310 Goodbye Sweet - Love Is Like Oxygen

Chart  entered  :  28  January  1978

Chart  peak  : 9

I'm  probably  biased  here  because  they  were  my  musical  first  love  but  I  think  that  if  Sweet's  music  was  held  in  a  higher  regard  the  tale  of  their  decline  and  disintegration  would  be  recognised  as  the  saddest  in  pop.

I  thought  they  were  shot  in  1976  when  their  single  "Lies  In  Your  Eyes"  failed  to  crack  the  Top  30  despite  an  appearance on  Top  of  the  Pops, but  after  three  flops and  a  change  of  label  from  RCA  to  Polydor,  they  pulled  this  last  Top  Tenner  out  of  the  bag. "Love  Is  Like  Oxygen"  was  written  by  Andy  Scott  and  someone  called  Trevor  Griffin  and  showcases  a  fuller  AOR  sound  with  more  keyboards,  not  a  million  miles  away  from  ELO  as  many  have  commented. After  a  long  two  part  intro  those  familiar  high  harmonies  kick  in  with  the  chorus. Then  all  but  tip-toeing  hi-hats  and  twinkly  keyboards  drop  out  and  you  have  Brian  Connolly , quiet  and  fragile  on  the  verses. These  sections  are  beautiful  and  with  the  benefit  of  hindsight  unbearably  poignant. "Time  on  my  side"  he  begins,  just  three  years away  from  the  multiple  heart  attacks  that  would  wreck  his  life.  This  might  be  the  best  example  of  going  out  on  a  high  in  the  whole  story.  They  appeared  on  Top  of  the  Pops  de-glammed  with  a  couple  of  extra  musicians  and  Andy  sporting  both  face  fuzz  and  a  makeshift  rosette  for  Wrexham  FC  who  were  enjoying  a  good  Cup  run  at  the  time ). It  was  nominated  for  an  Ivor  Novello  award but  lost  out  to  Baker  Street.

What  followed  is  hard  to  recount  because  not  only  is  it  painful  there  are  multiple versions  of  every  incident ,  sometimes  from  the  same  person  in  different  interviews. I  tend  to  regard  Steve  Priest  as  the  most  reliable  witness  because  until  relatively  recently  he  had  no  iron  in  the  fire. ( Drummer  Mick  Tucker  appears  to  have  been  a  more  private  person  and  his  version  of  events  has  largely  gone  unrecorded ). The  first  seed  of  their  decline  was  sown  nearly  four  years  prior  to  this  single  when  Brian's  throat  was  damaged  in  a  scuffle  outside  a  night  club  in  Hayes. This  incident  is  still  shrouded  in  conjecture. Steve  recounts  that  Brian  told  him  he  heard  someone  say  "Stamp  on  his  throat  , that  should  do  the  trick "  and  it  was  a  contract  job. Andy  on  the  other  hand  has  said  it  was   somebody  else's  quarrel  and  Brian  needn't  have  got  involved  though  it  has  to  be  said  it's  a  bit  unusual  for  a  fight  to  result  in  a  throat  injury. The  upshot  was  that  the  band  had  to  pull  out  of  a  support  slot  to  The  Who's  concert  at  Charlton  Athletic's  The  Valley.  It's  been  suggested  that  the  rest  of  the band  resented  missing  out  on  the  opportunity  to  establish  some  credibility  though  it's  hard  to  believe  they  thought  one  prestigious  gig  would  erase  memories  of  "Co  Co  "  and  "Poppa  Joe".

When  Brian  recovered  they  broke  away  from  Chinn  and  Chapman , a  decision  vindicated  when  their  self-written  "Fox  on  the  Run"  became  a  huge  worldwide  hit  although  it  was  noticed  that  Brian's  voice  was  raspier  and  less  mellifluous  than  before. That  was  particularly  notable  on  the  heavy  follow-up  "Action"  ( the  hit   I  found  hardest   to  love )  where  he's  shouting  rather  than  singing.  The  problem  was  exacerbated  by  heavy  drinking  and  smoking  and  he  only  sang  lead  on  five  of  the  tracks  on  the  "Level  Headed"  album.

