Willy Connolly

The Sweet: Fox on the Run Willy Connolly

The Sweet is a glam rock band formed in 1968, London, England, UK that became famous in the early 1970s. Their best known line-up comprised lead vocalist Brian Connolly, bass player Steve Priest, guitarist Andy Scott, and drummer Mick Tucker. The group was originally called Sweetshop. The group had their first hit, "Funny Funny" in 1971, after teaming up with songwriters Nicky Chinn and Mike Chapman with record producer Phil Wainman. From '71 - '72, their musical style progressed from the Archies-like, bubblegum style of "Funny Funny," to a Who-influenced hard-rock style, enhanced with the striking use of high-pitched backing vocals.

The band first had success in the UK charts, with thirteen Top 20 hits during the '70s alone, "Block Buster!" (1973) topping the charts, followed by three consecutive # 2 hits, "Hell Raiser" (1973), "The Ballroom Blitz" (1973) and "Teenage Rampage" (1974). The band then developed a harder rock style, with their mid-career singles, including 1974's "Turn It Down", with "Fox on the Run" (1975) also having reached # 2 on the UK charts. They had even greater success in West Germany and other countries on the European mainland, having also gained popularity in the US with the top ten hits "Little Willy", "The Ballroom Blitz" and "Fox on the Run".