Andrew David Scott (born 30 June 1949) is a Welsh musician and songwriter. He is best known for being the lead guitarist and a backing vocalist in the

glam rock Glam rock is a style of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom in the early 1970s and was primarily defined by the flamboyant clothing, makeup, and hairstyles of its musicians, particularly platform shoes and glitter. Glam artists d ...

band

Sweet Sweetness is a basic taste most commonly perceived when eating foods rich in sugars. Sweet tastes are generally regarded as pleasurable. In addition to sugars like sucrose, many other chemical compounds are sweet, including aldehydes, ketones, ...

. Following bassist

Steve Priest Stephen Norman Priest (23 February 1948 – 4 June 2020) was an English musician who was the Bass guitar, bassist (and, later, co-lead vocalist) of the glam rock band The Sweet. Early life Priest was born in Hayes, Hillingdon, Hayes, Middlese ...

's death in June 2020, Scott is the last surviving member of the band's classic lineup.

Career

Early life and career

Scott was born on 30 June 1949 in

Wrexham Wrexham ( ; ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in the North East Wales, north-east of Wales. It lies between the Cambrian Mountains, Welsh mountains and the lower River Dee, Wales, Dee Valley, near the England–Wales border, borde ...

, North Wales. He started out playing bass guitar. His first gig was at St Peters Hall in Wrexham with The Rasjaks in November 1963 and then with other bands in Wales such as Guitars Incorporated and 3Ds. He then progressed to guitar and played with other bands including The Saints, The ForeWinds, and The Missing Links. In 1966 he joined The Silverstone Set (later shortened to The Silverstones), who won the TV show '' Opportunity Knocks'' five weeks running, and appeared in the all-winners show for Christmas 1966, losing to

Freddie Starr Freddie Starr (born Frederick Leslie Fowell; 9 January 1943 – 9 May 2019) was an English stand up comedian, impressionist, singer and actor. Starr was the lead singer of Merseybeat rock and roll group the Midniters during the early 1960s, ...

. One of their further highlights was to support

Jimi Hendrix James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American singer-songwriter and musician. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential guitarists of all time. Inducted ...

in Manchester in January 1967. When The Silverstones split, Scott went on to form The Elastic Band, who recorded an album called ''Expansions of Life''. Lead singer Ted Yeadon left to join Love Affair, however, before the album's release, the band folded. During this time they also recorded the album ''Pop Sounds'', under the name The Cool. Scott then played in the backing band for

The Scaffold The Scaffold are a comedy, poetry and music trio from Liverpool, England, consisting of musical performer Mike McGear (real name Peter Michael McCartney, the brother of Paul McCartney), poet Roger McGough and comic entertainer John Gorman. ...

, which also included

Mike McGear Peter Michael McCartney (born 7 January 1944), known professionally as Mike McGear, is an English musician and photographer who was a member of the groups the Scaffold and Grimms. He is the younger brother of former Beatle Paul McCartney. ...

on bass and saxophone. He went on to join Mayfield's Mule, who recorded three singles, "Drinking My Moonshine", "I See a River" and "We Go Rollin'". An album was also released in Uruguay called ''Mayfields Mule'' with the song titles translated on the sleeve into Spanish.

Auditioning for Sweet

In the late summer of 1970, Scott replaced Mick Stewart in The Sweet after an audition in front of

Brian Connolly Brian Francis Connolly (5 October 1945 – 10 February 1997) was a Scottish singer-songwriter, musician and actor, best known as the lead singer of glam rock band Sweet between 1968 and 1979 and known for his charismatic stage presence and di ...

and

Mick Tucker Michael Thomas Tucker (17 July 1947 – 14 February 2002) was an English musician, best known as the drummer of the glam rock and hard rock band Sweet. Personal life Mick Tucker was born on 17 July 1947 in Kingsbury, North West London, the s ...

, as well as group managers

Nicky Chinn Nicholas Barry Chinn (born 16 May 1945) is an English-American songwriter and record producer. Together with Mike Chapman he had a long string of hit singles in the US and UK in the 1970s and early 1980s, including several international record c ...

and

Mike Chapman Michael Donald Chapman (born 13 April 1947) is an Australian 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 ...

. He was one of the last guitarists to audition. According to

's autobiography ''Are You Ready Steve?'', Scott turned up looking pretty untidy, with very long hair and scruffy clothes. He plugged his guitar in and immediately the amplifier began to feedback. He eventually performed his piece and the members of the band thought he should join The Sweet.

Solo career

Scott's first single release in 1975 was a reworked version of the ''

Desolation Boulevard ''Desolation Boulevard'' is the third studio album by English glam rock band Sweet, released in the UK in November 1974. Two noticeably different versions of the album were released: one by RCA Records in Europe, and another by Capitol Record ...

