If you read today’s headline, you could be scratching your noggin and thinking, “What the hell is Chuck putting together for a playlist today?”
Of course, there are some of you will see those words and immediately say, “Oh man, he’s going to do a K-Chuck Radio blog post on the Sweet!”
And you would be right.
The Sweet were truly a bubblegum-pop band in their early hits, so much so that they even covered the song “Get On The Line,” a track by the ultimate bubblegum-pop band, The Archies.
Eventually the band hooked up with producers-songwriters Mike Chapman and Nicky Chinn, and scored their first UK Top 10 hit with this bubblegum track, “Funny Funny.”
Yeah, at that time the Sweet were so bubblegum they could have been renamed Bazooka. But then they added a harder, glam-rock edge to their singalong songs – the thick drums, the sirens – and came up with the monster hit “Block Buster!”
Essentially the Sweet became solid mainstays on the UK Top Ten charts, and they were also regulars on England’s premier music show, Top of the Pops. Here’s a clip from TOTP, as the Sweet perform their Top 5 hit “Wig-Wam Bam.” Yeah, I could do without Brian Connolly wearing the headdress… but I digress..
Eventually the Sweet’s hits crossed over to the United States, where their song “Little Willy” cracked into the Top 40 here. You might have heard it a few times.
But the Sweet’s Top 40 hits were all bubblegum fluff; the band performed harder-edged songs in concert. During one concert performance in Germany, the fans wanted to hear the Sweet’s Top 40 hits, and when they didn’t get what they wanted, the fans threw bottles at the Sweet, forcing the band off stage. What do you do in a situation like that? You write a song about the incident, you record it, and in 1973 it becomes the Sweet’s most recognizable song. Oh yeah, and two years later, it becomes a Top 10 hit in America. Ready Steve? Uh-huh… Andy? Yeah… Nick? Okay… All right fellas… Let’s GOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!
Granted, “Ballroom Blitz” was the track that I initially associated with The Sweet. But it was their next US hit, “Fox On The Run,” that made me a fan. I swear, WPTR played this record every hour on the hour, and it still wasn’t enough.
The Sweet followed that song up with a track called “Action!,” and although I understand the band was rocking out more and more, this track sounds like they took one of the Electric Light Orchestra’s leftover B-sides and added a rougher edge to it.
Okay, one more Sweet track, and it’s their coolest track. About three years after their glam-rock hits last charted, the Sweet came back with this easy listening track, “Love is Like Oxygen,” and it was the last Top 10 track for the original lineup of the Sweet.
Today, two members of the original Sweet lineup – lead singer Brian Connolly and drummer Mick Tucker – have passed way, while the remaining original performers – guitarist Andy Scott and bass player Steve Priest – are on tour with their own separate Sweet bands.
And yes, if I do hear “Love Is Like Oxygen” or “Ballroom Blitz” on my car radio, I’ll crank it up and sing along. If it’s “Fox on the Run,” I’ll even roll down the windows and see if I can get other drivers to sing along with me.
Great songs from a great 70’s band.
Chuck The Writer 