After  this  the  band  started  an  American  tour  which  hit  the  rocks  when  Brian  was  drunk  and  incapable  at  a  couple  of  gigs  attended  by  record  company  executives. Possibly  as  a  result  of  this,  the  UK  release  of   the  follow-up  single  "California  Nights"  was  shelved  although  the  record  was  a  Top  30 hit  in  Germany  and  their  last  minor  US hit  ( number  76 ).  It's  a  semi-acoustic  number  similar  to  their  1974  hit  "The  Six  Teens"  with  Steve  Priest  on  serviceable  lead  vocals  and  nicks  its  cautionary  theme  and  the  California/ warn  ya  rhyme  from  the  Albert  Hammond  classic  It  Never  Rains  In  Southern  California . It  probably  would  have  been  a  minor  hit  here  if  released.  The  video, as  usual  a  straight  performance  clip  has  Brian  off  right  in  the  shadows  playing  an  acoustic; whether  that  was  to  help  phase  him  out  or  merely  to  disguise  his  lack  of  prowess  on  the  instrument  I  don't  know  but  it  seems  indicative  of  where  things  were  going  in  the  band. It  is  probably  the  last  footage  of  the  quartet  performing  together.

Andy  wanted  Brian  out  after  the  American  disasters  but  the  other  two  weren't  convinced  that  was  the  right  move. Relations  between  Andy  and  Brian  got  so  bad  that  it  was  agreed  that  Brian  would  put  down  his  vocals  for  the  next  LP  "Cut  Above  The  Rest"  in  a  separate   session  with  just  Mick  handling  the  production  duties. Brian  laid  down  a  couple  of  tracks, the  quality  of  which  brought  Steve  and  Mick  round  to  Andy's  point  of  view  and  in  March  1979  it  was  announced  that  Brian  was  leaving  the  band,  apparently  of  his  own  volition. Brian  later  accused  the  others  of  deliberately  writing  songs  in  a  key  that  made  it  difficult  for  him  to  sing  to  justify  sacking  him  but  it  should  be  noted  that  at  the  time  Brian  said  he  was  going  in  a  country  rock  direction  because  it  made  less  demands  on  his  voice.

Whatever  the  truth  the  die  was  cast  and  the  split  didn't  benefit  either  party. The  band  decided  to carry  on  as  a  trio , split  lead  duties  between  them  and  completed  the  album  without  using  the  vocals  Brian  had  already  recorded. The  first  release  in  March  1979   was  the  single  "Call  Me"  , a  reggae-flavoured  pop  number  with  a  classy  lyric  about  ringing  for  a  prostitute. Steve  sings  it  in  a  cod-Jamaican  accent   and  it  gets  worse  as  it  goes  along. It  reached  number  29  in  Germany, their  last  hit  single  anywhere.In  August  they  tried  again  with  "Big  Apple  Waltz"  , Steve's  ode  to  New  York  which  sounds  as  much  a  tribute  to  Queen  as  the  chorus  filches  from  We  Are  The  Champions  and  the  guitar  solo  is  classic  Brian  May. Two  flops  didn't  augur  well  for  the  album  when  it  was  released  in  October. It  was  a  very  minor  hit  in  the  U.S.  and  Australia  and  scraped  into  the  Top  50  in  Germany. It  is  listenable  though  the  soft  rock  tracks  on  the  second  side  go  on  too  long  and  it  does  include  the  execrable  "Discophony"  which  attempts  to  get  on  the  "Disco  sucks"  bandwagon  - sample  lyric : "Disco  ain't  worth  your  masturbating, rock  and  roll  will  still  keep  accelerating" -  and  wastes  some  of  Mick's  best  drumming. He  had  a  tragedy  to  deal  with  that  year  when  his  wife  Pauline  drowned  in  the  bath.

