Steve Priest, bassist by Tom Semioli

Seminal Sides: Just about a any Sweet Greatest Hits compilation will do….

Artists/Bands: The Sweet 

Are you ready Steve?

He anchored the “Godfathers of Glam” – however The Sweet were much more than a passing pop trend. Pub rockers with a rhythm and blues background and strong vocal harmonies which set them apart from their loud and proud peers, the classic quartet of Brian Connolly, Andy Scott, Mick Tucker, and bassist Steve Priest initially made their commercial bones with bubble-gum tunes composed by Mike Chapmen and Nicky Chinn.

Yet the lads could also pen hits and album tracks that rocked hard akin to their competition– Thin Lizzy, Mott The Hoople, and T. Rex – hence the contradiction which plagued their career and legacy: were they substance or sizzle?

You be the judge. They certainly inspired the LA metal scene (Quiet Riot) and second wave of British metal (Def Leppard) of the 1980s, and indie-rockers of the 90s who worked in the pop spectrum cited them as a touchstone despite their tinsel trappings.

Akin to many players of his generation, Priest was drawn to the instrument by way of Jet Harris, and the harder edge aesthetic of the Rolling Stones and The Who.  He toiled in various beat groups in the 1960s, The Countdown and The Army wherein he worked with legendary producer Joe Meek.

A singer / composer Priest was among rock’s consummate song players – working the pocket with occasional rhythmic and harmonic flourishes as the situation warranted.

Following The Sweet, Priest migrated to Los Angeles and formed The Allies which failed to reach a wide audience. In 2006 he waxed a solo slab Priest’s Private Poems.  In 2008, after years away from the biz, Priest led his own version of The Sweet, and penned an autobiography Are You Ready Steve? in 1994 to tell his side of the Sweet story.

Among Priest’s weapons of choice included Fender and Rickenbacker basses.

Steve Priest Sound & Vision

“Fox On The Run” https://youtu.be/qBdFA6sI6-8

“Love Is Like Oxygen” https://youtu.be/zRgWvvkSvfk

“Talk to Me” from Priest’s Private Poems https://youtu.be/sUZxfMUSThE

Steve Priest’s The Sweet live in 2019 https://youtu.be/qCgIW8ZjleE

By Thomas Semioli

These Wolverhampton lads started out as a just another British blues ensemble whose debut slab flopped. However when they commenced to cranking out pop tunes abetted with volume aplenty – these unlikely rock gods caught the glam train to superstardom in the UK in the early 1970s, scoring several platinum sides and singles until it all came to a screeching halt in ‘75 when their film and move to Los Angeles tanked.

Along with his showman mate Neville John “Noddy” Holder, bassist James Whild Lea created such scholarly compositions which infuriated English professors en masse including “Cum On Feel the Noize,” “Gudbuy T’ Jane,” “Skweeze Me Pleeze Me,” and “Mama Weer All Crazee Now,” among others.  

A skillful, melodic song player ala Sir Paul and Brian Wilson by way of the Wrecking Crew who skillfully balanced himself atop platforms oft complimented by sparkling haberdashery, Lea and his Slade cohorts joyfully set the template for the pop metal onslaught of the 1980s as evidenced by the chart and video successes of Quiet Riot’s renditions of their signature tunes. 

Following Slade’s initial demise, Lea recorded under a few monikers including The Dummies, yet never approached the commercial success of Slade, who continued to tour well into the 21st Century as a nostalgia act – sans James.

Among Lea’s many weapons of choice included a Framus bass similar to Bill Wyman, Gibson EB-3, Fender Jazz and Precision, and Rickenbacker 4001.

Dig James on…

“Cum On Feel The Noize” https://youtu.be/Qu_ozjAu_vM

“Gudbuy T’ Jane” https://youtu.be/GddY7Jj63tw

“Skweeze Me Pleeze Me” https://youtu.be/-mKjx2oL_fI

“Mama We’re All Crazee Now” https://youtu.be/RPTk5poAa1c

And a personal favorite of The Viletones’ legendary leader, singer, composer Steven Leckie: Dig James’ rhythmic and harmonic movement on their rendition of Janis Joplin’s “Move On” https://youtu.be/X502fNgvST0