Sweetlife
Event, Black Swan, Devizes, Saturday 13.4.02
A report by Stephen
Goldspink
The
last two months have been a roller coaster ride of emotion for Sweet fans.
The death of Mick Tucker left us all numb and saddened.
Pictures of Andy and Steve at the funeral and the many messages of
support for Mick’s family and tributes to Mick went some way to helping us
begin a new period with only two of the original band members left.
And then, news of the release of the long awaited Sweetlife album and a
launch event in Devizes – a lift for our spirits.
Not surprisingly, all of these factors were reflected in the gathering on
Saturday 13 April.
All
the usual suspects were there to obtain a copy of the new album, plus any other
new “goodies” being offered for sale, get the autographs of Andy Scott and
Steve Grant to personalise their new purchases, and hear Andy and Steve playing
a selection of songs, punctuated by Andy reminiscing about his life with The
Sweet.
I
arrived at the Black Swan almost exactly at 2 p.m., the scheduled start of the
event. Apart from the big sign
saying “The Black Swan”, I knew I was in the right place when I was met by
the sight of Woody, Hat and drink. Like
I said, all the usual suspects were there, about seventy in total.
After arming myself with a suitably alcoholic beverage (just so that I
blended in, you understand), I made my way up to the room set aside for the
event at 2.10.
Although
the “blurb” issued by Kevin Smith indicated that Andy would be arriving with
copies of “Sweetlife” at 3.00, they were on sale as soon as we went in, so a
small queue quickly formed to get copies of the very long awaited Sweet album.
I purchased my two copies (numbers 15 and 16), plus a copy of Kevin
Smith’s excellent Diary of what Sweet did in their first ten years (more about
this later) and then spent a happy 45 minutes talking to other fans, looking at
the other goods available for purchase, reading the diary and the inlay notes
and lyrics on Sweetlife. As I had
failed to bring a personal CD player, I could only speculate on the music and
recall the few snippets that had been issued as tasters.
Raffle tickets were sold in aid of the Anthony Nolan Bone Marrow Trust
with some Sweet memorabilia as prizes. More
of that later.
At
about 2.50, Kevin cued up the album and we were treated to a run through of all
the tracks. Don’t ask me what I
thought of them – you know what the answer will be.
Best hand a copy to someone independent if you want an unbiased opinion.
Oh, alright then, every track was brilliant, especially Sweetlife, Do It
All Over Again, Everything, Leap of Faith, You’re Crazy, Never Say Forever,
Airheads, So Far So Good, Everybody Wants to be Someone, Neon Psychedelia and
Sweetlife Overunderture. I got
bored after the first 51 minutes and 47 seconds of music, so I went back to the
beginning. But the bit before that was like a breath of fresh air to a
man recently treated to a diet of Steps, Emma Bunton, S Club 7, Atomic Kitten
and Leo Sayer by his wife and two daughters on a long car trip.
I don’t get bored with the existing Sweet releases but new material is
a very rare treat to be savoured and savour it I will and so will the family –
revenge is Sweet.
Andy
and Steve arrived at 3.50 and sat down for a signing session.
Andy was accompanied by wife Maddy and dog Dylan – probably the softest
dog in the world, but definitely not going to feature on Andrex commercials.
After 50 minutes, anticipation rose as Andy and Steve took up their
positions on stage. OK, it was only
a quick sizing up of the equipment and brief sound check, but you don’t get a
Sweet sound check everyday! Andy
told us to be back at 7 – as if we needed telling!
I
don’t know what everybody else did, but I went to check in at my guesthouse
and get a cup of tea. I also delved
into the Sweet Diary “The first ten years”, drawn from Andy and Mick’s
diaries. A fascinating read and I
am sure you will all find your own points of interest.
Mine were that on 2nd August 1968, The Sweetshop played at The Clay
Pigeon, Eastcote, Middlesex just 1 mile from where an unsuspecting young boy of
9 was living and preparing to develop into a fanatical Sweet fan just 5 years
later. Guess who?
Also, 22 February 1969, The Sweet played a gig at St Nicholas Grammar
School, Northwood – my secondary school from January 1973.
Ah, history!
Returning
at ten minutes before the appointed hour, I again armed myself with a beer to
ensure that I really felt part of the event (no other reason).
I had a quick chat with Johnny Mogs and said I did not think that the
show would start until at least 7.45. However,
when we ascended the stairs at 7 and sat down, Andy and Steve appeared
immediately. Anticipation rose, then fell again as it became clear that
they were only there to do a sound check.