By  1980's  "Waters  Edge" , they  seem  to  have  lost  confidence  in  their  own  abilities  and  called  on  the  services  of  producer  Pip  Williams, an  associate  of  their  first  producer  Phil  Wainman  and  a  session  guitarist  who  had  played  on  their  early  hits. In  an  ironic  return  to  previous  practice  both  singles  were  written  by  outsiders. Williams  was  also  working  with  folk  rockers  Bardot  and  their  guitarist  Ray  McRiner  wrote  first  single  "Give  The  Lady  Some  Respect"  which  is  a  passable  power  pop  effort  with  Steve  now  sounding  like  a  cross  between  Jon  Anderson  and  Ozzy  Osborne . The  album  was  released  in  April  1980  to  complete  disinterest. The  follow-up  single "Sixties  Man"  (  written  by  Williams  and  Peter  Hutchins  ) saw  them  try  out  Buggles-style  synth  pop  to  no  avail. The  whole  album  sounds  like  they're  trying  on  different  hats  to  find  one  that  fits -  the  title  track  apes  Rainbow's  pop  metal  sound  and  is  actually  very  good  - but  you  suspect  that  nothing  under  the  Sweet  name  without  Brian  was  going  to  sell.

Williams  was  actually  working  with  Brian  at  the  same  time  and  produced  his  first  solo  single  "Take  Away  The  Music".  By  this  time  Polydor  were  wary  of  releasing  anything  Sweet-related  and  it  was  only  released  in  Germany  and  the  Netherlands. It's  a good-natured  country  rock  jaunt  with  Brian  in  good  voice  and  it  was  a  minor  hit  in  Germany. That  was  therefore  the  only  country  where  the  follow  up  "Don't  You  Know  A  Lady"  was  released.  Written  by  Roger  Greenaway  and  Mike  Leander  it's  an  intriguing  mix  of  seventies  bubblegum  and  Giorgio  Moroder  electro-disco  with  plenty  of  hooks  and  you  feel  Polydor  should  have  had  a  bit  more  faith  in  it. Again  it  was  a  hit  in  Germany.

Sweet  went  back  in  the  studio  to  record  another  album  without  Williams  but  it  was  pretty  clear  the  game  was  almost  up  for  them. They  toured  at  the  beginning  of  1981  but  effectively  split  up  after  a  gig  in  Glasgow  in  March. Steve  took  himself  off   to  Los  Angeles  for  a  twilight  career  in  low-key  session  work  while  Andy  fought  to  get  their  final  album , self-consciously  titled  "Identity  Crisis" , released. Eventually  it  was , towards  the  end  of  1982  , but  only  in  Germany  and  Mexico. It  veers  between  generic  pop  metal  and  U.S.  power  pop  with  only   the  Devo-ish  "Two  In  One"  another  sensitive  song  about  schizophrenia, standing  out  and  not  in  a  good  way. To  make  matters  worse  glam  contemporaries  Gary  Glitter, Alvin  Stardust  and  Slade  all  made  successful  returns  to  chart  action  in  1981

Brian  could  have  been  forgiven  a  chortle  at  his  ex-bandmates  abject  failure  to  thrive  without  him  but  he  had  other   things  on  his  mind  at  the  time. In  1981  he  was  admitted  to  hospital  with  bloating  and  suffered  the  first  in  a  series  of  heart  attacks  - not  all  in  one  night  as  is  sometimes  fancifully  reported  - but  serious  enough  for  him  to  have  the  last  rites  and  use  the  power  of  speech. When  it  was  recovered  through  therapy  his  Scottish  accent  had  gone. Brian  later  claimed  that  he  gave  up  alcohol  after  that  but  this  was  effectively  debunked  by  his  ex-wife  and  there's  no  consensus  on  when, if  ever, he  gave  up  the  booze.

