The group's initial years were characterized by bubblegum songs that they were only allowed to sing on, with heavier self-penned rock songs as the b-sides. They achieved their first hit in 1970 with the release of Funny Funny. In the following months, Sweet released "Co-Co" and Poppa Joe, both achieving huge success in the charts. In 1971 they released the album "Funny How Sweet Co-Co Can Be", which consisted mostly of songs written by Nicky Chinn and Mike Chapman.
Sweet's success continued with more glam rock and power pop oriented tunes, such as "Little Willy", "Wig Wam Bam", Hellraiser and Ballroom Blitz. By this time Sweet had a world-wide following, clocking up no less than 18 top 20 hit singles, and the guys were most notably popular in Germany and the U.K.
The group's members are perhaps best remembered for their very 'glam' outfits, featuring a lot of glitter, platform boots, chain mail shirts, and plenty of makeup. The group practically defining the camp extreme of the glam rock look, Steve Priest would later say it was very short-lived and only happened by accident, as some sort of ongoing rivalry between them and artists such as David Bowie and T. Rex. Everyone tried to outdo each other’s ridiculousness on Top Of The Pops. Sweet’s glam rock era lasted from 1972 to 1973.
In 1974, Sweet released Teenage Rampage, The Six Teens and Turn It Down, showing their desire to take a more hard rock direction. By this time tensions between the band and the songwriters and producer started to grow. The guys also pushed for more songwriting control, which increased tensions between them, the songwriters and producer.
In 1975, Sweet wrote, recorded and produced the smash hit Fox on the Run on their own, essentially severing ties with Chinn and Chapman. Following the song’s success, they released the acclaimed track Action. Their momentum went on, the band embarking their first U.S. tour.
After their recent success, Sweet released the “Give Us A Wink” album in 1976, which was notably heavy. It contained the single The Lies In Your Eyes, which achieved moderate success. A year later, in 1977, they released the album “Off The Record”, but singles such as Fever Of Love and Lost Angels failed to gain traction, partly due to bad marketing from their label. Despite this, the band continued to distance themselves from their earlier commercial ventures.
Sweet’s career was revitalized with the release of Love Is Like Oxygen in 1978. By this time Connolly had developed a drinking problem and started to be increasingly unreliable during recording sessions. Following a disastrous U.S. tour, he left the band officially in early 1979. The band continued on as a three piece band for three more years, releasing “Cut Above The Rest”, “Waters Edge”, and “Identity Crisis”. Priest took over most of the lead vocals until Sweet’s disbandment in 1981.
In 1985, Andy Scott and Mick Tucker re-formed Sweet with various new vocalists and bass players, the most notable being a 1986 reunion featuring Paul Mario Day (the first singer of Iron Maiden), keyboardist Phil Lanzon, and bass player Malcolm McNulty (who is now lead singer for fellow glam rock band Slade). Steve Priest was asked to join Tucker and Scott for the 1985 Australian tour, but declined at the last moment. Vocalist and bass player Jeff Brown joined in 1988. In 1991, Mick Tucker departed due to ill health, leaving Andy Scott as the only original member. He was replaced by German Bodo Schopf, and subsequently, Bruce Bisland. After Tucker's departure, Andy Scott changed the band's name to 'Andy Scott's Sweet'.
During this time, Brian Connolly, now in bad health, also performed with his version of Sweet. In 1981, he suffered multiple cardiac arrests, which permanently affected his health. He died on 9 February 1997, aged 51. He was cremated after a ceremony at Most Holy Name Roman Catholic Church at Old Mill Lane, Denham, Buckinghamshire and his ashes were scattered over the water by his adult daughters Nicola and Michelle. He also left an ex-wife, Marilyn, and a two-year-old son called Brian Junior (BJ) by his girlfriend Jean.
Michael Thomas (Mick) Tucker died 14 February 2002 in Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire from leukemia, aged 54; his funeral took place 25 February 2002. He is buried in an unnamed grave in Chorleywood House cemetery. It is marked by a sleeping angel. A wooden bench with a brass plaque funded by fans as a dedication to Mick is also positioned in the grave's vicinity.[2] He left behind a widow, Jan, and a daughter Ayston from his first marriage to Pauline (†1979). According to Steve Priest: "He was the most underrated drummer that ever came out of England. He was the powerhouse of the band. He was technically marvellous. His timing was impeccable, but he had a lot of soul as well and he really felt what he was playing."
In 1994, Steve Priest published his autobiography “Are You Ready Steve?”, which was a raw expose of his time with Sweet and pre-Sweet. In 2006 he released Priest's Precious Poems, a CD of tracks largely consisting of his more recent material. In 2008, he came out of retirement to form his own version of Sweet, based in the US. A year later this band released a live CD called Live In America. In March 2020, he was admitted to a hospital in L.A. After battling pneumonia for a few months, he died on June 4th 2020 at the age of 72.