A large burst of feedback (and appropriate moans of discomfort from
some of the audience) was greeted by comment from Andy “Yep, that’s
working!” After a little ad hoc
strumming by Steve and Andy, Steve remarked “I don’t like that song much”.
He gave us a quick burst of the Crossroads theme.
A little humour goes a long way. Sound
check over, Andy announced they’d be back in half an hour – which by then
made it 7.45.
I
took in the atmosphere and had a chat with some of the assembled throng –
about 70 again. Raffle tickets were
again in evidence and I bought a few more – as it turned out, a very wise
move! I noted from the programme
that we were supposed to see some previously unseen archive video footage of
Sweet and sure enough, at 7.35, Kevin switched on the projection equipment.
We were poised, waiting for the blue screen to fill with images.
Kevin left. The blue screen
continued. Then the wags chimed in
“I’ve seen that on my computer”, “It’s the original blue movie”,
“It’s the Blue Ridge Mountains”, “Blue Christmas”, etc through the
four minutes of utter blueness and no video.
At
7.45, the Sweet duo returned with Kevin and sat themselves down.
A little shadow puppet work on the blue screen proved that Andy and Steve
should not give up the day job. Andy
addressed the crowd “I know that many of you have had hellish long journeys
and I’d just like to say – tough, you’re here now.”
We’d come a long way for a little humour!
Andy
introduced the footage that Kevin had unearthed and it certainly justified his
description of “remarkable”. The
first item was a black and white offering from 1967 with Andy, as part of The
Elastic Band, playing in the background of episodes of a programme called “The
Contenders”, a programme I can only describe as “cringe worthy”.
We were then treated to a performance of Co-Co in front of Bath Abbey.
Andy said it was shot at 7 a.m. on a Sunday morning and it was cold
enough to freeze your **** off. There
were plenty of shots of the exotic dancer, several of the steel band and even
one or two of Sweet – which resulted in cheers when they occasionally
appeared. Finally, there was a
piece from a programme called “Geordie Scene” featuring the original band
playing Breakdown, Solid Gold Brass and Turn it Down.
Excellent, even though Andy indicated that Steve Priest may not have been
100% sober. He certainly got most
of the words right, but not all of them. Mind
you, Brian slipped up occasionally as well.
You would have guessed there was some miming going on even if you
hadn’t been told. Priceless
footage and very nostalgic. Andy
commented that “the drumming was fantastic” – no arguments there.
He also drew our attention to the “attitude” exhibited by himself,
Steve and Brian and said that there were four strong personalities in the group.
How did they hold the band together for as long as they did?
At
8.30, the raffle was drawn. The
prizes were:
1.
A picture of Andy and Dylan spark out on a sofa after a particularly
heavy Sunday lunch (so Andy claimed).
2.
A copy of Sweetlife” numbered 1 of 100.
3.
The star prize - a set of “Mick Tucker” Drumsticks donated by Jan
Tucker.
The
first two items were duly claimed by the lucky winners and then the big one –
Andy announced “Blue 75, serial number L571”.
Yours truly looked down and say a blue ticket number 75, serial number L671.
Surely, it couldn’t be, could it?
A few seconds passed and nobody responded. Then I stood up and handed over my ticket.
Yes!!!!! Andy had misread
the number – the drumsticks were mine. I
never win anything – usually. Wow!
I
was somewhat stunned for the next few minutes, but I think Dan Chisholm from
Radio Wiltshire (and previously my local station, Radio Cambridgeshire)
introduced the Sweet duo and the main event was up and running!
The
first song, Andy said, is (“one I don’t know”, interrupted Steve) one that
was on the b side of Lady Starlight (60 people immediately knew what was coming)
and Andy then told how Mick had had to add drums as a late afterthought –
somewhat difficult as Andy had not been as precise with his timing as he
thought. The song is (“one I
don’t know”, interrupted Steve again).
“But you’ll busk it”, said Andy.
“OK” said Steve. An
admirable version of “Where D’ya Go”
followed.
As
if apologising for the slight shakiness of Steve’s playing on the song (not
necessary), Andy said “Steve slipped a disc ten days ago and has only been up
and walking two days”. “So
it’s my fault, is it?” chipped in Steve.
Andy
proceeded to reminisce about Mick – and tears were not far from his eyes at
all times – and referred to the fact that Jan Tucker was present.
