HAMMERSMITH
- Peter "Basil" Rathbone stormed into the Common Room of our Hall of Residence and flung a newspaper at me. Then, this grinning Sweet Fan slumped down in a chair as if he'd just won the pools. Whether it was NME or Melody Maker I cannot recall; perhaps it was neither, but what I am certain of was that it contained an add for what STEVE PRIEST himself now considers to be the best gig the guys ever did. The Hammersmith Odeon - a classic rock venue, was to host what we felt could be the last gathering of SWEET. This was before the days when credit cards could reserve and pay for a seat, and anxious days passed as we waited for the tickets to arrive. But arrive they did, and we were in the second row - just a few seats from the centre aisle. This was going to be an event that would lick the lips of my memory forever.
- "OXYGEN" had appeared as if by a miracle in the charts and the excellent LEVEL HEADED Album was full of gorgeous material just waiting to be plugged to a mob of hungry fans who had seen Strung Up, Give Us a Wink, and Off the Record never reach the heights any of them deserved. It was as if we all knew that we were to experience a historical musical event and we just had to be there.
- Sue, Basil and myself travelled the two hundred miles south from Alsager College in Staffs, meeting up with Johnny Mogs at the Hilton Park Service Station, where he left his Morris Minor Traveller illegally parked for two days, and arrived at the Odeon in a state of high expectation. My fingers had been crossed for days - if Brian had a sore throat then I would end it there on the steps of the Odeon. The place was heaving! A few teeny-boppers, but not many. We were matured, casked and well-tanned Sweet Fans in the main. These fans had at least cocked a head with interest at Funny Funny and found Coco and Poppa Joe pleasant background music at youth club, before the snoggy Cassidy stuff came on. We were fans who had for the first time, whatever sex we were, spent pocket money on make-up and whose hair grew longer as Wig Wam' and 'Buster shouldered there way to the front of the queue. We were fans that had watched Mick, Andy and Steve pouting on Top of the Pops and who had invested heavily in setting lotion to try and keep our hair turning under like Brian's. We were fans who couldn't believe the orgasmic development through 'Raiser, 'Blitz and 'Rampage. Sixteens was superb, and we'd all air guitared our way up the scale to Burn on the Flame. We were fans who had done our eye-shadowed time in the stocks of humiliation and later smiled with approval as the lads gave their makeup back to Roy Wood, said "ta very much Chinn and Chapman," and slung Fox at us. We were fans who had skipped to school singing Funny Funny, swaggered to school chanting Little Willy and learned to drive listening to Turn it Down and who knew that by turning up Action to full volume the old mini-van would go ten miles an hour faster. We were fans who deserved a damned good concert - we'd earned it! We'd paid for it with our adolescence and finally hard cash. AND WE GOT IT!
Poor Bob
· There was an hour to go before the SWEET were due to come on, and a disembodied voice from backstage somewhere announced that "a very good friend of the Sweet - Bob Williamson" was about to entertain us. Now, being college types, Basil and I were not only aware of, but had actually heard Bob Williamson perform. Basil was quite pleased to say the least. As Bob strolled on to polite applause, Basil commented to Johnny Mogs, "He's funny this guy - like Billy Connolly and Jasper Carrott! He's not too well known at the moment, but he's been on tele a couple off times." Whether Bob was going to be good or not, we never actually found out. The auditorium echoed with the chant that has followed the Sweet, since Chinn and Chapman thought it would be a good gimmick to open Teenage Rampage with; WE WANT SWEET, WE WANT SWEET! And after a couple of minutes Bob Williamson slunk off into the wings after announcing "They say audience appreciation is the artist's banquet... so thanks for the ham sandwich," never to be heard then, or indeed to my knowledge, seen again, on Basil's tele. "Bugger!" said Basil. So we had to sit there for about an hour, missing a heartbeat everytime the curtain twitched or an engineer fiddled with his knob dimming the lights a little.
Kick-Off
· Anyone who has been to a soccer match with me can vouch for the fact that I can never remember how a goal has been scored. The sheer excitement of the event strips the build up from my memory. I can remember leaping excitedly into the air many times. I can remember Jimmy Hill himself on Match of the Day commenting of me as I ran on the pitch and kissed Mick Martin: "This is the sort of behaviour we can do without in football." But I can't remember the goal Mick had scored. Similarly I can't recall Sweet coming on stage, but I do remember everyone simultaneously erupting from their seats and lurching towards the stage. I remember walking on the laps of two teenage girls who were a bit slow off the mark, and I remember finding myself pinned luxuriously against the stage edge and looking up to see Steve Priest, chewing gum, just a few feet in front of me. GGGGOOOOAAAAAAAAAAALLL!!!!
At Last - LIVE AND GIGGIN
· The taped string section thrummed through us, and the fans surged further forward as ACTION was uncrated! Steve Priest reckons they started with Blitz, but everyone I've heard from who was there agree it was Action. A pulsing fist threatened the profit milkers whilst the powerful vocals of Brian made it quite clear that no one was going to take another piece of the Sweet. The using and abusing was over. Action, the perfect consanguinity of style, linking the clever hooks of Chinn and Chapman, with the heavier rock style of the lads going back to pre-date the earliest bubblegum.
