SWEET - Steve's Ready
by Martin Popoff
Sweet bassist and co-vocalist Steve Priest has been living in America for years, having put Sweet aside only to watch guitarist Andy Scott carry on with a version of the band back home in Blighty. But after catching an Eric Clapton show at the Staples Center, he figured it was time to fire up the ol' 'Fox On The Run' and take all those great songs around North America once again.
And let's be honest, it's impossible to get too, too authentic on the lineup. Two of the boys - Brian Connolly and Mick Tucker - are dead. And Andy and Steve aren't getting along too well, not to mention the fact that they are separated by a continent and an ocean. Ergo, Steve's got Stuart Smith on guitar, Joe Retta on vocals, Stevie Stewart on keyboards and Richie Onori on drums to bring these songs to life - and by the sounds of it, they are indeed living well.
"We've just done two gigs in Los Angeles, which were The Whiskey and The Canyon Club, and they were brilliant," laughs Priest. "Great audiences both times, and we just came out swinging, you know. We've rearranged the set list slightly since we began rehearsing. That was from doing The Soundstage, when we did a little warm-up gig in Ventura, and I said, 'There's something wrong with this. It's not quite mixing.' So we just juggled a couple of songs around and then all of a sudden it flowed."
Look and listen for all the big hits to be played, including 'Ballroom Blitz', 'Action', 'Set Me Free' and 'Love Is Like Oxygen'. But will we also be hearing those patented harmonies?
"Oh yeah. I mean, the drummer can't sing, because he starts yelling. He can't help it, because that's what he does (laughs)."