'' track "Lady Starlight" backed by "Where D'Ya Go?". Both songs, recorded during the '' Give Us a Wink'' sessions, were written and produced by Scott and Mick Tucker and featured Scott playing all instruments except the drums (Tucker). Scott made a promotional video for the track and also appeared on Mike Mansfield's British TV Show "Supersonic". Scott released his second solo single, "Gotta See Jane", in 1983 under the name Ladders. It was a cover of the R. Dean Taylor

Motown Motown is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. Founded by Berry Gordy, Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on January 12, 1959, it was incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau ...

hit and was produced by him and Louis Austin, who had worked with Sweet as their engineer on past ventures. The B-side "Krugerrands", co-written with Chris Bradford, was subsequently released as the follow-up single (as Andy Scott this time), but like its predecessor, failed to chart, except in Australia where it peaked at number 89 and

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

where it was a top 10 hit. In 1984, Scott released two more solo singles, "Let Her Dance" and "Invisible". A compilation of all his solo projects, including demos, was released by

Repertoire Records Repertoire Records is a record label from Hamburg, Germany (with UK subsidiaries in Leatherhead, Surrey and London), specialising in reissues of classic pop and rock albums originally issued in the 1960s and 1970s. It was founded in 1982 by Ki ...

in 1993, under the title ''30 Years''.

Paddy Goes to Holyhead and record production

He produced a couple of demos for Weapon, which was then fronted by Danny Hynes who went on to form Paddy Goes to Holyhead and Scott played with them now and again. Scott then produced, played on and appeared in the video for their single "Green Green Grass of Home" and then joined the band on a regular basis until reforming

. Scott produced the

Suzi Quatro Susan Kay Quatro (born June 3, 1950) is an American singer, bass guitarist, songwriter, and actress. In the 1970s, she scored a string of singles that found success in Europe and Australia, with both "Can the Can" (1973) and "Devil Gate Drive" ...

album, '' Back to the Drive'', released in February 2006.

Andy Scott's Sweet

In 1985 Scott and Tucker re-formed Sweet with new members Paul Day (ex-

Iron Maiden Iron Maiden are an English Heavy metal music, heavy metal band formed in Leyton, East London, in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris (musician), Steve Harris. Although fluid in the early years of the band, the line-up for most ...

) on lead vocals, Phil Lanzon (ex-Grand Prix now with Uriah Heep) on keyboards, and

Mal McNulty Malcolm McNulty (born 7 December 1951) is an English rock musician, best known as a vocalist with Hazzard, bass player then vocalist with Sweet, and as a former vocalist and guitarist with Slade from 2005 to 2019. Biography McNulty was born ...

(ex-

Weapon A weapon, arm, or armament is any implement or device that is used to deter, threaten, inflict physical damage, harm, or kill. Weapons are used to increase the efficacy and efficiency of activities such as hunting, crime (e.g., murder), law ...

) on bass. This band became "Andy Scott's Sweet" following Tucker's departure in 1991.

Other work

In July 2010, Scott appeared in UK television adverts for the insurance company VanCompare.com. Three adverts were in circulation featuring "Fox on the Run", "Love Is Like Oxygen", and "Action". Scott was a main organiser of the first charity Rock Against Cancer concert in

All Cannings All Cannings (pronounced "Allcannings") is a village and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in the English county of Wiltshire, about east of Devizes. The parish includes the nearby smaller settlement of Allington. In 2011 the parish had ...

, Wiltshire, in May 2012, which was headlined by

Brian May Sir Brian Harold May (born 19 July 1947) is an English musician, songwriter, record producer, animal welfare activist and astrophysics, astrophysicist. He achieved global fame as the lead guitarist and backing vocalist of the rock band Queen ...

The Boomtown Rats The Boomtown Rats are an Irish rock/ new wave band originally formed in Dublin in 1975. Between 1977 and 1985, they had a series of Irish and UK hits including " Like Clockwork", " Rat Trap", " I Don't Like Mondays" and " Banana Republic". T ...

, and

Midge Ure James "Midge" Ure (; born 10 October 1953) is a Scottish singer-songwriter and record producer. His stage name, Midge, is a phonetic reversal of Jim. Ure enjoyed particular success in the 1970s and 1980s in bands including Slik, Thin Lizzy, ...

. Concerts are still ongoing, in which Scott still plays an active role. Since the death of Steve Priest in June 2020, Andy is the last surviving original member of the Sweet.

Personal life

Scott lives in a converted barn at

, in the

Vale of Pewsey The Vale of Pewsey or Pewsey Vale is an area of Wiltshire, England to the east of Devizes and south of Marlborough, centred on the village of Pewsey. Geography The vale is an extent of lower lying ground separating the chalk downs of Salisbury ...