There was a poignant silence hanging over the room as Andy continued.
“In this world, there’s only one thing that is constant, and that’s
change” philosophised Andy. “The
current band is keeping the memory of Sweet alive.”
Next
up was the favourite of my wife, the excellent “Dream On”. Andy then
shared some memories of Sweet visits to America, and the gig at the Hammersmith
Odeon in 1978.
Pointing
to the next song on the running order, he introduced the next song as one
frequently requested. He turned to
Steve and pointed at the song, “OK? Do
you fancy it?”. “Yeah, fine” said Steve, “What is it?”
He knew. It was that
“Level Headed” classic, “Fountain”.
Andy
then shared memories of Australia with the circa 1992 line up.
Some more fond memories from a New York curry house followed.
Andy then introduced the next song which he thought needed an
introduction as some of us wouldn’t know it.
I didn’t. It was called
“Crazy”, and that’s all I can tell you about it.
Oh, and it was well played and sung.
Andy
was asked if he had any regrets about his career. He said, not really, although he did talk about Brian leaving
the band and how that came about and it was clear that the situation at that
time had resulted in Andy wondering whether if things would have been different
had different courses of action been taken.
Time
was flying by. Andy moved on to
talk about Love is Like Oxygen, nominated for an Ivor Novello Award and
eventually highly commended. This
served as introduction for the next song, up for the same award at the same
time, Gerry Rafferty’s “Baker Street”.
Steve was kept busy switching from guitar to keyboard whilst chipping in
with backing vocals. He’s certainly a versatile performer. The song was very atmospheric.
Andy
then spent a few minutes talking about his Welsh roots, apparently emanating
from his grandmother. He went
on to say how he finds song writing difficult, but gets on well with Steve
Grant. “He does the computer work
and I make the tea!” This was
later confirmed to me by Maddy, who clearly felt Andy needs to improve his
computer skills. The truth is
coming out. But you can’t be good
at everything, can you?
The
comments on song writing served to introduce a song from “Sweetlife”
entitled “Leap of Faith”.
The lyrics are strong on this song.
In fact, I think the lyrics on “Sweetlife” are some of the best Sweet
have produced.
The
seventh song of the evening was “Mend a
Broken Heart”. Andy then
reminisced about how he was lost for words on several occasions when meeting
people he regarded as celebrities – including Frank Sinatra.
He told an amusing story of an evening out with Noddy Holder and Jimmy
Nail, when Jimmy finally cottoned on to who Andy was and started singing all the
Sweet hits out loud at the top of his voice in the pub!
Embarrassment!
Next,
Andy and Steve played “You don’t Care”.
Following this, Andy talked about his fascination with facts and picked
out some from the Guinness Book of 50 years of the charts.
The clear message is that Steps, Emma Bunton, S Club 7 and Atomic Kitten
are going to have to work exceptionally hard to match the chart achievements of
the 70’s and 80’s bands including Sweet.
Even the Spice Girls and Westlife are lower than Sweet in the 50 year
chart – and so they should be. How
can you even begin to compare plastic to solid gold brass?
“Lady
Starlight” was well received by the enthusiastic and appreciative
audience. Andy went on to talk
about his memories of Brian in hotels (amusing, unpleasant and sad all rolled
into one) and the Clearwell Castle recording session (“Level Headed”).
At
this point, Andy invited Elliot Tuffin (Steve Priest’s son-in-law) to sing
with the duo. An acoustic version
of “Blockbuster” was ably led by
Elliot and supported by the audience of whom it could definitely not be said
“We just haven’t got a clue what to do”.
The
final song – and it had to be because Andy broke two strings on his guitar and
Steve broke one on his – was “Fox on
the Run”. Elliot again
handled the lead vocals and we all chipped in for “foxy on the ru-uuu-un”
(you know what I mean).
After
the show, I retired to the bar where I was forced to drink yet another beer –
after all, you can hardly hang around in a bar without a drink in your hand, can
you? Most of the usual suspects
turned up to continue (they know who they are) chatting with each other and, in
due course, Jan, Maddy, Dan, Steve and Andy.
A relaxed an informal evening came to a natural conclusion.
It
was definitely a bitter Sweet evening, which was not easy for many whenever Mick
was mentioned. But remembering the
good times and time itself are good healers.
Roll
on the next one and burn on the flame!
Stephen Goldspink