with Ballroom Blitz…Brian Connolly was Scottish his brother Mark McManus was an actor and played the title role in a gritty Glasgow police drama called Taggart. In 1994 I saw Brian Connolly’s The Sweet at Butlins holiday park in Ayr.We were sitting at the compères table and Brian Connolly joined us after his set.He didn’t look well at all and must have been around 50 but looked so much older. I think he died about 3 years later.
Lucky you
Sweet, one of the greatest rock bands of all times - in our youth in the 70ths in germany we compared Sweet with Queen, the Stones and the Beatles
We did the same in Denmark and Belgium!
@Dan begs
Hun, both Toni and I own our subjectivity - so I invite you to also dare to own yours instead of hiding behind objective terms.
And the fact that your subjectivity differs from ours doesn't change our subjectivity the slightest.
Then they became the BEATLES, PART Two!
I took the time to investigate the Sweet albums about five years ago. Imagine my surprise when I heard they were a proper hard rock band more like Deep Purple and not bubblegum pop like the hits. I would definitely recommend desolation boulevard and sweet fa albums. Mick Tucker's drumming was phenomenal, like an octopus. There is some great footage of them playing in Germany about 1974 on TH-cam. Love is like oxygen is in my all time top 10 songs and a lot of people think it is ELO
I was stoked when I was able replace my Desolation Blvd with a CD. That’s still one of my all time favorite albums. Micks drumming was superb. An underrated rock band
"Love is like Oxygen" hit me like a ton of bricks when I first listened to it. Just an awesome rock song!
yes that footage you about is musikladan ‘74 totally ‘live’ i love that stuff ☝🏻highly recommended
This!
Mick Tucker and the Ballroom Blitz are the reason I wanted to learn to play the drums.
Thanks to You Tube, I found out that he was even better than I thought.
The Sweet were also one of the earliest, yet least talked about, contenders for speed metal. Lots of classic, heavy tracks on their second album "Sweet Fanny Adams", and throughout their catalog.
You are correct! Several of Sweet's songs are metal masterpieces.
The whole Give Us a Wink album is a metal masterpiece.
When someone asks me what metal should sound like, I play Sweet F. A. for them, loud!
I have known about the Brian Connolly attack for a lot of years now and I always had a very very bad negative feeling about that incident. I think about it from time to time. Such a tragic tale -Especially when it was learned that it was, or may have been, done on purpose.
I do say: Thank you...
Thank you for bringing it out in the light today
In Steve Priest’s book, he alluded that Andy Scott played a role in that attack on Brian; he was that jealous of him. I never forgot that, and I believe it’s true.
@@chynnadoll3277 @Chynna Doll Woah-oh wow... I had no idea. For real? That will mess with me, too....
@@chynnadoll3277 What's the name of the book please ? tia.
@@danvelgtr are you ready Steve
First time I listened to Sweet was in the early 1971 our home was severely damaged by the Sylmar earthquake. We stayed at my Uncles. I slept in my cousins room He was off at college and I had free range. Hundreds of albums to choose from. That was the first time i was exposed to music that shaped my everything. Sweet, Alice Cooper, Sparks, Zappa, Captain Beefheart Black Sabbath. Link Wray, The Sonics and many more.
Great story…. Except for the earthquake part….. my dad was an avid music fan with hundreds and hundreds of albums containing music from all genres….. loved discovering great music from his collection…
"There only a few songs which bring about that kind of electricity in a human being!" Well put.
I danced to this as a kid at family parties. Blockbuster was my favourite though.
Thanks for posting! Love from the UK. ❤
In the 70's, when rock/pop/punk acts started dressing, sounding, and talking like women, they started polarizing their audiences. People who might actually enjoy the music would become angered when they realized the way the singers looked/acted. This was especially true in the harder, blue-collar areas. The bands were trying to be provocative, and were quite successful in provoking a passionate response - both adoration and anger, to the extremes.
This proved to be their undoing. The more heavily they leaned into the androgyny of "Glam", the bigger the response they provoked. More adoration, yes, but also more anger. I expect this had a lot to do with the attacks.
