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.
Turn It Down
Sweet Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And you stood there crackin' on your cinnamon gun
And your Ma was knockin' at your sister's brains
And you couldn't help thinkin' what she hoped to gain
Just then that freak walked in the door
And knocked me to the floor
You said, hey man, you're on some kind of trip
Just turn it down, come on turn it down
I can't take no more of that God awful sound
So for God's sake turn it down
Now the suspicious minds of your learned friends
Will eat away at your kind 'til the music ends
And the creep that taught you everything you know
Will hypocritically ask you what the hell you know
He'll go out and mess around, then go home without a sound
You said, hey man, you're some kinda monk
He said, listen here you punk
Just turn it down, come on turn it down
I can't take no more of that God awful sound
So for God's sake turn it down
Turn it down, just turn it down
Come on turn it down, I said turn it down
Come on turn it down, just turn it down
I can't take no more of that God awful sound
So for God's sake turn it down
The song "Turn It Down" by Sweet is a tale of rebellion and individualism in the face of societal pressure to conform. The opening lines describe a dysfunctional family situation, with the singer being insulted by his father and his mother attacking his sister. In this environment, he finds solace in his music, represented here by his "cinnamon gun," which is likely a reference to a guitar. However, this freedom is threatened by the arrival of a "freak" who criticizes the music and demands it be turned down.
The second verse continues this theme of outside forces trying to control the singer's life, as his friends become suspicious of his nonconformity and the person who taught him about music ends up betraying him. Despite this, he remains committed to his passion and refuses to give in to the demands of those who seek to restrict his creative expression. The repetition of the phrase "turn it down" serves as a metaphor for this pressure to conform, with the singer instead standing up for his right to be himself.
Line by Line Meaning
So your old man went and called you a degenerate bum
Your father insulted you and called you a useless person
And you stood there crackin' on your cinnamon gun
You were angry and upset about the insult
And your Ma was knockin' at your sister's brains
Your mother was pressuring your sister to do something
And you couldn't help thinkin' what she hoped to gain
You were wondering why your mother was being so pushy
Just then that freak walked in the door
At that moment an unusual person entered the room
And knocked me to the floor
That person caused me to fall to the ground
You said, hey man, you're on some kind of trip
You addressed the person who entered the room as someone who is acting strangely
He said, don't give me no lip
He told you not to talk back or argue with him
Now the suspicious minds of your learned friends
Your intelligent friends are now feeling doubtful
Will eat away at your kind 'til the music ends
Their skepticism will continue to affect you until the end of the music
And the creep that taught you everything you know
The person who taught you everything you know is not a good person
Will hypocritically ask you what the hell you know
That person will mockingly question your knowledge
He'll go out and mess around, then go home without a sound
He will act irresponsibly and then act like nothing ever happened
You said, hey man, you're some kinda monk
You sarcastically refer to the person as a monk who is supposed to live a life of self-discipline
He said, listen here you punk
He became angry and told you to listen to him
Turn it down, just turn it down
Lower the volume of the music
Come on turn it down, I said turn it down
I am urging you to lower the volume
I can't take no more of that God awful sound
The music is extremely unpleasant to listen to
So for God's sake turn it down
Please, lower the volume for everyone's comfort
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: MICHAEL DONALD CHAPMAN, NICHOLAS BARRY CHINN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Samurai
So your old man went and called you a degenerate bum
And you stood there crackin' on your cinnamon gun
And your Ma was knockin' at your sister's brains
And you couldn't help thinkin' what she hoped to gain
Just then that freak walked in the door
And knocked me to the floor
You said, hey man, you're on some kind of trip
He said, don't give me no lip
Just turn it down, come on turn it down
I can't take no more of that God awful sound
So for God's sake turn it down
Now the suspicious minds of your learned friends
Will eat away at your kind 'til the music ends
And the creep that taught you everything you know
Will hypocritically ask you what the hell you know
He'll go out and mess around, then go home without a sound
You said, hey man, you're some kinda monk
He said, listen here you punk
Just turn it down, come on turn it down
I can't take no more of that God awful sound
So for God's sake turn it down
Turn it down, just turn it down
Come on turn it down, I said turn it down
Come on turn it down, just turn it down
I can't take no more of that God awful sound
So for God's sake turn it down
Peter Cahill
Wish music of today's mainstream had this much swagger and energy.. bloody superb 👍
Coriel
And creativity from this band goes amiss, unrealized until mused over of their musical, vocal genius...
Prixos
I was twice at a live concert with my father and this is my father's favorite band. I am 35 years old and he was so sad when the band members gradually died. he is a drummer and told me that Mick Tucker was one of the best drummers of the 70s. it made me and him happy that we could see andy scott 2 times live. with his band, of course
kate arnold
I love them.
Zathena Solidor
I'm so envious! I want to see them so bad
Andrew Gaffney
If there was a band I could go back in time to see, it would be Sweet!
RavenThom
saw them once in hartford ct 78 BEST BAND EVER
Rosanna G.
I want also to go back and watching them live 🎶🎤🎸🥁👍
4 wonderful guys playing fantastic Sweet-Music and making their fans happy 💕
Martina Wagner
@Rosanna G. Würde mir unsere lieben Jungs auch auf der Stelle zurück wünschen💓🎸🎤🥁💓 Und einen Liveauftritt zu sehen, dann hätte die 50jährige Wartezeit endlich ein Ende😍🤩😍🤩😍🤩😍🤩
Rosanna G.
@Martina Wagner Oh, ja!!! 🎤🎸🥁🎶💕