It may not have been sweet or pretty (Pretty Vacant maybe) but it shook up the stale pop music industry of the day and lead directly to new wave. At least it meant the end of many MOR groups like The Rubettes. And for that we should be grateful.
Punk "fashion" was ridiculous but no more so than loons. Sorry Dave. Were they Purple?
A bright green I hope. I'm just jealous that you saw the Sweet in concert. I was too young being about fourteen when Ballroom Blitz etc. were hits. My Dad didn't approve of chaps with long hair, let alone make up.
Garry, I agree there's an awful lot of rubbish about now, but isn't there always? I listen to music from some classical to occasional recent releases. I've got both of Adele's album's and they're excellent. The CD's are close to the Bach and Beethoven alphabetically.
Context is important obviously. The music that was popular when I was young, end of the sixties to early eighties is part of me which is true for most of us I think. Punk came along when I was seventeen and rebellious. It provided the same sort of shock as the young Elvis or Beatles to earlier generations.
I may be boring and respectable now but I still sing along with Pretty Vacant . . . . . So long as no one's looking.
I'm just jealous that you saw the Sweet in concert.
That's the first time anyone has been jealous of me seeing Sweet Truth to tell, I wasn't particulary chuffed at seeing Edison Lightouse.. they were there to make up the numbers but at least I knew 'Love Grows' There was another band playing too that I can't for the life of me remember the name of. They were very 'Sabbath' as I remember.. wonder if it 'was' them?
I remember going to Brum Hippodrome to see Focus and didn't know before I went that my mate had arranged back stage passes (his big brother was a friend of Harvey Andrews.. the promoter). Jan Akkerman took one look at my T-Rex t-shirt and said.. 'What's that?'. How to win friends and influence people Which reminds me.. I have no idea what happened to my signed tour programme
Yes, there is plenty of rubbish around now but that has always been the case. There is also some very good talent on the scene. I don't know if I would put Adele in the same class as Bach and Beethoven, but she certainly is a talented performer and I enjoyed '19'. I also loved Amy McDonalds first album and few on on this side of the pond have heard of her. I heard her on Wogan's show via the internet. Leddra Champman is another, love the horns in her "Story" song. Looks like I might be partial to female singers.
T-Rex? Dave, somehow I am having a hard time picturing you in that t-shirt! I was a fan of theirs also and had brought back a few of their albums from the UK before they were known in the US. I had a friend who was a DJ on the local top forty station who had borrowed one of my albums and played a track late one night on the air. That was a no-no since the station had a strictly controlled playlist. He said the switchboard lit up. A few weeks later "Get it On" (retittled "Bang A Gong" in the US for some reason) became a huge hit here. Too bad Marc Bolan tragically died at an early age.