This was a huge issue with 70's glam bands, just as it was with the punk bands that followed. These musicians thrived on provocation, and pushed people's buttons as far as they could. A local steelworker having a femboy hitting on his woman? Very big button to push, with obvious consequences.
These genres got off on "poking the bear". Unfortunately, that meant plenty of bear attacks. A sad fact of the culture at the time.
@gigi v Is not a "we" thing. Many people did have issues, even in the UK. The story in this video is just one example, and it happened in England.
Heartbreaking story!!! I was about 10 or 11 when I first heard ballroom blitz, and my whole body felt like it was going to explode with joy 🤩
So many great songs by this band. God bless them for their music that will live forever.
Omg! I am 69 years old. I had forgotten about this band, until now! Great songs! Thank you for bringing them back to mind. So very sad how it all ended up, but they were super while they were still rocking.
The Sweet were massive. Block Buster, Fox on the Run, Little Willy Jesus these guys were huge. I will never hear a word against them.
Sweet and Slade were among my favourites in the early days of Glam Rock.
Me too! My best friend and I were snobs and only listened to UK, Euro,and Intl groups. Alice Cooper, the original band, was the sole exception. So much effing great music was written and recorded.
Thanks for throwing Sweet some much deserved love! Though I was pretty solidly in the hard rock, Deep Purple, Thin Lizzy, Priest et al, I found Sweet in 79 and listened regularly. There was nothing like them. The b-sides were crazy good. The Healer, White mice, man those arrangements were great.
So many great songs! Sweet's songs are so varied, it's hard to believe they all came from one band.
I was tickled to hear my adult daughter singing along to my CD while shopping. What is even better is her 5 year old son said after hearing Little Willy, “I like that song!” Just passing along this great group to the younger generations!
Recently watched the BBC documentary on Sweet. Mick looked ancient at forty. Great band with a great story with a sad ending.
I know.... So very sad.
What is the title of that documentary, and is it available on TH-cam?
The first time I heard Ballroom Blitz was the Krokus cover of the song. When I went back and listen to the original it was everything I had hoped it would be; raw and energetic!! Great song👍🏼
First time I heard it was Wayne's World.
This is when I first heard it too…. My dad heard me playing it and let me hear the original from the Sweet….. just like Nazareth’s “Love Hurts” is a cover from the Everly Brothers…..
I'm glad somebody finally mentioned Krokus
I first heard „Coco“ in a discotheque in England in the mid-seventies. I was about 15 then and came to Eastbourne with other kids for learning English. In my early adulthood I avoided Rock concerts altogether due to a tinnitus problem. Since I can handle this problem better now I have been attending concerts in the last 15 years or so and saw SWEET about five times. Last time in Tyrol just a few weeks ago. I am forever grateful to Andy Scott that he carried on with the band for so many years. So I could hear one of my most idolized bands „live“. The current singer, Paul Manzi is awesome, by the way! Thank you so much!
Sweet was great but you almost can’t mention them without mentioning Slade, and T Rex … In the early 1970s they WERE the UK Singles charts
Has Professor done a video on “Bang a Gong”? Great song!
@@xxlilly_playsxxkiz9980 In the UK that song was called "Get It On".
@@xxlilly_playsxxkiz9980 Yes he has
@@magnu75 And he posted it the next day!
I have the Vinyl and still up to this day every time I play it no matter who is in the house, everyone, and I mean everyone recognizes, sings and even dances to the Ballroom Blitz, from 72 down to 8 years old - it's just one of those songs that will keep going from generation to generation. Thank you Sweet for this awesome timeless song, and thanks Doc for all the behind the scenes stories. Cheers!!!
Loved Sweet since first hearing them in the 70's. Funny to hear The Professor mention that he played Ballroom Blitz about 20x in a row, when he discovered his Dad's 8-tracks. When I was in the Air Force and living in Great Falls, Montana in 1976, I was listening to a local radio station and the DJ played Ballroom Blitz about 20 consecutive times. Turns out he had to take a bathroom break (as I remember him saying), and he finally came back on air and with a sheepish laugh, apologized for the song playing over and over. The song has been in my head ever since.