By 1982  he  had  recovered  enough  to  put  out  a  final  solo  single on  Carrere, "Hypnotised"  a  pop  metal  song  written  by  Rainbow  singer   Joe  Lynn  Turner,  with  Brian  looking  very  different  with  shortish  dark  hair  on  the  sleeve.  He  sounds  a  little  ragged  in  places  but  certainly  still  capable  enough  to  record.  It's  a  decent  single  but  he'd  been  away  too  long  and  it  attracted  little  attention; it  certainly  wasn't  reviewed  in  either  Smash  Hits  or  Record  Mirror.  In  1983  he  put  together  a  band,  Connolly's  Encore  to  support   up  and  coming  US  rocker  Pat  Benatar  on  three  British  dates  but  couldn't  find  a  record  deal. Later  that  year  Andy  re-emerged  with  "Kruggerands"  on  the  tiny  Statik  label . It's   an  ugly  piece  of  synth  rock  bombast  that  became  a  Top  10  hit  in  South  Africa   but  nowhere  else  despite  a  big  budget  video  with  Andy  doing  his  best  to  look  like  Bowie. 

In  1984  the  group  started  to  enjoy  a  reappraisal  with  artists  such  as  George  Michael  declaring  themselves  as  fans. A  clever  little  label  Anagram  acquired  the  rights  to  their  back  catalogue  and  scored  a  minor  hit  with  a   remixed  medley  of  their  biggest  tunes. Brian  and  Andy  sought  to  capitalise  on  this. Brian  formed  the  New  Sweet  with  some  mates  and  put  a  tour  together  for  the  autumn .  One  guy  at  my  hall  of  residence  suggested  we  go  and  see  the  Leeds  gig  but  Brian  collapsed  at  an  earlier  date  and  the  rest  of  the  tour  got  cancelled. Andy's  subsequent   singles  "Let  Her  Dance"  from  September   and  "Invisible "  from  November  are  both  over-produced  Euro - pop   monstrosities  that  deserve  to  be  forgotten.

Brian's  troubles  multiplied  in  1985. His  wife  Marion  left  him  and  they  got  divorced  the  following  year. On  top  of  this  he  ( and  the  others  )  got  hit  with  a  massive  tax  bill. Brian  had  to  sell  his  home   to  pay  it   and  move  into  a  council  flat.

In  1985  Andy  and  Mick  got  a new  line  up  of  Sweet  together  ( Steve  pulled  out  at  the  last  minute ) and  became  a  successful  touring  band  in  their  old  markets  although  they  didn't  find  much  interest  when  attempting  to  record  new  material.

Brian  was  hospitalised  again  in  1987  but   came  out  looking  for  a  German  record  deal.  That  didn't  materialise  but  he  did  record  a  vocal  for  original  Sweet  member  Frank  Torpey  on  a  song  called  "Sharontina"  eventually  released  in  1998. Unfortunately  it's  even worse  than  the title  suggests  and  Brian  sounds  like  he  was  heavily  medicated  at  the  time.

Still  he  got  back  on  the  road  and  the  following  year  the  whole  band  responded  to  an  invite  from  Mike  Chapman  to  re-record  some  of  their  hits  in  LA  at  his expense. Chapman  hadn't  kept  in  touch  and  was  horrified  at  his  physical  deterioration. Brian  was  shaking, limping  and  looked  prematurely  aged. After  recording  a  couple  of  numbers  it  was  clear that  his voice  had  deteriorated  too  much  to  continue  and   the reunion  was  aborted.

Two  years  later  the  band  reunited  for  the  last  time  to  do  a  promotional  interview  and  signing  session  for  a  video  release  featuring  the  band's  story  at  Tower  Records. It  wasn't  a  comfortable  experience. Andy  starts  the  interview  by  asking  the  poor  girl  conducting  it  "Do  you  know  what our  names  are  ?"  and  Brian's  condition  is  the  elephant  in  the  room  though  he's  doing  his  best  to  keep  up  with  the  others  who  all  look  at  least  20  years  younger  than  him. Brian  went  off  to  Australia  with  his  own  band  but  was  hospitalised  on  arrival. They  managed to  play  a  few  dates  when  he  was  discharged. He  formed  a  loose  partnership  with  Mud's  Les Gray  in  the  UK.

