Block Buster!: Difference between revisions

"Block Buster!"
"Block Buster!"
Single by Sweet
from the album The Sweet
B-side	"Need a Lot of Lovin'"
Released	January 1973
Recorded	1972
Genre	Glam rock; blues rock; hard rock;
Length	3:13
Label	RCA
Songwriter(s)	Nicky Chinn, Mike Chapman
Producer(s)	Phil Wainman
Sweet singles chronology

Browse history interactively

← Previous edit Next edit →

Content deleted Content added

VisualWikitext

Inline

Revision as of 11:05, 5 June 2020

"Block Buster!" (also sometimes listed as "Blockbuster!") is a 1973 single by Sweet. Written by Nicky Chinn and Mike Chapman, and produced by Phil Wainman, "Block Buster!" was the band's sole UK No. 1 hit. Released in January 1973, it spent five weeks at the top of the UK Singles Chart,^[6] and also made #1 in the Netherlands, Germany, Austria and Ireland, and #3 in Finland, Switzerland, Denmark and Norway. Outside Europe it peaked at #1 in New Zealand, #29 in Australia and at #73 on the American Billboard Hot 100.

Charts

Chart (1973)	Peak position
Australia	29
Austria	1
Belgium	2
Denmark	1
Finland	3
Germany	1
Ireland	1
Italy	30
Netherlands	1
New Zealand	1
Norway	3
South Africa	7
Spain	12
Switzerland	3
United Kingdom^[7]	1
United States^[8]	73

In the case of Belgium, there are two types of lists. The one for the Flemish speaking part of Belgium (Flanders) saw the song reach number two, for five consecutive weeks,^[9]. In the French speaking part (Wallonia) the song climbed to number one, for two consecutive weeks.^[10]

Music and lyrics

Its Muddy Waters-inspired blues riff is markedly similar to the one featured on fellow RCA act David Bowie's "The Jean Genie", released shortly before, but all parties maintain that this was a coincidence.^[11]

TV performances

Some controversy rose after the band's performance of the song on the British television program Top of the Pops on December 25, 1973. In this performance, Sweet's bassist Steve Priest wore a Nazi uniform.^[12]

References

^ Popoff, Martin (2014). The Big Book of Hair Metal: The Illustrated Oral History of Heavy Metal?s Debauched Decade. Voyageur Press. p. 16. ISBN 978-1-62788-375-7.
^ Swanson, Dave (10 May 2014). "10 Underrated Glam Rock Stompers Worth Getting All Dolled Up For". Diffuser.fm. Retrieved 8 August 2019.
^ Chapman, Ian (2015). Experiencing David Bowie: A Listener's Companion. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 72. ISBN 978-1-44223-752-0.
^ Sandford, Christopher (1996). Bowie: Loving The Alien. Da Capo Press. p. 103. ISBN 978-0306808548.
^ Wroe, Nicholas (12 September 2014). "That's neat: Chinnichap's blitz of 70s hits become a musical". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 16 February 2019.
^ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. pp. 282–3. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
^ "UK Official Charts". Official Charts Company. 2019. Retrieved 25 January 2019.
^ "Hot 100: The Sweet". Billboard. 2019. Retrieved 25 January 2019.
^ "The Sweet - Block Buster - Vlaanderen". ultratop.be.
^ "The Sweet - Block Buster - Wallonie". ultratop.be.
^ Nicholas Pegg (2000). The Complete David Bowie: p.110
^ "Steve Priest | The Sweet". Thesweetband.com. Retrieved 8 October 2016.

[1] Popoff, Martin (2014). The Big Book of Hair Metal: The Illustrated Oral History of Heavy Metal?s Debauched Decade. Voyageur Press. p. 16. ISBN 978-1-62788-375-7.

[2] Swanson, Dave (10 May 2014). "10 Underrated Glam Rock Stompers Worth Getting All Dolled Up For". Diffuser.fm. Retrieved 8 August 2019.

[3] Chapman, Ian (2015). Experiencing David Bowie: A Listener's Companion. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 72. ISBN 978-1-44223-752-0.

[Bowie:_Loving_The_Alien-4] Sandford, Christopher (1996). Bowie: Loving The Alien. Da Capo Press. p. 103. ISBN 978-0306808548.

[5] Wroe, Nicholas (12 September 2014). "That's neat: Chinnichap's blitz of 70s hits become a musical". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 16 February 2019.

[British_Hit_Singles_&_Albums-6] Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. pp. 282–3. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.

[UKchart-7] "UK Official Charts". Official Charts Company. 2019. Retrieved 25 January 2019.

[Hot100-8] "Hot 100: The Sweet". Billboard. 2019. Retrieved 25 January 2019.

[9] "The Sweet - Block Buster - Vlaanderen". ultratop.be.

[10] "The Sweet - Block Buster - Wallonie". ultratop.be.

[11] Nicholas Pegg (2000). The Complete David Bowie: p.110

[12] "Steve Priest | The Sweet". Thesweetband.com. Retrieved 8 October 2016.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]

[11]

[12]

@@ Line 96: / Line 96: @@
 ==TV performances==
-Some controversy rose after the band's performance of the song on the British television program ''[[Top of the Pops]]'' at December 25, 1973. In this performance, Sweet's bassist [[Steve Priest]] wore a [[Nazi]] uniform.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://thesweetband.com/bio/steve-priest/ |title=Steve Priest &#124; The Sweet |website=Thesweetband.com |date= |accessdate=8 October 2016}}</ref>
+Some controversy rose after the band's performance of the song on the British television program ''[[Top of the Pops]]'' on December 25, 1973. In this performance, Sweet's bassist [[Steve Priest]] wore a [[Nazi]] uniform.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://thesweetband.com/bio/steve-priest/ |title=Steve Priest &#124; The Sweet |website=Thesweetband.com |date= |accessdate=8 October 2016}}</ref>
 ==References==

v t e The Sweet
Brian Connolly Steve Priest Mick Tucker Andy Scott Frank Torpey Mick Stewart
Studio albums	Funny How Sweet Co-Co Can Be Sweet Fanny Adams Desolation Boulevard Give Us a Wink Off the Record Level Headed Cut Above the Rest Waters Edge Identity Crisis
Live albums	Strung Up Live in Denmark 1976 Live at the Rainbow 1973
Compilation albums	Gimme Dat Ding The Sweet's Biggest Hits The Sweet The Sweet Singles Album Strung Up The Golden Greats The Ballroom Blitz & More Sweet Hits Platinum Rare Action: The Sweet Anthology
Singles	"Funny, Funny" "Co-Co" "Little Willy" "Wig-Wam Bam" "Block Buster!" "The Ballroom Blitz" "The Six Teens" "Peppermint Twist" "Fox on the Run" "Action" "Love Is Like Oxygen"
Related articles	Discography Members
Category