Great Story...from the good ol days 🍻 👏 ✌
I had Fox on the Run on 45 when I was a kid. Didn't discover Ballroom Blitz until college. A friend had one those 80's classic "component tower stack" stereos with 4 foot speakers and cranked the volume all the way. Needless to say, I was blown away. Ballroom Blitz by Sweet is still one of my very favorite songs decades later!!!
Mick Tucker... indeed one of the under-rated drummers of his era. the ease with which he played, the twirling sticks... and he could sing. Andy Scott, a great musician, especially on guitar. Steve Priest; a fine singer and much more than just a bass player. And Brian Connelly, the quintessential front man. what a talent package these four guys were.
Good story about how the Ballroom Blitz came to be. It's interesting to get the background on these songs. I heard Little Willy was about a cat that haunted a recording studio and Fox on the Run was about a groupy. I don't know if it's true, but still great stories behind a great band.
Sweet “Give Us A Wink” , all time favorite album. I have 3 copies & 2 CD’s. Saw Starz & Sweet 1978 tour. Blown away when I saw Def Leppard cover “Action” in 2013. Still play this album over and over again. It never gets old. Turn it up !!!
One of my most favourite bands as a kid and was a influence as well! It just hit hard listening to this story and well I didn't know all but one had past. Thank you for putting their story out and showing what an impact they had on 80's metal!
Saw Sweet when Scott & Tucker was in their version of Sweet. Caught one of Tucker's beat up drumsticks he threw into the crowd. They were touring for the *Live at Marquee (with 4 new songs)* LP. That concert was so loud my ears rang for three days.
That was cool.
I saw them at Imperial College when I was a student there, and a girl I was seeing wanted to go. It was a great live performance. (would have been 74/75).
It's funny 6 years ago I couldn't find much on Sweet on TH-cam but their old songs. I wanted to learn so much about the band and Brian Connolly, but at that time I felt like I was the only one searching for the band Sweet on YT, and now I see it everywhere with so much more information and extra footage, songs and music reactions. It's about time they are getting noticed in this time and generation.
In '75 I was in Grade 10 - and in my Drafting class at school we played the pop/rock station on the radio. At the time, I thought Ballroom Blitz was irritating and I hated it, but after a few months I realized how great it was. Loved Action too, so I bought all their albums on vinyl. These guys were one of the best Glam Rock bands ever.
I saw them twice and they were spectacular! Desolation Boulevard is one of the best albums in all rock music. That was pure talent on 11!
I absolutely love "Love Is Like Oxygen," but I never thought, as an ELO fan, that it was ELO.
I've only gotten seriously into Sweet in the last couple years. The only band story I know that is sadder is Badfinger.
I am a HUGE ELO fan and I have to say Love is Like Oxygen could easily have been written by Jeff Lynne. It was actually heavily influenced by Supertramp!
@@chrisearl5970 I agree abt could have been written by, but Brian & Jeff had totally different voices.
Supertramp?! Hmmm....I will have to ponder that. Supertramp is another favorite of mine.
Oh man, I remember this band very well. Great music, great times, great bands.
Sweet was one of my favourite bands when I was young! They were a big part of my tween and teen years! I don't think there was a song of theirs that I didn't like! Even today! Like you, Professor, I'm a music junkie! One of my greatest moments was when Def Leppard, another favourite band of mine, did a tribute album of covers that included Sweet songs! It was amazing!!!
Desolation Boulevard was on heavy rotation on my turntable when it came out. So many great songs: The Sixteens, Committed, Fox on the Run, AC/DC, No you Don't.... Great album! BTW Fox on the Run was a big hit too. The first hit by the band not written by Chapman/Chinn.
Fox on the Run is another great song from them! I think it’s got a pretty face (pun intended)!
