Sweet: Glam Rock’s most tragic band
- aimeeelkington153
- Oct 10
- 7 min read
Sweet were one of the biggest glam rock bands of the 70s, with huge hits and a sound that helped define an era. But their story isn’t all glitter and glam - it’s also one of tragedy, lost opportunities, and a potential they never quite met. Some have even called them glam rock’s most tragic band. Read on to find out why.
First of all - elephant in the room - is it Sweet, or The Sweet? Well, actually, it’s both. The band started out in London way back in the late sixties under the name Sweetshop. The original line-up was Brian Connolly on vocals, Steve Priest on bass, Mick Tucker on drums, and Frank Torpey on guitar. They quickly changed the name to The Sweet to avoid clashing with another band, and went by that for a while. Over time, especially in the States, the "The" was often dropped, and they became commonly known simply as "Sweet."
However, in the UK and on some of their early album covers, the full name "The Sweet" was still used. The name phased into just Sweet at some point in the mid seventies. The name confusion might seem like a small detail, but it reflected a bigger problem.
The band’s identity was split between their image as a pop-oriented glam band and their desire to be taken seriously as rock musicians. More on that in a bit.
Whatever you call them, their music is brilliant, with songs like Ballroom Blitz, Fox on the Run, and Love Is Like Oxygen still blasting out at festivals and on classic rock stations today.
But behind the hits and the spandex and platform boots, there’s a story of personal demons, foul play, and sheer bad luck that held them back from lasting success.
Early on their sound wasn’t quite nailed down, and they were playing a mix of covers and a few original songs they had come up with. They released a few singles, but none of them charted.
This was a band still figuring out what they wanted to be. The late 60s was an odd time to be a rock band because the scene was rapidly changing. Psychedelic stuff was fading, and heavier, more riff-driven rock was starting to come up.
One of the turning points was when guitarist Andy Scott joined in 1970. He was a brilliant guitarist, and could rip up a solo like the best of them. But he wouldn’t start doing that on Sweet’s songs for a few years.
The next was when they signed to RCA Records in 1971, and got their first break with ‘Funny Funny'.
That was just the beginning. Over the next few years, Sweet became one of the biggest names in the UK glam rock scene.
In the early days, Sweet’s sound was a blend of catchy pop hooks with rock riffs, carried by Brian Connolly’s distinctive vocals. But the thing is, they were essentially a puppet band. They weren’t allowed to write the songs. Their record label wanted catchy, radio-friendly singles, and they had the perfect solution: Nicky Chinn and Mike Chapman, also known as the song writing juggernaut Chinnichap.
It was bubblegum pop, recorded using session musicians, and played by Sweet. They went along with it in the beginning because it was either that or find another gig. And, in fairness, things were going well. Songs like “Co-Co,” “Little Willy,” and “Block Buster!” flew up the charts. Sweet were everywhere in the early 70s. Their albums sold well and their concerts packed venues. They looked the part too, with big hair, glitter, and platform boots. When they went more ‘glam’ they really leaned into the costumes and stage theatrics.
Their onstage presence caused many people to question their sexuality - although none of the band were actually gay. They were just jumping on the gender - blurring bandwagon of the rock scene at the time. In an interview with Loudersound, Mick Tucker spoke about the influence David Bowie had on their look.
“At the start, we just used make-up as a giggle. “We were at Top Of The Pops for Little Willy and Bowie kept telling our make-up girls, ‘No, no, no, their eyes aren’t right’. We all thought, ‘What a strange young man, taking it so seriously’.”
It quickly became apparent the band were more than just session musicians. They had good material of their own, and wanted to play it. The label recognised this, but wanted to keep a good thing going with the pop.
Meanwhile, the band wanted to push harder rock sounds. This tug-of-war shaped their music and career in complicated ways.
On one hand, they were a successful band with huge hits. On the other, they wanted to be taken more seriously.
So a compromise was struck: the ‘A side’ singles would still be written by the Chinnichap duo. But the ‘b side’ would feature tracks written and recorded by the guys. This was the start of the transition into their proper glam era.
It all kicked off with Wig-Wam Bam in 1972. It was their first proper glam single – and, importantly, the first time the band members played on the recording themselves, not session musicians.
The song had swagger, their visuals exploded, and the band were looking every bit the glam icons.
Now remember - this is glam rock in the early 70’s. It isn't the screaming hair metal of the 80’s, it’s the precursor.
Then came Block Buster! in 1973. It hit No. 1 in the UK and topped charts across Europe. It was quintessential glam and it firmly stamped Sweet on the map.
