Loudersound.com:
https://www.loudersound.com/features/the-sweet-is-it-finally-time-to-give-them-the-credit-they-deserve
Interesting article, showing how cynical the guys were about themselves:
“We were like four dissipated old whores, mincing about on Top Of The Pops and churning out computerised pop, just being as flash as assholes. Everybody thought we were a bunch of poofs…” The above, offered by drummer Mick Tucker in 1974, is evidence of the many misconceptions concerning The Sweet, or merely Sweet as they became known once the affections of teenyboppers wore off. The four members of Sweet were actually womanising, drug taking, hell-raising, macho alcoholics. And although they burst onto the scene miming to early hits like Funny Funny and Co-Co, then emerged as highcamp stalwarts of the UK singles with glam-rock anthems like Blockbuster, The Ballroom Blitz and Teenage Rampage, their best music by far was created once the glitter had worn off. If you flipped over just about any of the quartet’s classic singles, a selfpenned B-side like Burn On The Flame, Rock ‘N’ Roll Disgrace or Need A Lot Of Lovin’ would be ready to assault your eardrums.
Yes, Sweet were rockers… albeit frustrated ones. At their prime, circa the Sweet Fanny Adams and Desolation Boulevard albums, they were making records good enough to have matched any of the true giants of the 1970s, including infinitely more credible names like Bowie, Led Zeppelin and Deep Purple. Sadly, you probably never heard any of them. That’s because Sweet were never anywhere near as cool as the icons whose respect they craved. Though unmissable, their exploits on Top Of The Pops branded them damaged, novelty goods. To make matters worse, wrapped up in their own vanity and self-importance, they often behaved like complete and utter fools. This, then, is a tale of glorious underachievers. But by Christ, did Sweet have fun while it lasted…
And about Nicky Chinn and Mike Chapman, their songwriters and managers:
“What a stupid thing for us to allow them to do,” commented Steve Priest years later. “We were being controlled by a couple of novices. Mike Chapman could write what sounded like hit songs, but Nicky was brought up in a private boys’ school and didn’t know his arse from his elbow.”
And about Blockbuster and other hits:
For the first and last time, The Sweet topped the charts with Blockbuster in early 1973. It beat off stiff competition from David Bowie’s Jean Genie, which featured an almost identical guitar riff and was released via the same label just a week apart. “I swear I’d never heard Bowie’s song before ours was released… I was onto Nicky Chinn as soon as I heard it on the radio,” says Scott now, adding gleefully: “We felt a bit shabby about Blockbuster coming out a week later – but ours went to Number One.”
Sweet would go on to stall at Number Two on no less than five occasions, most annoyingly in September ’73 when the Simon Park Orchestra’s Eye Level repeatedly held off Ballroom Blitz for weeks at a time. As a small child I recall sobbing in the kitchen when the single began to plummet down the charts, but as Scott rightly points out: “Sales-wise, what would have been a Number Two in those days would now top the charts for months on end.”
This is Classic Rock's list of the 10 best Sweet songs -
https://www.loudersound.com/features/the-top-10-best-sweet-songs - which were a long way from their bubblegum early hits.
A few of their best:
#2 - Set Me Free, 1974
Later covered by Saxon, Vince Neil and thrash metallers Heathen, Andy Scott’s masterpiece got Sweet Fanny Adams, an album that the band had seriously wanted to call Sweet Fuck All, off to a blitzkrieg, take-no-prisoners start.
#3 - Burn On The Flame, 1974
The undisputed greatest self-penned B-side in the entire Sweet catalogue, Burn On The Flame was every bit as good as its reverse, The Six Teens. Once again it’s possible to imagine innocent fans flipping the A-side over and spitting their Sugar Puffs across the table, though for all the immense power of its guitar riff, the song is quite magnificently put together.
#6 - Sweet FA, 1974
It’s amusing to wonder how many spotty teenagers brought home their copy of the Sweet Fanny Adams album, dropped the needle and were almost thrown across the room by the full force of its contents (your correspondent figures among this total). A cornucopia of hard rock riffs, pounding drums, aggressive lyrics (‘Well, it’s Friday night/And I need a fight/If she don’t spread/I’m gonna bust her head’), Little Willy this was not.
Love those...
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