@@xxlilly_playsxxkiz9980 For those who are unaware, the US Desolation Boulevard is an almost different album to the rest of the world, as it was a combination of the UK version and the previous much heavier Sweet Fanny Adams. Neither of the albums contained hit singles as such as they kept singles seperated from their albums. The UK version of Desolation Boulevard also had a heavier version of ox On The Run, recorded before the single and without the synth:- th-cam.com/video/ERMEneOrTkI/w-d-xo.html&ab_channel=Dyynamo
great segment as always, Cheers from Vancouver!
I actually discovered Sweet about 4 years ago when I remembered the song "action by Def Leppard", then I saw on YT a video with the Sweet Action 1975, and that's when I found out the Leppard version was a cover (lol). Then I loved the original version better, really liked the personality and energy of the band members of Sweet and then I click on the Ballroom Blitz and I was like "wait that was onn Wayne's World", then I went into this rabbit hole of awesomness with songs like Teenage rampage, fox on the run, the sixteens, lady starlight. My mind was blown and I started wondering how come I never heard about them before. Right now I take it as a blessing being surprised and amazed by a band this great like I once did when as a kid discovering AC/DC for the first time, or when I realized that Ozzy Osbourne was in Black Sabbath before and went and to the record store to get those tapes ( I was 10 years old in 1990). I also heard each of this songs like 10 times when I discovered them. Thanks for another great episode professor.
I was the music guy on the school bus during my first two years of high school in the mid 70s.
I sat in the back of the bus with my portable 8 track player.
The music blasting was Sweet, Van Halen, Boston and others.
I always have thought that the song is silly and not much in the way of writing. However, hearing the story of its origin definitely adds something. It's sad to hear about the demise of the band and the things which led to that.
A fantastic band live ,I was lucky to see the original line up in the 70’s
Just visited their entire (good) catalog for the first time not long ago and wow those mid 70's albums were killers! Love SWEET!
Solid Gold Bras and Yesterdays Rain are killer tracks as well!!!🎸🎸🎸🎸
SWEET for me are one of the most underrated bands of all time loved them had all their Albums and they are integral to my Music Journey, only saw them once but they were awesome...Great Vid Profesorri love your work.
Stu...From Melbourne, Australia
Sweet were not underrated, a word that is used to often at the wrong time ???
I have classic rock stations to thank for hearing bands like Sweet.
Sadly the fate of Mr. Connolly is all too common in rock and roll. His vocal style paved the way for bands like Scorpions and AC/DC...
I was a biker back in 78. The Sweet played Huddersfield. Crazy Bez got on stage, grabbed the microphone and announced that Brian was drunk off his head. The show ended in chaos
I was in elementary school and my teen sister got the double album and I loved it. I still have it.
The drummer's name is 'Tucker' not 'Taylor'
My cousins got me hooked on Sweet in the mid 70s. They had the albums, "Give Us A Wink" and "Desolation Boulevard". All these years later, I am still hooked and listen to them regularly. Definitely underrated.
I didn't realise you'd done The Sweet. I've got all the albums. great vid. 😀
Fantastic documentary, so sad what happened to such a great band
Ballroom Blitz wasn't released in the US and Canada, until the Autumn of 1975
I was very lucky to see The Sweet's last full American tour. The band was extremely proficient and the vocal harmonies were spot on. So sad.....Still remember as one of my favorite. Wish there was a little less about just Ballroom Blitz, but as always the professor is brilliant.
I was entering my teens when Sweet came on the scene - they were something of heroes to me at that time. Loved their music - still do!
And if YOU remember, you couldn't rewind 8 tracks. You had to fast forward until you song came back around.
Great band!! Thanks for the music and memories guys 💯🎸🎶🎵🥁🙏🤟👍🎤
I adore Sweet. My Mum bought a few of their records. I adored Brian as a little girl and always thought he was just so gorgeous. I still play their records nowadays. It’s such a shame that Brian had so many demons.
I just found your channel a couple days ago. Love your information and one thing you do well is show snippets of the songs you're talking about. Great job!
