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stewron

FAQ

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Posts: 4568

17/03/08 19:30:34

Admin Chappie

It's about time we got this FAQ started....I guess we should just keep adding them then sort and/or delete them as we go along?

I heard that Brian Connolly was Mark McManus' half-brother (who played a popular Scottish detective on UK TV called 'Taggart') as Brian was adopted into the McManus family?

No, this from Brian's daughter Nicola, many years ago:
"Contrary to popular belief, my Dad was not a cousin of the actor Mark McManus (of Taggart fame), nor did he think he was," she maintains. "Dad grew up in a foster family he thought were his real family until he was 18. In that family there was a Mark McManus, and among the cousins of that family was the actor Mark McManus. But it was the press who got it mixed up, not my Dad."

See here: http://www.thesweet.com/page28a.html and click on: "Recent interview from HELLO! magazine of Nicola Connolly. 27.6.98 "

...who's next?

Last Edited By: stewron 24/05/08 22:09:22. Edited 1 time.

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panasonicq

#1

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Posts: 2877

17/03/08 22:02:48

Moderator Chappie

Re. FAQ #2
SWEET weren't all that successful?

No, SWEET were the highest earning rock band in the WORLD for a time in 1976.

You connect the wires...... I'll throw the switch

Last Edited By: panasonicq 17/03/08 22:43:27. Edited 1 time.

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Woody

#2

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Posts: 6266

17/03/08 23:06:31

Moderator Chappie

FAQ #3

Was the bass player gay?

Answer: No

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panasonicq

#3

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Posts: 2877

17/03/08 23:42:34

Moderator Chappie

FAQ. #3
Were ANY of the Sweet gay?
Brian= NO, married + children
Andy= NO, married + children
Steve= NO,married + children
Mick =NO, married + children

All band members had several wives and about 56 kids?
Not gay then?

Probably the best team of shaggers the 70's had ever seen!

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soosweet

#4

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Posts: 382

18/03/08 16:36:37

Here are some question that I have heard other people ask:

Is that a live performance (Sweet videos on youtube)?

Was Sweet a one hit wonder?

Why does "Blockbuster" sound so similar to David Bowie's "Jean Genie"?

Was there a rivalry between Sweet and Queen?

Is the name of the band, "The Sweet" or "Sweet"

(Do I have to answer these? I'll try to do it later when I am feeling better.)