ARE YOU READY STEVE?
· The collective heartbeats of several thousand fans slipped into synch as Mick pounded out the backbeat to Blitz and Steve stepped forward with a flick of his hair, and a quick readjustment of the chewing gum to let us all know he was ready! As the lads surged on the cosy cradle of their hits, it was clear they were enjoying themselves. Brian could be seen to frequently strike poses for the photographers secreted in the pit separating us from SWEET. At one point I saw Brian pause a moment as a camera jammed and he waited the split second needed for the guy to clear it and get the classic image of the rocking lead singer down on one knee with microphone held aloft. The photographer mouthed his thanks and Brian gave him the briefest of nods as he leapt to his feet to carry on rocking.
LEVEL HEADED GETS AIRED ON A TAPE-LOOP
- We were already drained from the hits, but now it was time for the serious stuff. The material from Level Headed had to be played and a more controlled mood fell upon the lads, which slipped from the stage and into our underwear. It was obvious we were in for a treat. Steve was concentrating so hard his chewing gum was stored, temporarily, somewhere around his wisdom teeth and Andy's beard appeared to lengthen with concentration. California Nights was backed with projections of American scenery with Steve giving a beautiful rendition. The lights on Mick went a more subtle shade of blue, but he was still flicking the sticks into the darkness above and catching them without missing a beat. It was now for the first time that we noticed Brian being sidelined a little. Several songs were not led by our glorious leader and he was left to seemingly fiddle with the keys of a synth or play acoustic sharing a mic with Steve. It didn't feel right somehow. Little did we realise we were witnessing the hatchings of a sidelining that was to lead to the permanent split of SWEET not many months into the future.
LAGER FRENZY and LET'S RIP IT UP
· As the lads left the stage for the last time I could see that the can of lager Steve had been drinking was still there. It was, and still is, a SKOL can, one of those old blue and yellow jobs. Before I knew what I was doing I was over the barrier and onto the stage (Good grief -THE stage - the one that SWEET had been performing on only a few seconds before - GULP). Things were moving in slow motion now, but that lager can was my aim. From my left a voice called out encouragement: "OI, GIT-FACE, GET OFF THE STAGE." But even as the gorilla closed in I was reaching for the can and, (though I may be imagining this next bit), I turned to face the crowd receiving loud cheers as I downed the remains of the lager. And with that I dodged the closing curtains, the grasping gorilla and reappeared holding my trophy in my hand and a mouthful of lager. I'd felt guilty not sharing some of it, and so spat some over Basil and Mogs. I actually let Sue drink some. Mogs who had watched the assault on the stage had been plucking up courage to lay his hands on a trophy. Up there was a battery of guitars and a drum-kit! What would he return with I pondered as he launched himself forward?? As it happened, the curtain, as I mentioned earlier, was now closed, and despite trying a reverse Eric Morecombe he was unable to penetrate the high security folds of red velvet with gold trim and chunky tassel accessories (even the curtains were glam!). Also Gorilla was back and closing on this new dominant male. Mogs flailed about and dived for the floor grabbing a bit of carpet. A little tug and a few strands came loose. As Mogs sailed over us I was most impressed to see that he was still clutching the bit of carpet. After all, Steve and Brian had stood on that bit, and even when hurled back into the crowd he wasn't letting go. Upon landing he made a few new friends, and as he crawled back towards us a grin of achievement was spreading across all of our faces. We'd done it - we'd seen the SWEET - and now, we were off to spend the night in a Nurses Hostel. But that's another story, and certainly a different website.
Cheers Kevin
Thanks to Kev Smith for remembering that the support at the Hammersmith Odeon was Bob Williamson
Cheers Steve Goldspink
Thanks to Steve for information emailed to me about the concert - it helps the tired grey cells
Cheers
Glam Metal Detective
GMD reminded me recently about the tambourine Brian threw into the crowd. He ended up with cut fingers as he grappled for it with other fans. I recall it flying over my head to the left and a hoard of fans diving for it. GMD it would appear was at the bottom of the pile.
Cheers Paul Day
Thanks also to Paul Day for his memories of this gig that he has emailed to me. It seems we were only a few feet from each other.
Cheers
Paul Toombs
I must thank Paul Toombs who in
April 2000 kindly sent me a bootleg of the concert.
Paul says "I was in the
fifth row of the stalls at Hammersmith. I can't remember the
exact seat number but I do still have my ticket packed away with my other
Sweet paraphernalia. As a rough guide however, I was directly in front of
Andy Scott."
THE SET LIS
Set list (this has been provided by Paul Toombs and is very gratefully received) Action, Yesterdays Rain, Ballroom Blitz, Fox on the Run, California Nights, Lady Starlight, Cocaine, Anthem No.1 (Lady of the Lake), Dream On, Restless, Air on a Tape Loop, Done Me Wrong Alright, Love is Like Oxygen, Set Me Free, Sweet FA, Windy City
Cheers John Dowell (he has a mouth like a VC10)
John Dowell has written to me in such detail of his memories of the event I have included it in full. Just link here
Memories from Jordy
here
Phil Moss has sent me several pictures of the gig that I'm very grateful for. They can be found here
Above: Some of the original Hammersmithonians
reunited at Plinston Hall, Letchworth, 2001