Sweet

The English glam rock band that hid real hard-rock muscle under the glitter, feather boas, and confetti of early-1970s Top of the Pops. Formed in London in 1968 as The Sweetshop, Sweet found fame after teaming with the songwriting team of Nicky Chinn and Mike Chapman, whose run of singles — Little Willy, Wig Wam Bam, Block Buster!, The Ballroom Blitz — pushed the band from bubblegum pop toward a harder, Who-influenced attack topped with startling high-pitched harmony vocals. Their best-known lineup was Brian Connolly on lead vocals, Steve Priest on bass, Andy Scott on guitar, and Mick Tucker on drums.

By 1974 the band had begun writing their own A-sides, and "Fox on the Run" — their first self-written single — became a worldwide hit, proving they were more than a producer's creation. Sweet went on to sell more than 35 million albums, influencing generations of hard rock and metal acts who grew up on the sound. The story turned tragic: Brian Connolly died in 1997, Mick Tucker in 2002, and Steve Priest in 2020, leaving Andy Scott to carry a version of the band onward. The glam theatrics dated fast, but the records — loud, tight, and far tougher than their teen-idol image suggested — have aged into something like vindication.