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The Sweet
The Sweet (often shortened to just Sweet), are a British glam rock band that rose to prominence in the 1970s. Their best known line-up consisted of lead vocalist Brian Connolly, bass player Steve Priest, guitarist Andy Scott, and drummer Mick Tucker. The group were originally called The Sweetshop. The band were formed in London in 1968 and achieved their first hit, " Funny Funny", in 1971 after teaming up with songwriters Nicky Chinn and Mike Chapman and record producer Phil Wainman. During 1971 and 1972, their musical style followed a marked progression from the Archies-like bubblegum style of "Funny Funny" to a Who-influenced hard rock style supplemented by a striking use of high-pitched backing vocals. The band first achieved success in the UK charts, with thirteen Top 20 hits during the 1970s alone, with "Block Buster!" (1973) topping the chart, followed by three consecutive number two hits in "Hell Raiser" (1973), "The Ballroom Blitz" (1973) and "Teenage Rampage" (1974) ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Steve Priest
Stephen Norman Priest (23 February 1948 – 4 June 2020) was an English musician who was the bassist (and, later, lead vocalist) of the glam rock band The Sweet. Biography Priest was born in Hayes, Middlesex. He made his own bass guitar and began playing in local bands as a young teenager, after being influenced by artists such as Jet Harris of the Shadows, the Rolling Stones and The Who. In January 1968, Priest was invited to form a four-piece band with vocalist Brian Connolly, drummer Mick Tucker, and guitarist Frank E. Torpey (b. 30 April 1947, Kilburn, North West London) – the band that was to become The Sweet. Torpey was replaced by Mick Stewart in July 1969. Guitarist Andy Scott joined in August 1970, following Stewart's departure and the classic line-up was established. The Sweet was a band that went through many ups and downs. Initial success for The Sweet began in 1971, after the band teamed up with songwriters Nicky Chinn and Mike Chapman. However, The Sweet would ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mike Chapman
Michael Donald Chapman (born 13 April 1947) is an Australian-American record producer and songwriter who was a major force in the British pop music industry in the 1970s. He created a string of hit singles for artists including The Sweet, Suzi Quatro, Smokie, Mud and Racey with business partner Nicky Chinn, creating a sound that became identified with the "Chinnichap" brand. He later produced breakthrough albums for Blondie and The Knack. Chapman received a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) in the 2014 Australia Day Honours. Early career Chapman was born in Queensland, Australia, and was educated at the Anglican Church Grammar School. He emigrated to Britain where he became a member of the Downliners Sect and then in 1968 joined the group Tangerine Peel. They released an album in 1969 and had several near-hit singles between 1967 and 1970. In 1970 he met Nicky Chinn while working as a waiter at a London nightclub, Tramp. The pair struck up a song-writing partnership, and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Harrow, London
Harrow () is a large town in Greater London, England, and serves as the principal settlement of the London Borough of Harrow. Lying about north-west of Charing Cross and south of Watford, the entire town including its localities had a population of 149,246 at the 2011 census, whereas the wider borough (which also contains Pinner and Stanmore) had a population of 250,149. The historic centre of Harrow was atop the Harrow Hill. The modern town of Harrow grew out at the foot of the settlement, in what was historically called Greenhill. With the arrival of the Metropolitan Railway in the 19th century, the centre of Harrow moved to Greenhill and it grew as the unofficial "capital" of the Metroland suburbia in the early 20th century; Harrow-on-the-Hill station is on one of the railway corridors between London and the Chilterns. Meanwhile, Harrow & Wealdstone station is on the West Coast Main Line and is the eighth oldest railway station, having opened in 1837 one and a half ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hayes, Hillingdon
Hayes is a town in west London, historically situated within the county of Middlesex, and now part of the London Borough of Hillingdon. The town's population, including its localities Hayes End, Harlington and Yeading, was recorded as 83,564 in the 2011 census. It is situated west of Charing Cross, or east of Slough. The Grand Union Canal flows through the heart of Hayes, accompanied by the Great Western Main Line and significant industry, a town centre, residential areas and country parks. Hayes has a long history. The area appears in the ''Domesday Book'' (1086). Landmarks in the area include the Grade II* listed Parish Church, St Mary's – the central portion of the church survives from the twelfth century and it remains in use (the church dates back to 830 A.D.) – and Barra Hall, a Grade II listed manor house. The town's oldest public house – the Adam and Eve, on the Uxbridge Road – though not the original seventeenth-century structure, has remained on the same s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Unit 4 + 2
Unit 4 + 2 were a British pop band, who had a number one hit on the UK Singles Chart in 1965 with the song "Concrete and Clay". The track topped the UK chart for one week. Career Early days In 1962, Brian Parker, then the guitar player and songwriter with the Hunters, decided to form his own vocal harmony group. He asked his friend David 'Buster' Meikle to join him. They asked singer Tommy Moeller and Peter Moules, who were at school together, to join their group, which they called Unit 4, reportedly inspired by "Unit 4," the fourth and final segment of the BBC Radio show ''Pick of the Pops'', which featured the Top 10. Unit 4 was later joined by Russ Ballard on guitar and Robert 'Bob' Henrit on drums (forming the + 2) for a six-piece, four-part vocal harmony group. Moeller was lead singer and front man from the first show as the Unit 4 vocal group to the last show as Unit 4 + 2 as vocal group with instruments. Owing to ill health and a dislike of performing live, Brian Parker ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Soul Music