The hits kept rolling. Ballroom Blitz was next – a glam blast inspired by a volatile live gig where they were forced offstage by a rain of bottles and spit. Teenage Rampage in ‘74 was a big, brash singalong hit with lots of glam-riff energy.
During this run, Sweet epitomised glam rock – not just the music, but the look. Platform boots, chain-mail, makeup, and matching shiny outfits. They pushed flamboyance to the max, even more so than glam contemporaries like T. Rex or Bowie.
Musically, the Chinnichap song writing team fuelled most of these early glam hits, but the band was growing bolder. On the B-sides and albums like Sweet Fanny Adams in 1974, they began writing heavier, more raw tracks – foreshadowing the shift they'd make later.
By 1975, things shifted even more. Fox on the Run was their first A-side co-written by the band itself – a sign Sweet were stepping out of the pop mould. They recorded it twice: firstly with producers, later as their own, more rock-oriented version. It landed in the UK and US Top Ten, marking a peak where glam flair met raw DIY energy.
They were rubbing shoulders with some good company too, a friendly rivalry with fellow glam pioneers - Slade.
Despite all this, they weren’t making any money, or at least, a lot less than they should have been.
As the 70’s kept rolling, the band dialled up the rock, and took more control of the song writing.
The hits kept on coming… but then the cracks began to show.
Brian Connolly, the lead singer, struggled badly with alcohol addiction. His health suffered, and the powerful voice that had driven many of their hits began to falter.
It all started unravelling in 1978 when Brian Connolly was viciously attacked outside a pub. There are two versions of the story: one that he was defending his car from vandals, and one that it was much more sinister.
Steve Priest spoke to The Guardian about it in 2010.
"It was a set-up job. He'd annoyed someone. There were three guys attacking him and one of them kicked him in the throat. Brian heard him say, 'That should do the job.' The only one who knows the truth is an ex-roadie of ours, and he won't tell."
He suffered serious injuries to his throat, damaging his ability to sing and perform. That incident marked a definitive turning point in the band's story.
Brian’s struggle with alcohol became unmanageable - and by 1979 he left the band. Losing him wasn’t just losing the frontman - his unique stage presence and raw energy were central to everything Sweet had achieved.
As Connolly began his downward spiral, the rest of the group had their own demons. Steve Priest was battling addiction too, and the relentless grind of touring started to wear everyone down. The camaraderie that had held them together slipped away, and as the glam scene faded, so did their fanbase.
By the early 1980s, Sweet felt less like a cutting-edge band and more like a nostalgia act. The original line-up fell apart.The band split into two versions of Sweet: One led by Andy Scott, and one by Steve Priest. This would form a bitter rivalry - the two factions wouldn’t even play on the same continent.
Meanwhile, Brian’s life after Sweet was heartbreaking. He continued to struggle with addiction, and in 1981 suffered 14 cardiac arrests in 24 hours. He was partially paralysed, suffered tremors and had slurred speech. He fell into deep financial and personal hardship, and passed away in 1997 - largely forgotten by mainstream music. It’s one of the most painful fall-from-grace stories in rock history. The band have alleged that a Channel 4 documentary detailing his attempted comeback actually contributed to his death, calling it ‘sickening’.
Other tragedies followed. In 1991 drummer Mick Tucker, suffered from seizures and pancreatitis, and sadly died of Leukaemia in 2002.
Steve Priest managed to keep it going until 2020, when he sadly joined his friends. Only Andy Scott kept the flame alive, touring as his version of Sweet and playing the classics to loyal fans, despite battling cancer. He’s still going at 75!
So why didn’t Sweet become the lasting legends they had the potential to be?
First, there was that identity tug-of-war - between pop hits driven by producers and a harder rock trajectory the band themselves wanted. This left them in a limbo, not fully accepted as either camp.
Other than that, sheer bad fortune seemed to shadow them. The pub attack, health crises - these were tragic moments that derailed their path. To add insult to injury, glam rock itself was a relatively short-lived trend. As punk and disco rose in the late 70s, Sweet’s sound began to feel dated despite their attempts to adapt.
But their music refuses to die. “Ballroom Blitz” still bangs out in stadiums, parties, and football chants around the world. “Fox on the Run” still gets covered. And “Love Is Like Oxygen” proved they could still surprise us.
They never became giants on the scale of Bowie or Queen, but their impact is clear. Bands like Def Leppard and Mötley Crüe have cited Sweet as a key influence, inspired by the glam look and musical approach. In the 80’s the hair metal craze would take the glam blueprint to new heights.
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