The man at the back said everyone attack and it turned into a great big hit
It seemed like just another 70s pop hit destined to soundtrack a few Top of the Pops and then sink back into obscurity and Sounds of the Seventies compilation albums.
But, more than 40 years later, Ballroom Blitz by The Sweet is a hit that refuses to die and is helping to soundtrack this summer’s big-screen blockbuster Suicide Squad.
And, the band’s guitarist Andy Scott reveals, it was inspired by a riotous gig in Glasgow in 1973.
He told the Sunday Mail about the night he and singer Brian Connolly got dragged off the stage at the city’s Apollo by a screaming horde of scissor-wielding female fans.
Andy, 67, says it was a gig he will never forget and one that scared the wits out of him and Scots bandmate Brian but agrees it was worth it for the inspiration.
He said :“Our songwriter Mike Chapman came to see us doing a gig in Glasgow’s Apollo and there was an absolute riot. All the fans were screaming and going crazy.
“A bunch of girls grabbed Brian and me by the ankles and dragged us off stage. They started lobbing off our hair with scissors they had been hiding in their handbags. “To say we were terrified was an understatement. No one had ever seen a reaction like this and security didn’t stand a chance.”
The musician, who is touring Europe with a revised version of the band, added: “Mike went away and wrote the lyrics to Ballroom Blitz. It had been three years since he had started writing for us and this was a whole new sound.
“The song tells the story of that mad night at the old Apollo, the f lashing lights and jumping atmosphere. If it wasn’t for that raucous gig in Glasgow, it might never have been written.”
Andy, who was born in Wales but now lives in Wiltshire, admits the Apollo gig wasn’t the only wild night they spent in Scotland back then.
He said: “We did a lot of gigs in Scotland in the 70s, including one in Kilmarnock where we ended up stopping halfway through and high-tailing it back to London after the boyfriends of the screaming girls started throwing bottles and spitting on us.
“Either they were jealous or our eye-shadow, glitter and wild costumes were too much for the hot-blooded men of Killie.
“Ballroom Blitz could have been inspired by all of our Scots gigs.”
Dad- of- one Andy was surprised when he heard that the song features in the soundtrack of Suicide Squad, the new film based on DC Comics’ anti-hero team of the same name, which stars Will Smith, Jared Leto and Margot Robbie. He said: “I only found out when someone from the States sent me a clip of the trailer. “I got a few messages from pals saying drinks down the pub were on me but I didn’t write the song and I doubt we will make much from it. “It’s great that a whole new generation will get to hear the song but ImI’m not holholding my breath about it changing mym life. It was also in Wayne’s WorldWorl and Eddie Murphy’s Daddy Day CareCa but nothing came of it.” The Sweet roser to fame in the 70s with their bbest- known line- up including bbass player Steve Priest and drumdrummer Mick Tucker as well as AAndy and Brian. TheyThe spent weeks at the top oof the charts, selling moremor than 40million recordsrec with hits such as Blo Blockbuster, Hellraiser, WigW Wam Bam and LittleLit Willy. AndyA admits the 70s waswa a decade of excess. He added: “Back then, eve everything we did was for effect.effe There was a myriad of bbands who wore jeans and T-shirts in the 60s and then succumbed to glam rock ini the next decade – people like Marc Bolan and even DaDavid Bowie. “The ex plosion of the romantics anda glam ended in 1974 when the theatrethe was dumped in favour of punkpunk. It was all a game.” The band bbegan to disintegrate
in 1979 when Brian, from Govanhill in Glasgow, began struggl ing with drink.
Scott admits The Sweet were never the same after Brian died in 1997 from the effects of chronic alcoholism.
He said: “Brian and I got on really well in the beginning. He had problems with previous guitarists but we just clicked and it felt that the band were complete.
“But it wasn’t long before I couldn’t keep up with his alcohol intake and his penchant for never going home at night. I just could not stick it any longer.
“By the late 70s, his health had deteriorated along with his ability to perform.
“Brian was a shadow of his former self. When he left in 1979, it was the end of the band. It was never the same without him, although we recorded three credible albumsms without him.”
He added: “I met up with him in the mid 80s to discuss the possibilityy of getting back together but he wasn’tt fit enough to go on the road.
“He had a great talent and it wass a shame it was wasted.”
Andy, who was diagnosed withith prostate cancer seven years ago but is now in remission, is teaming up with Suzi Quatro and Slade’s drummermer Don Powell in a new 70s superband,d,
He said: “We have recorded an albumum and are discussing a record deal. The album should be out next year and we will start performing live as QSP. It’s’s a new super-band.
“It’s not about the pounds and pence,nce, it is about the music. I don’t think I will ever retire.”