You really did an outstanding job on Sweet's history and musicianship. Very much appreciated. (I just subscribed.) Sweet's dazzling talent and songs were incredible -- and Ballroom Blitz is phenomenal. Thank you!
Thank you for this video. I’ve been a fan of SWEET my entire life.
It was my good fortune to have SWEET as the first professional band I ever saw. SWEET opened for JOURNEY 1978 or 79 at The Capitol Theatre Passaic, NJ. I was about 14, I was floored by SWEET’s performance.
Desolation Boulevard is in my Top 10 Fav Albums.
I saw Andy Scott in his touring version of Sweet at a "Taste" event in Edmonds Washington about 20 years ago. The musicians he had with him were great and they captured the sound of those hit Sweet records. The sad thing was that hardly anyone paid attention and stopped to actually listen to the band. I was one of only a handful of people sitting in the grand stands watching and listening. But I really enjoyed it.
Brian4Evr ❤🙏❤ Sweet was the hottest thing in the mid 70s. The best album they ever did was Give us a wink from 1975. A masterpiece! 👊👊👊
For years I thought Ed Wynn was actually singing a guest vocal. Priest did such a good job mimicking him.
Love the way you present your videos. Sad to find the sweets troubles. Underrated band.
"A promising rock band" who were already massive.
My friends and I had tickets to see Black Sabbath in Philadelphia. Slade was supposed to be one of the opening acts, but for some reason, before the show started, it was announced that Slade wouldn't be playing, and SWEET was the replacement band. I wished I had seen Slade, but I was still excited that SWEET were going to be there. And, they were great!
I'm a drummer and when the sweet came out with ball room blitz I tried so hard to imitate that on the drums but he was such a great drummer I just couldn't do it I love the sweet and it breaks my heart their gone
Sweet is SO good. A real influence. Any one of them individually would have fit-in well in the 80's glam or heavy meta scene. Excellent musicans. Harmonies as good as Queen. Just amazing. They didn't get enough credit.
Love the album Desolation Boulevard one of the great songs on the album.Well, they're all great songs. Actually it's like an early metal song, that's called "Set me free", that's amazing and electric,that even today, blows you away with its power.
I missed the Foghat Sweet concert in Houston TX in 1978 because of a hurricane coming in.
They rescheduled a week later but I never heard about it.
Still have the 4 unused tickets .
I saw them on the Foghat tour (in Philadelphia)... Cheap Trick was the opening act... great all around show, all 3 bands nailed it.
"Love is like oxygen, You get too much, you get too high, Not enough and you're gonna die" Now THAT's some great lyrics.
I became aware of Sweet when I was in the 4th grade in 1973, and found the 45 record of Ballroom Blitz in the dirt beside a laundry mat ! I took it home and played it over and over. Sweet and Black Oak Arkansas are what made me become a guitar player..I wanted a "Piece of the Action."
My daughter was just a baby she had just learned how to walk. I have this wonderful 8 mm footage of her holding on to the table with one hand and the other in a fist going up and down while she is turning her head quickly from side to side so she had to stop once in a while and her eyes where just rolling in her head this was what she did every time I played Hell Raiser for her. I loved the sweet even from the start. I took her to a concert when she was a little older and she was so upset that it was only Andy Scott playing she wanted to see Brian Connolly so I had to trick her when going home on the bus and tell her the guy driving was him:)She still hasn't forgiven me and she has her own child now:) I did get to see Brian before he died as we had a concert in my country with all the old bands but it was a long concert and too long for her. Brian didn't really sing it was more screaming and he was shaking but no one cared and you could see how happy he was to see all the love from all these people singing along with him. It's on TH-cam and I can see myself standing up front singing along and I have some good pictures of him. I was just happy to finally watch him live:)
One of my very earliest musical memories was listening to Sweet's "Fox on the Run" on my AM transitor radio. What a fantastic AND very versatile band, playing bubble-gum pop, radio pop, rock, metal, jazz, etc. Sweet should have been much bigger in America.
