The story of the band Sweet: creation of singles, transformation in genre, success

Sweet's band is a national treasure Britainwhich has been conquering all continents for more than five decades. The golden thread that connects the past with the present and the future is the Andy Scott. These days, the band has an illustrious pedigree, successors who are . recreate "live" performance with the same amazing energy and mesmerising vocals associated with the unique sound that has become the band's signature style.

Sweet can't visualise without: Paul Manzi (lead vocalist), Bruce Bisland (drums and vocals), Lee Small (bass guitar and vocals), Andy Scott (guitar and vocals).

Where the story began

In fact, this group is fascinating history a success story that began in 1970. Brian Connolly and Mick Tucker left band Wainwrights Gentlemen in 1968 to form their own called Sweetshop. At the time, they could not have guessed what was to come triumphs lie ahead of them. They are joined by bassist Steve Priest, who already has respect in the music scene thanks to his involvement in the band The Army.

In spite of the two stunning guitarists, Frank Torpey and Mick Stewart, and a few singles that unfortunately did not achieve much success, the band faced a labours and were on the verge of breaking up. However, everything changed when Andy Scott from The Elastic Band joined them. It was 1970, and that's how the band was formed. "classic" Sweet's line-up.

Thanks to Brian Connolly's meeting with producer Phil Wainman at the BBC, Sweet was given the opportunity to work with the talented songwriters, Nicky Chinn and Mike Chapman. Their songs needed just such a vocalist and eventually the whole band.

The first one single Sweet "Funny Funny Funny" was one of the first successful recordings.

First successes and experiments with sound

This period brought the band popularity in the charts, but musically they were hungry for more. The advent of glamour changed everything - the songs "Little Willy" and "Wig-Wam Bam" were humorous and provocative, and when "Blockbuster!" topped the British charts, Sweet became the most popular band.

He was followed by a few more successful songs, "Hellraiser", "Ballroom Blitz", "Teenage Rampage", "The Six Teens" and "Turn It Down", as well as two acclaimed albums, Sweet Fanny Adams and Desolation Boulevard.

Drop in altitude

In the spring of 1975, Sweet tasted success with the release of their first hit of their own "Fox on the Run"which broke into the top ten songs in both the UK and the US.

In America, the success of "Fox on the Run" helped the single "Ballroom Blitz." to hit the summer hit parade that same year.

During the autumn period of 1975, the band released album "Strung Up," which continued their evolution towards album-centric rock. By the end of the decade, however, each subsequent Sweet album proved to be a less than more successful than the last one.

Sweet returned into the charts in 1978 with "Love Is Like Oxygen," but that single became their last a significant achievement. They were never again in the top ten songs, either in the US or the UK.

Brian Connolly left the band after the release of this single, and his place was taken by keyboardist Gary Moberly. The band continued exist for another three years, releasing three albums that did not attract much attention or achieve much success. After several years in which Sweet experienced little success and received even less attention from the public, the band disintegrated in 1982.

The end?

Over the following decade, after the breakup of the band Sweet reunited under various circumstances. In 1985, their dance club track called "It's the Sweet Mix" hit the UK Top-50, and the band again gathered for a tour that didn't turn out as great as expected. In the same decade, Andy Scott toured with the band Paddy Goes to Holyhead.

In 1989, Scott and Tucker rebuilt Sweet for the records live album at London's Marquee Club, and they had planned to tour, but due to the diseases Tucker had to leave the group. Sweet continued to work with Scott as a single the remaining "old" member, and in 1991 released an album called "A".

In the following years Sweet (not to be confused with rival band Sweet, led by former bassist Steve Priest) have performed live with different vocalists and line-ups. In 2011, they released the single "Join Together".

The following year, Sweet returned with album "New York Connection. The band is active toured, and in 2017 their work was recognised with the release of a huge box set, Sensational Sweet, Chapter One: The Wild Bunch, which included their albums and singles recorded between 1971 and 1978.