The nucleus of the Sweet came together in 1966, when drummer Mick Tucker (b. 17 July 1949, Harlesden, London, England, d. 14 February 2002, Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire, England.) and vocalist Brian Connolly (b. 5 October 1945, Hamilton, Scotland, d. 10 February 1997). These two played together in Wainwright's Gentlemen, a small-time club circuit band whose repertoire comprised a mixture of Motown, R&B and psychedelia. The pair broke away to form Sweetshop, later shortened to just Sweet, with Steve Priest (b. 23 February 1950, Hayes, Middlesex) on bass and Frank Torpey on guitar. After releasing four unsuccessful singles on Fontana Records and EMI Records, Torpey was replaced by Andy Scott (b. 30 June 1951, Wrexham, Wales) and the new line-up signed to RCA Records. The band were introduced to the writing partnership of Chinn And Chapman, who were to provide the band with a string of hit singles. Their initial success was down to bubblegum pop anthems such as “Funny, Funny”, “Co-Co”, “Poppa Joe” and “Little Willy”. However, the band were writing their own hard-rock numbers on the b-sides of these hits. This resulted in Chinn/Chapman coming up with heavier pop-rock numbers, most notably the powerful “Blockbuster”, which reached number 1 in the UK at the beginning of 1973. The group's determinedly effete, glam-rock image was reinforced by a succession of Top 10 hits, including “Hell Raiser”, “Ballroom Blitz”, “Teenage Rampage” and “The Six Teens”.

Sweet decided to take greater control of their own destiny in 1974 and recorded the album Sweet Fanny Adams without the assistance of Chinn and Chapman. The album charted at number 27, but disappeared again after just two weeks. The work marked a significant departure from their commercially-minded singles on which they had built their reputation. “Set Me Free”, “Restless” and “Sweet F.A” epitomized their no-frills hard-rock style. Desolation Boulevard included the self-penned “Fox On The Run” which was to hit number 2 in the UK singles chart. This gave the band confidence and renewed RCA's faith in the band as a commercial proposition. However, as Sweet became more of an albums band, the hit singles began to dry up, with 1978’s “Love Is Like Oxygen” being their last Top 10 hit. Following a move to Polydor Records, they cut four albums with each release making less impact than its predecessor. Their brand of melodic rock, infused with infectious hooks and brutal riffs, now failed to satisfy both the teenybopper and the more mature rock fan.

Since 1982, various incarnations of the band have appeared from time to time, with any number from one to three of the original members in the line-up. In 1989, they recorded a live album at London's Marquee Club, with Paul Mario Day (ex-More) handling the vocals. Brian Connolly suffered from a muscular disorder, and experienced numerous heart attacks. His grim situation was warmed in 1992 with the incredible success of the film Ballroom Blitz and the subsequent renewed interest in the Sweet, but he died in 1997. Tucker died from leukaemia five years later.

Discography: Funny How Sweet Co Co Can Be (RCA 1971)**, Sweet (RCA 1973)**, Sweet Fanny Adams (RCA 1974)***, Desolation Boulevard (RCA 1974)***, Strung Up (RCA 1975)***, Give Us A Wink (RCA 1976)**, Off The Record (RCA 1977)**, Level Headed (Polydor 1978)**, Cut Above The Rest (Polydor 1979)***, Water's Edge (Polydor 1980)**, Identity Crisis (Polydor 1982)**, Live At The Marquee (SPV/Maze 1989)*, Blockbusters (RCA 1989).

Compilations: Biggest Hits (RCA 1972)**, Sweet's Golden Greats (RCA 1977)***, Sweet 16 - It's, It's The Sweet's Hits (Anagram 1984)**, Hard Centres - The Rock Years (Zebra 1987)**, The Collection (Castle Communications 1989)****, Ballroom Blitz - Live 1973 (Dojo 1993)**, Love Is Like Oxygen - The Singles Collection 1978-1982 (Pseudonym 1993)***, Platinum Rare (Repertoire 1995)**, Hit Singles: The Complete A And B Sides (Repertoire 1996)***, Ballroom Hitz: The Very Best Of Sweet (PolyGram 1996)***, Solid Gold Sweet (Snapper 1998)**, Sweet Originals: The Best 37 Glamrock Originals Ever (RCA 1999)****.