I liked Sweet too, back then it was The Sweet..
I first remember hearing Co-Co on Radio 1 when I was gallivanting around Medway near the Thames as a 10 or 11 year old and liking the tropical drums..
Those massive hit records Co-Co, Poppa Joe, Little Willy, Wig Wam Bam, Blockbuster, The Ballroom Blitz, Hell Raiser, Teenage Rampage, The Six Teens
were all Produced by Phil Wainman (Written by wealthy Mayfair Lad Nicky Chinn and Queenslander Mike Chapman).
The early Sweet records featured session musicians on the records and only used the bands vocals, up until Little Willy or Wig Wam Bam and from then on
the band played on their own records.. insisted on it...
Chinn & Chapman tend to get all the recognition but it was Wainman who put the productions together and came up with the drum pattern in The Ballroom Blitz.
Phil Wainman was first a drummer before he became a producer.
Nicky Chinn had setup two production companies with Phil Wainman
Chinebridge Limited (1973) and New Dawn Productions Ltd (1970) both of which are still active companies today.
Although Chinn & Chapman had signed on with Mickie Most's Rak Records and gave Rak a (temporary) share of the Publishing,
The Sweet were signed to RCA Records.
Steve Priest was great for Top of the Pops as he became another focal point.. the outrageous one in the band..
ChinniChap tried to achieve a similar thing with Rob Davies of Mud ... but Mud were not quite as wild..
Sweet went on to do well in the USA and the rest of the world whereas Mud enjoyed some huge hits in the UK, Netherlands and Europe with some mild hits in Australia.
Andy Scott and Steve Priest had some conflict over the past couple of decades.. but Scott is genuine in his tribute to Priest as I think
he always wanted the band to have the two surviving members back together and to seal the old rifts.
Now it's just Andy Scott left to carry the baton and keep Sweet alive.
I never saw the band live, my love of music was always the songs and the records, and of course back then TOTP was essential viewing for nearly everyone in Britain.
Listen to the demo of The Ballroom Blitz with Mike Chapman singing
and you'll appreciate what Phil Wainman achieved
Click this link
youtu.be/4bHN7imfZFo?t=2836