Sweet “Ballroom Blitz” – The Story Behind The Song
Well, I’m wrong… kinda. The way I heard the story, Sweet “Ballroom Blitz” was written after a bad gig in Scotland. The band was chased off stage with patrons throwing…
WEST HOLLYWOOD, CA – APRIL 30: Rock band ‘Sweet’ performs at the House of Blues on April 30, 2009 in West Hollywood, California.
(Photo by Kristian Dowling/Getty Images)Well, I'm wrong... kinda. The way I heard the story, Sweet "Ballroom Blitz" was written after a bad gig in Scotland. The band was chased off stage with patrons throwing bottles at them. THAT DID HAPPEN. The rest of the story, well, sigh... I had to do more homework. Here's what I found:
Sweet didn't write "Ballroom Blitz"
Nicky Chinn and Mike Chapman are songwriters and they wrote this song for Sweet. The two also wrote Suzie Quatro's "Devil Gate Drive," and Tony Basil's "Mickey." You're so fine. You blow my mind, hey Nicky... hey Mike.
One would THINK that Nicky and Mike heard about Sweet's hasty retreat from the bad gig and were inspired to write "Ballroom Blitz." Sadly, that is also wrong... at least according to Nicky Chinn. In an interview with Goldmine, Nicky said, "We were trying to write songs that had no meaning, and 'Ballroom Blitz' was one of them. I suggested the title and we sat down and wrote a song about a guy having a horrifyingly bad dream that his latest record hadn't made it – he was in this ballroom, in a discotheque, and maybe he was on drugs because he started hallucinating. They were pretty funny words to that song, although I've forgotten the real version because I did this horrifyingly dirty version of that song." I can only imagine the original lyric for "And the girl in the corner let no one ignore her."
Sweet "Ballroom Bitz"
While I was researching "Ballroom Blitz," I also read up on Sweet's background. Before "Ballroom Blitz" was released, Sweet had a #1 hit in the U.K. with "Blockbuster" in 1973. This song was also written by Chinn and Chapman. The song's opening sounds A LOT like David Bowie's "Jean Genie." Sweet said THEIR song came first. In an interview with The Independent, Sweet's original vocalist, Brian Connolly said, "When we took the acetate into the RCA promotion department for the first time to let them hear what their next single was going to be, Bowie was there. I remember him saying, 'That's a great song, that's definitely a winner.'"
Sweet - "Blockbuster"
The band fired Chinn and Chapman in 1974 and went on to write their own songs including "Fox on the Run" and "Love Is Like Oxygen."
33 Albums that Turn 50 in 2023
A number of classic albums celebrate their golden anniversary in 2023. Among the artists with LPs turning 50 in New Year are Pink Floyd, Elton John, the Rolling Stones, Aerosmith, Led Zeppelin, Bruce Springsteen & the E Street band and more!
Scroll below to see 33 albums that turn 50 in 2023.
David Bowie - ‘Aladdin Sane’
Released on April 20, 1973.
Pink Floyd - ‘The Dark Side of the Moon’
Released on March 1, 1973.
The Allman Brothers Band - ‘Brothers and Sisters’
Released in August 1973.
The Stooges - ‘Raw Power’
Released on February 7, 1973.
Aerosmith - ‘Aerosmith’
Released on January 5, 1973.
The Who - ‘Quadrophenia’
Released on October 26, 1973.
Stevie Wonder - ‘Innervisions’
Released on August 3, 1973.
Genesis - ‘Selling England by the Pound’
Released in September 1973.
Led Zeppelin - ‘Houses of the Holy’
Released on March 28, 1973.
Alice Cooper - ‘Billion Dollar Babies’
Released on February 25, 1973.
Lynyrd Skynyrd - ‘(Pronounced 'Lĕh-'nérd 'Skin-'nérd)’
Released on August 13, 1973.
Rolling Stones - ‘Goats Head Soup’
Released on August 31, 1973.
Elton John - ‘Goodbye Yellow Brick Road’
Released on October 5, 1973.
Steely Dan - ‘Countdown to Ecstasy’
Released in July 1973.
Paul McCartney and Wings - ‘Band on the Run’
Released on December 5, 1973.
Lou Reed - ‘Berlin’
Released on October 5, 1973.
Dr. John - ‘In the Right Place’
Released on February 25, 1973.
Marvin Gaye - ‘Let’s Get It On’
Released on August 28, 1973.
The Doobie Brothers - ‘The Captain and Me’
Released on March 2, 1973.
Paul McCartney and Wings - ‘Red Rose Speedway’
Released on April 30, 1973.
Emerson, Lake & Palmer - ‘Brain Salad Surgery’
Released on November 19, 1973.
Elton John - ‘Don’t Shoot Me I’m Only the Piano Player’
Released on January 26, 1973.
Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band - ‘The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle’
Released on November 5, 1973.
Black Sabbath - ‘Sabbath Bloody Sabbath’
Released in November 1973.
ZZ Top - ‘Tres Hombres’
Released on July 26, 1973.
Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band - ‘Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J.’
Released on January 5, 1973.
John Lennon - ‘Mind Games’
Released on October 29, 1973.
Todd Rundgren - ‘A Wizard, a True Star’
Released on March 2, 1973.
Paul Simon - ‘There Goes Rhymin’ Simon’
Released on May 5, 1973.
Bob Marley and the Wailers - ‘Burnin’
Released on October 19, 1973.
Jackson Browne - ‘For Everyman’
Released in October 1973.
George Harrison - ‘Living in the Material World’
Released on May 30, 1973.
Yes - ‘Tales from Topographic Oceans’
Released on December 7, 1973.