Soul music is a popular music genre that originated in the African American community throughout the United States in the late 1950s and early 1960s. It has its roots in African-American gospel music and rhythm and blues. Soul music became popular for dancing and listening, where U.S. record labels such as Motown, Atlantic and Stax were influential during the Civil Rights Movement. Soul also became popular around the world, directly influencing rock music and the music of Africa. It also had a resurgence with artists like Erykah Badu under the genre neo-soul. Catchy rhythms, stressed by handclaps and extemporaneous body moves, are an important feature of soul music. Other characteristics are a call and response between the lead vocalist and the chorus and an especially tense vocal sound. The style also occasionally uses improvisational additions, twirls, and auxiliary sounds. Soul music reflects the African-American identity, and it stresses the importance of an African-Ameri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Little Willy (song)
"Little Willy" is a song written by songwriters Nicky Chinn and Mike Chapman and performed by the British glam rock band The Sweet, released in 1972 as a non-album single in the UK, peaking at #4 in the best seller charts. It was released in the US in September 1972 and also appeared on their US debut album ''The Sweet (album), The Sweet'' and became their biggest hit in the US, reaching #3 on the Billboard Hot 100, ''Billboard'' Hot 100. ''Billboard'' ranked it as the Billboard Year-End Hot 100 singles of 1973, #18 song for 1973. In a retrospective review of glam rock, glitter rock, ''Bomp!'' noted that although rock music journalists almost uniformly "loathed it", the song was a huge commercial success and "helped launch the essential glitter rock formula sound". "Little Willy" was used extensively in the pilot of the television series ''Life on Mars (UK TV series), Life on Mars''. Chart performance Weekly charts Year-end charts Personnel "Little Willy" *Brian Conno ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fox On The Run (Sweet Song)
"Fox on the Run" is a song by the British band Sweet, first recorded in 1974. It was the first Sweet single written by the band, rather than producers Nicky Chinn and Mike Chapman, and was their 14th single overall. The song became the best charting single in Australia in 1975, with six weeks at number one. Note: Used for Australian Singles and Albums charting from 1970 until ARIA created their own charts in mid-1988. Two versions were recorded by Sweet. The original version was produced by Mike Chapman in association with Nicky Chinn on the European version of the 1974 album ''Desolation Boulevard''. Sweet also recorded and produced a more pop-oriented version as a 7" single in 1975, which is the more familiar version of the song. The 1975 single version was included on the Capitol Records version of ''Desolation Boulevard''. The song's inclusion in the trailer for ''Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2'' led to the song reaching number one on the iTunes Rock Chart in late 2016. Back ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Turn It Down (Sweet Song)
"Turn It Down" is a song by the British glam rock band the Sweet, from their 1974 album ''Desolation Boulevard''. The song was removed from the US version of ''Desolation Boulevard'' however, along with two other songs. "Turn It Down" was the second single released from the album. In the UK, the single reached number 41 on the charts but fared better in Europe, reaching the top five in Norway and Germany. Style Writing in 2018, Simon Philio proclaimed "Turn It Down" to be " proto-glam metal" in style. Controversy "Turn It Down" was banned by the BBC due to its subject nature, and because it contained the words "for God's sake". Personnel *Brian Connolly – lead vocals *Steve Priest – bass, backing vocals * Andy Scott – guitars, backing vocals *Mick Tucker Michael Thomas Tucker (17 July 1947 – 14 February 2002) was an English musician, best known as the drummer and backing vocalist of the glam rock and hard rock band Sweet. Biography Mick Tucker was born on July 1 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Ballroom Blitz
"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. It remains an enduring favourite with close to 30,000,000 streams on YouTube. 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. History and description The song was recorded at Audio International Studio, 18 Rodmarton Street, London, and released as a single in September 1973. The song appeared on the US and Canadian versions of ''Desolation Boulevard'' but never appeared on a Sweet album in the UK, other than hits compilations. The initial guitar and drum riff of the song has similarity to a 1963 song by Bobby Comstock called "Let's Stomp". Cover ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Block Buster!
"Block Buster!" (also sometimes listed as "Blockbuster!") is a 1973 single by Sweet. Written by Nicky Chinn and Mike Chapman, and produced by Phil Wainman, "Block Buster!" was the band's sole UK No. 1 hit. Released in January 1973, it spent five weeks at the top of the UK Singles Chart, and also made #1 in the Netherlands, Germany, Austria and Ireland, and #3 in Finland, Switzerland, Denmark and Norway. Outside Europe it peaked at #1 in New Zealand, #29 in Australia and at #73 on the American ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Music and lyric Its Muddy Waters-inspired blues riff is markedly similar to that featured on fellow RCA act David Bowie's "The Jean Genie", released shortly before, but all parties maintained this was a coincidence. TV performances Some controversy arose after the band's performance of the song on the British television program ''Top of the Pops ''Top of the Pops'' (''TOTP'') is a British music chart television programme, made by the BBC and originally broadc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