In  1991  Mick  departed  from  Andy's  Sweet  in  acrimonious  circumstances  as  his  own  health  began  to  fail. He  was  later  diagnosed  with  leukaemia. Andy  carried  on  and  began  a  legal  tussle  with  Brian  over  the  name  eventually  reaching  a  compromise  where  their  respective  bands  became  Andy  Scott's  Sweet  and  Brian  Connolly's  Sweet. The  band's  rehabilitation  continued  apace  with  hit  covers  of  "Ballroom  Blitz"  by  actress Tia  Carrere  and  more  significantly  "Action"  by  Def  Leppard  which   was  a  band  composition  bringing  in  considerable  royalties.

This  allowed  Brian  to  move  back  up  in  the  world  and  buy  a  house  for  himself  and  new  partner  Jean  in  suburbia. Then  another  revenue  stream  materialised, Someone  came  up  with  the  story  that  Brian  was  the  brother  of  Mark  McManus  the  star  of  Taggart . Brian  was  the  illegitimate  son  of  a  waitress  who  had  been  adopted  from  birth  by  a  couple  called  McManus  who  were  aunt  and  uncle  to  the  actor. Whether  Brian  instigated  the tale  isn't  known  but  he  certainly  milked  it  giving  interviews  to  the press  about  "big  brother  Mark"  and  introduced  the  idea  that  McManus's  father  was  his  own  which  the  family  insist  is a  complete  fabrication. You  could  smile  at  the  idea  of  Brian  making  a  few  bob  out  of  tabloid  guillibility  were  it  not  for the  fact  that  he  had  snubbed  his  foster  family  for  decades, attending  neither  of  his  foster  parents'  funerals,  and  now  suddenly  he  was  slandering  them  for  cash.

In  1994  Brian  attended  Steve's  daughter's  wedding  and  they  did  a  couple  of  numbers,which  is to  date , the  last  time  two  members  performed  together

His  improved  financial  fortunes  could  do  nothing  to  repair  his  constantly  deteriorating  health  with  a  wasting  disease  causing  him  constant  pain.  By  some  miracle  he  was  able  to  father  a  son  Brian  in  1995. The  Glam  Rock  Top  10  filmed  him  from  a  respectful  distance  though  it  was  clear  he  was  in  a  bad  way  but  the  following  year's  documentary  Don't  Leave  Me  This  Way, to which  all  four  members  contributed,  included  harrowing  close-ups  which made  it  difficult  to  watch.  Just  a  few  months  later  in  February  1997  he  was  dead  of  liver  failure. Jean  claimed  that  he  felt  the  programme  was  unfair  and  that  had  finished  him  off. Having  watched it  a  few  times  I  can't  really  agree  that  it  was  unjust  to  him; more  likely  it  brought  home  how  far  he'd  fallen  shuffling  his  way  into  holiday  camps  to  shout  his  way  through  the  hits.

Andy  wasn't  happy  with  the  programme  either  and  claimed  that  shared  anger  had  effected a  reconciliation  between  him  and  Brian  with  tentative   plans  to  go  on the  road  together  but there's  been  no corroboration  of  that  from  Brian's   family. He  and  Steve  attended the  funeral  but  Mick was  too ill  to  go. He   was  able  to  appear on  This  Is  Your  Life  for  Suzi  Quatro in 1999  looking  rather  frail  and  died  three  years  later.

In  2008  Steve  finally  succumbed  to  the  temptation  to  get  back  on  the  road  but  not  with  Andy  so  there  are  two  versions  of  the  band  once  again. However  as  Steve  stays  in  North  America and  Andy  in  Europe  there  isn't  really  a  need  for  any  legal  tussle. In 2009  Andy  was  diagnosed  with prostate  cancer  but is  currently  in  remission,

So  that's  how  my  first  favourites  ended  up. The  band  that  replaced  them  ( briefly )  will  be  along  shortly.