Given the amount of talent in other countries that never gets a chance in the US, Sweet did all right. 🙂 The four hits that I remember from the AM radio play they got (Little Willy, Ballroom Blitz, Fox on the Run, and Oxygen) were huge and in constant rotation, and I loved the first 3. Forgive me, but I was a kid, and Oxygen was just a bit too weird for me. I needed Queen to expand my mind a bit before I was ready for the weird stuff. Funny I didn't feel that way about Ballroom Blitz...
And yeah! I still can't hear Fox on the Run without remembering my old transistor radio, cranking it full volume and holding it to my ear! Something about that song and the way it sounded over AM, through that cheesy little speaker, knowing the awesome musical power the band put into it - that was such a rush!
So glad you gave Sweet some press! They had 3-4 excellent hard rock albums from 1972-77. They were all fabulous musicians! FYI...their drummer is Mick Tucker, not Taylor. Being a drummer myself, I'd say he's a top 10 drummer of the 70's. Hardly ever gets mentioned by other drummers...what a shame.
I bought Hell Raiser by the Sweet, a brilliant record in 1973 then and now. TH-cam, label it as Disco - wrong! It is in the mould of Ballroom Blitz
check out the vid titled the man with the golden arm.
"the professor of rock"
The man with the golden arm.
He was 1 of the best drummers ever
I'm 59 years old, and I still recall the precise moment I heard Ballroom Blitz on the radio for the first time. I absolutely loved this band from '73 until '78. My favorite songs? Blockbuster and Action. Lovely memories. Mick Tucker - what a drummer.
I’m just a few years younger but my brother and I were huge fans! We used to dance to their songs and sing! They were a big, wonderful part of my childhood.
Hi Todd, i loved The Sweet in my teen years, went to see them about 12 times in total. Still rocking in my mid 60's! I had a picture of them from Jackie magazine on my bedroom wall. Very happy memories of a fab band. From 1972 onwards we were spoilt for choice with great bands in England. xx
i am 66 and remember seeing brian performing on his own at butlins holiday camp, he was accused of being drunk but he looked like he had a stroke, he had a limp and it wasnt a brilliant performance but respect to him xx
@@audreyharalambos2592 😢
@@LittleCarol We'd get on well ! I also loved T Rex and David Bowie and later on, Queen, ELO, & Wings (of course), but The Sweet were something else xx
“Desolation Boulevard” is one of the most underrated rock albums of all time. Sweet should have been one of the biggest bands of the 70’s
I play Desolation Blvd about once a week. Fantastic album. I counted once...way back...and came up with six recorded and popularly known covers of songs from this album.
@@woodrowsmith3400
So many great songs. Every one is a classic.
Abso-fugggin-tootly
Not enough people talk about this band. Thank you for the tribute. They had so many good, catchy tunes.
And several Deep Purple would have been proud of
Sweets last two lp’s without Brian are pretty good also- check ‘em out!!
@@thomasadrian9854 : "Mother Earth", SHOULD'VE been ANOTHER of their Top 40's in 1979.....
I saw them live in a small club in the 80s and they really rocked - not just catchy but loud and heavy !
@@spinynormanbest6410 3 -‘Identity Crisis’ was their last album in ‘81 , but was never released in the states. The title track saves the forgettable album. I listen to it when it comes around in rotation. I even listen to ‘Funny How Sweet Coco Can Be’. I like the teeny bop songs( even though it was just their voices) besides the B- Sides as you know. ‘Waters Edge’ is known as SWEET 6 in the states. I hung with them in the ‘70’s. One of my all time favorite groups! Steve was going to sing on one of my band’s new tunes at the time songs but we broke up.( The BEAST N.J. Born To Metalize and the Power Metal e.p. plus others)
It was my "rediscovery" of Sweet's music, and connecting with various band members on Facebook ,that got me out of a very dark and scarey mindset after the loss of my Mom to cancer in Oct. of 2011. I will always owe Sweet for that .
I’m sorry for your loss
@@sean5662a❤