What’s the meaning of Ballroom Blitz?
What’s the meaning of Ballroom Blitz?
Wayne’s World was one of the great movies of the 90s. And one of the best parts was the gorgeous Tia Carrere and her singing “Ballroom Blitz”. I know that I had heard “Ballroom Blitz” before, but I was young and this movie cemented the song into my memories. But what’s the meaning of “Ballroom Blitz?”
Before we learn the origin of the song, let’s learn about the band, The Sweet. According to americansongwriter.com, Sweet was a British glam rock band that became popular in the 70s. The core members of the band were lead singer Brian Connolly, bass player Steve Priest, guitarist Andy Scott, and drummer Mick Tucker.
The band originated in 68′ but had their first hit song “Funny Funny” in 1971. They had several hits during the 70s that included the 1973 song “The Ballroom Blitz”, the 1973 track “Block Buster,” the 1974 song “Turn It Down,” and their last big hit “Love is like Oxygen”, in 1978.
But what’s the meaning? In January 1973, The Sweet played the Grand Hall in Kilmarnock, Scotland. The band was driven off stage by the unruly crowd by what’s called a “bottling”. A “bottling” is simply an angry crowd throwing things (like beer bottles) at the band.
The event inspired the song to be written and created in September 1973. The song IS the event “And the man in the back said, “Everyone attack”
And it turned into a ballroom blitz”. The song appears on the U.S. and Canadian versions of the band’s album, Desolation Boulevard.
The song has been covered a number of times. by the Les Humphries Singers in 1974 and The Damned in 1979. And of course, Wayne’s World in 1992, feature Tia Carrere belting out a version of the song. There was also a music video with Mike Myers.
PS: 2nd favorite part is Wayne and Garth meeting Alice Cooper “We’re not worthy!” “WE’RE NOT WORTHY!” But who is?
Here are some more great albums of the 70s!
40 Iconic '70s Albums