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated to Wilts) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It borders Gloucestershire to the north, Oxfordshire to the north-east, Berkshire to the east, Hampshire to the south-east, Dorset to the south, and Somerset to ...

. His wife Maddy left him in 2004 after his absence on a long tour of Australia. In September 2009, Scott was diagnosed with

prostate cancer Prostate cancer is the neoplasm, uncontrolled growth of cells in the prostate, a gland in the male reproductive system below the bladder. Abnormal growth of the prostate tissue is usually detected through Screening (medicine), screening tests, ...

; following treatment, he was in remission.

Discography

With Sweet

As Andy Scott

Albums

* ''Thirty Years: The Andy Scott Solo Singles'' (1993;

) (compilation of solo singles and demos)

Singles

* "Where D'Ya Go" / "Lady Starlight" (1975; RCA) * "Lady Starlight" / "Where D'Ya Go" (1975;

RCA RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded in 1919 as the Radio Corporation of America. It was initially a patent pool, patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse Electric Corporation, Westinghou ...

) * "Krugerrands" / "Face" (1984; Statik) * "Let Her Dance" / "Suck It And See" (1984; Statik) * "Invisible" / "Never Too Young" (1984; Statik)

12" singles

*"Gotta See Jane" / "Gotta See Jane" (Radio Mix) (3:10) / "Krugerrands" (4:00) *"Krugerrands" (Club Mix) (4:04) / "Face" (4:48) / "Krugerrands" (Single Edit) (3:40) / "Krugermental" (4:08) *"Let Her Dance" (8:06) / "Let Her Dance" (Instrumental) (4:24) / "Suck It and See" (4:19) *"Invisible" (7" Version) (3:54) / "Invisible" (Instrumental) (5:53) / "Invisible" (5:20) / "Never Too Young" (3:08)

With Ladders

Singles

* "Gotta See Jane" / "Krugerrands" (1983; Statik/Virgin)

With Andy Scott's Sweet

Starting at the year of 2000 only as "Sweet" again

Singles

* "X-Ray Specs" (1991; SPV) * "Stand Up" (1992; SPV) * " Am I Ever Gonna See Your Face Again" (1992; SPV) (1970's Australian chart hit, written by Brewster-Neeson-Brewster and recorded by band The Angels) * "Do It All Over Again" (2002; Delicious Records) * "Join Together" (2011; digital release) (a cover of The Who's 1972 chart single, written by Pete Townshend) * "

Let It Snow "Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!", also known as simply "Let It Snow", is a song written by lyricist Sammy Cahn and composer Jule Styne in July 1945 in Hollywood, California, during a heatwave as Cahn and Styne imagined cooler conditions. ...

" (2011; digital release) (US # 1 for Vaughan Monroe in 1946; recorded by Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin et al., written by Sammy Cahn and Jule Styne)

Albums

;Studio * ''"A"'' (1992; SPV) * ''The Answer'' (1995; SPV) (re-released different version of 'A' with extra tracks) * ''Hannover Sessions'' (1996; Pseudonym) (4-CD set containing "A" recording sessions, "Alive And Giggin'", rarities with bonus video clips and "The Answer") * ''Dangerous Game'' (1997; Chinebridge) (re-released version of 'The Answer') * ''Chronology'' (2002; Delicious) (studio album with re-recordings of Sweet material) * ''Sweetlife'' (2002; Delicious) (studio album of new material) * ''New York Connection'' (2012) (studio album with cover songs) * ''The Hits'' (2012) (studio album with re-recordings of Sweet material and "Let It Snow" as hidden bonus track (included in the track "Peppermint Twist"); digital download and cd version from the official web site) * ''Full Circle'' (2024) ;Live * ''Live at the Marquee'' (1989; SPV/Maze) (double album which includes four new studio recordings; released as a recording by "Sweet"- as it also featured original member Mick Tucker) * ''Alive and Giggin'!'' (1995; Pseudonym) * ''Glitz, Blitz & Hitz'' (1996; CNR) (limited edition version with bonus tracks also released) * ''Sweet Fanny Adams Revisited'' (2012) (digital download, cd version from the official web site and full release in March 2013) * ''Desolation Boulevard Revisited'' (2012) (digital download and full release in March 2013; this is the same album as Sweet Fanny Adams Revisited, only with a different cover)

References

External links

Andy Scott's personal website

The Sweet web – Andy Scott's Sweet

Andy Scott's Sweet website

Sweet CD's and eBooks
{{DEFAULTSORT:Scott, Andy 1949 births Living people Welsh rock guitarists British lead guitarists People from Wrexham The Sweet members Glam rock musicians