(perhaps you guys can answer better than me!)

~~~star chaser, trail blazer, natural born raver~~~
but there is only one hell raiser!
http://susanonthewestcoastwaiting.blogspot.com/
http://www.myspace.com/ultrasonic_eyes

Last Edited By: soosweet 19/03/08 23:55:51. Edited 1 time.

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zabadak

#5

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Posts: 4923

20/03/08 09:29:39

Sweet F A

Here are some question that I have heard other people ask:

Is that a live performance (Sweet videos on youtube)?
> Yeah, search and you will find!

Was Sweet a one hit wonder?
> God, no. They had many hits although only one UK #1, Blockbuster!

Why does "Blockbuster" sound so similar to David Bowie's "Jean Genie"?
> Good question!

Was there a rivalry between Sweet and Queen?
> Yes, mostly press-manufactured though - check out the anti-Queen comment on the sleeve of Give Us A Wink

Is the name of the band, "The Sweet" or "Sweet"
> Originally Sweetshop, then The Sweet, then Sweet, so take yer pic!

What do I know about music? Sweet FA!!!

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stewron

#6

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Posts: 4568

20/03/08 11:02:47

Admin Chappie

Good, keep 'em coming please....

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viggoeh

#7

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Posts: 891

20/03/08 11:35:49

Why does "Blockbuster" sound so similar to David Bowie's "Jean Genie"?

Andy Scott:
It's probably the wrong thing to be saying, because the biggest hit before 'Fox On The Run' and 'Love Is Like Oxygen' was 'Blockbuster', but when I first heard that mix, I remember Mick Tucker and I walking out of there, gloomy. Because we were at a real turning-point in our career here, where we'd just done 'Little Willy' and 'Wig Wam Bam' and we were trying to shove some musicianship into this one. And we walked away a bit gloomy.
And then, you wouldn't believe this, before our release we were in the office of the guy who was our contact at RCA and he played us the new David Bowie record, he played us 'Jean Genie'. And I went, 'That's the same guitar riff,' and he went, 'Is it?' This is a record company guy and I'm saying, 'Haven't you noticed?' And he went, 'No.' I was horrified, I was thinking: that's coming out first, and we're coming out a week behind it, on the same label, it's got the same guitar riff. I said: well, we don't stand a chance of being #1. That was my thought. And within three weeks we were #1 and he was #2. I've since spoken to Trevor Bolder, the bass-player, and he said, 'Remember "I'm A Man"?'

Alwyn Turner:
It was a fair cop. Both 'Blockbuster' and 'The Jean Genie' ripped off their riff from The Yardbirds' cover of Bo Diddley's r&b classic 'I'm A Man'. They weren't the first, mind you: the same record had provided the source material for 'Oh Yeah', a minor American hit for 60s garage icons The Shadows of Knight, though they at least had the honesty to credit Bo Diddley as composer. 'Oh Yeah' became better known when it was included on Lenny Kaye's Nuggets compilation in 1972, which is presumably where an early incarnation of Smokie got it from

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Ray Bentos

#8

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Posts: 249

20/03/08 17:42:41

All You'll Ever Get From Me

Right then. 'Ere's a gud 'un.
Back in '84 Sweet were as close as you can get to having a Top 40 British hit single. Is it true that if "It's It's The Sweet Mix" had gone Top 40 then the band had got a TOTP performance proposed and it was to be something on the lines of what Queen did for "The Miracle" video in '89 with young lads playing their heroes along side the band.

RAY

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VC10

#9

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Posts: 4793

21/03/08 08:06:44

Sweet Indulgence

I heard Sweet didn't play on their own records, is that true?

Partly. When they signed with RCA their early A side singles were played by session musicians with Sweet providing the vocals. Andy hadn't joined Sweet when they recorded Funny Funny. The band were good musicians and resented this. They played on all the B sides and were eventually allowed to play on the A sides from Wig Wam Bam onwards.

"Burn On The Flame!"

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zabadak

#10

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Posts: 4923

21/03/08 16:06:47

Sweet F A

This was also true of The Monkees and the Rollers, but the practice goes back to the studio bands of the 60s, like the Flowerpot Men, who then were reprsented as "bands" by hastily-put-together session men to go out on tour...

What do I know about music? Sweet FA!!!

Last Edited By: zabadak 22/03/08 12:53:43. Edited 1 time.

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Callisto Martinez

#11

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Posts: 1106

22/03/08 00:10:13

Hellraiser

Bowie included two Who Songs on his album Pinups, while Townshend invited Sweet to be support act for the group's 1974 gig at Charlton Athletic. (The latter never materialized; Sweet singer Brian Connolly got mugged and had his throat kicked in at precisely the wrong moment, and they were replaced on the bill by Maggie Bell.)- roger crimlis

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goldengreats

Same riff ?

#12

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Posts: 1912

22/03/08 12:15:31

Hellraiser

Here's a chance to compare the riff of Sweet's Blockbuster (loop taken from 2'20), David Bowie's Jean Genie (loop taken from opening sequence) and Yardbirds' I'm a man (loop also taken from opening sequence).

There's also a bit of info on the similarities here: 5years.com/encyj.htm

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zabadak

#13

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Posts: 4923

22/03/08 12:52:59

Sweet F A

Brilliant post, thanks!

What do I know about music? Sweet FA!!!

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lpsmith

#14

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Posts: 1493

22/03/08 13:07:20

Hellraiser

Thanks for that Karsten, interesting to compare them.

Lorraine

www.myspace.com/stevepriestfanspace

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soosweet

#15

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Posts: 382

23/03/08 05:51:17

goldengreats wrote:

Here's a chance to compare the riff of Sweet's Blockbuster (loop taken from 2'20), David Bowie's Jean Genie (loop taken from opening sequence) and Yardbirds' I'm a man (loop also taken from opening sequence).

There's also a bit of info on the similarities here: 5years.com/encyj.htm

�That was really cool. You should get a special award for that one! Kudo-licious!

~~~star chaser, trail blazer, natural born raver~~~
but there is only one hell raiser!
http://susanonthewestcoastwaiting.blogspot.com/
http://www.myspace.com/ultrasonic_eyes

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FoxyOnTheRun

across the universe

#16

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Posts: 127

24/03/08 18:58:04

Burning

Listen to the beginning of " A Little Help From My Friends" here from the movie Across the Universe.
It starts about 2:20.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=opqKNZJY6qc

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panasonicq

#17

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Posts: 2877

24/03/08 21:23:19

Moderator Chappie

goldengreats, Yeah, that's a good way to compare those three songs and i think although they have their similarities, all three are different and not quite as close sounding as i first thought.

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littlewillyhoo

#18

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Posts: 981

25/03/08 10:00:00

All You'll Ever Get From Me

Thanks goldengreats!!! That really helped after reading and hearing about them being so similar for so many years. Hearing them seperately while just listening to the radio or cd, I never realized how close they really are. Guess which one is still my favorite tho?!?