Andy Scott currently continues to tour with Sweet. In 2002, Sweet released a new album called Sweetlife. February 2006 saw the release of a new Suzi Quatro album, Back To The Drive, which was produced by Scott. In March 2012, Scott released a covers album called New York Connection. Scott teamed up with Suzi Quatro and Don Powell to release a CD called Quatro, Scott and Powell in 2017. Scott has continued to produce for bands throughout the years, currently being the producer for Novatines.
In recent years, Sweet's popularity has surged again. The song Ballroom Blitz was featured in 2016's Suicide Squad, while Fox on the Run was featured in the trailer for 2017's Guardians of the Galaxy 2.
Sunny Sleeps Late
Sweet Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
She moves with the cool of moonlight
Losing the day, finding her way to me
And Sunny sleeps late in the morning
Sunny stays up every night
Sunny sleeps late in the morning
To be 'ware of the lights of morning
By losing their glow the stars tell her go away - away
But still she can see the moon
'Cause she knows she'll be leaving soon
Going away to hide from the day once more
And Sunny sleeps late in the morning
Sunny stays up every night
Sunny sleeps late in the morning
Opens her eyes to starlight
She moves with the cool of moonlight
Losing the day, finding her way to me - to me
But still she can see the moon
'Though she knows she'll be leaving soon
Going away to hide from the day once more
And Sunny sleeps late in the morning
Sunny stays up every night
Sunny sleeps late in the morning
And Sunny sleeps late in the morning
Sunny stays up every night
Sunny sleeps late in the morning
And Sunny sleeps late in the morning
Sunny stays up every night
Sunny sleeps late in the morning
The song "Sunny Sleeps Late" by Sweet is a melancholic ballad that deals with the fear of facing reality and the comfort of hiding and losing oneself in the night. The song tells the story of Sunny, a girl who opens her eyes to starlight and moves with the cool of moonlight. She is afraid of the morning, the time when everything becomes too real and she has to face her problems. Instead, she finds solace in the night, where she can lose herself and find her way to the person she loves. Sunny warns them to be wary of the morning, as it can be blinding, obscuring the beauty of the night. She can still see the moon, however, as it reminds her that she will be leaving soon to hide from the day once more.
The repetition of the phrase "Sunny sleeps late in the morning" acts as a dulcet refrain throughout the song, emphasizing the sense of longing and nostalgia for a time when reality can be forgotten. The song also highlights the importance of love and companionship in finding comfort and solace amidst the darkness. The lyrics convey a sense of sadness and yearning for something that is just out of reach.
Line by Line Meaning
Opens her eyes to starlight
She wakes up at night when the stars are shining bright
She moves with the cool of moonlight
She glides gracefully like the moonlight
Losing the day, finding her way to me
She forgets about daytime and comes to me
And Sunny sleeps late in the morning
Sunny prefers to sleep in and wake up late
Sunny stays up every night
Sunny is a night owl and stays up all night
She whispers a word of warning
She cautions me to beware of the morning light
To be 'ware of the lights of morning
The morning light is harmful to her and she warns me to be careful too
By losing their glow the stars tell her go away - away
The fading of starlight warns her to leave and hide from the daylight
But still she can see the moon
She can still see the moon even though daylight is approaching
'Cause she knows she'll be leaving soon
She's leaving soon to hide from the day again
Going away to hide from the day once more
She's retreating from the day like she always does
Sunny sleeps late in the morning
Sunny prefers to sleep in and wake up late
Sunny stays up every night
Sunny is a night owl and stays up all night
And Sunny sleeps late in the morning
Sunny prefers to sleep in and wake up late
Opens her eyes to starlight
She wakes up at night when the stars are shining bright
She moves with the cool of moonlight
She glides gracefully like the moonlight
Losing the day, finding her way to me - to me
She forgets about daytime and comes to me
But still she can see the moon
She can still see the moon even though daylight is approaching
'Though she knows she'll be leaving soon
She knows she'll have to leave soon to escape the daylight
Going away to hide from the day once more
She's retreating from the day like she always does
Sunny sleeps late in the morning
Sunny prefers to sleep in and wake up late
Sunny stays up every night
Sunny is a night owl and stays up all night
Sunny sleeps late in the morning
Sunny prefers to sleep in and wake up late
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: Desmond Child, Victoria Lynn Shaw
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Rose Stevenson
Never heard this song, love it. I love Brian’s voice. Oh to go back in time and see them live would be a dream. Thanks for posting ❤️❤️❤️
mary unsworth
a nice song
Carol Lopez
Beautiful song.❤❤❤
chris C
this is the only album I don't have by them... I see there are some tracks on it that I haven't heard before. The best rock band that ever lived!!
vanf
Sounds very Buddy Holly. I love this! Smooth as silk.. ❤
martin pringle
What a voice. RIP Brian
Ute Gorosics
Ich liebe Brians Stimme so süß wie popcorn 🥰👍❤
Linda Hubbuck
Brian sounds Amazing
The1micha3
Die Scheibe ist der Anfang der Karriere und ist cool
Robin Wilson
Could somebody please tell me who wrote this?