Post by Pete70s on Sept 24, 2006 18:52:12 GMT -5
I'm sure Ken will especially like this weeks Contender:
Sweet
One of the fore-fathers of the "glam" movement of the early 70's, Sweet were probably the band that most succesfully bridged bubblegum and power-pop.
The roots of Sweet trace back to a band called Wainwright's Generation, which included drummer Mick Tucker. Vocalist Ian Gillan (who would go on to Deep Purple) left and was replaced by singer Brian Connolly. They continued to work together after leaving the band, eventually forming Sweetshop, which was shortened to Sweet to avoid conflict with another band.
After releasing several singles in their native England, the band finally scored a Stateside success with "Little Willy" in 1973. The band would later dismiss these early singles as "crap", dropping the "glam" image for a more hard rock approach. The move would be a successful one, as their 1975 album "Desolution Boulevard" hit paydirt with the classics "Ballroom Blitz" and "Fox On The Run".
The release of the album "Level Headed" and top-10 single "Love Is Like Oxygen" in 1978 showed the band at their hardest-rocking yet. Unfortunately, it would be their last U.S. success, as Brian Connolly left the band that year. Sweet continued on without him, but never achieved the same success and officially disbanded in 1981. Several short-lived reunions proved fruitless, and the deaths of Brian Connolly in 1997 and Mick Tucker in 2002 sealed the fate of the original band.
Today, the name "Sweet" is mostly forgotten, but the songs live on, as "Ballroom Blitz" still recieves regular airplay, and I've heard "Love Is Like Oxygen" and "Fox On The Run" on the radio from time-to-time. Hall consideration? Maybe, maybe not....
Sweet
One of the fore-fathers of the "glam" movement of the early 70's, Sweet were probably the band that most succesfully bridged bubblegum and power-pop.
The roots of Sweet trace back to a band called Wainwright's Generation, which included drummer Mick Tucker. Vocalist Ian Gillan (who would go on to Deep Purple) left and was replaced by singer Brian Connolly. They continued to work together after leaving the band, eventually forming Sweetshop, which was shortened to Sweet to avoid conflict with another band.
After releasing several singles in their native England, the band finally scored a Stateside success with "Little Willy" in 1973. The band would later dismiss these early singles as "crap", dropping the "glam" image for a more hard rock approach. The move would be a successful one, as their 1975 album "Desolution Boulevard" hit paydirt with the classics "Ballroom Blitz" and "Fox On The Run".
The release of the album "Level Headed" and top-10 single "Love Is Like Oxygen" in 1978 showed the band at their hardest-rocking yet. Unfortunately, it would be their last U.S. success, as Brian Connolly left the band that year. Sweet continued on without him, but never achieved the same success and officially disbanded in 1981. Several short-lived reunions proved fruitless, and the deaths of Brian Connolly in 1997 and Mick Tucker in 2002 sealed the fate of the original band.
Today, the name "Sweet" is mostly forgotten, but the songs live on, as "Ballroom Blitz" still recieves regular airplay, and I've heard "Love Is Like Oxygen" and "Fox On The Run" on the radio from time-to-time. Hall consideration? Maybe, maybe not....
