John Dowell reporting...


The email from Kevin Smith sent me rushing to buy my ticket over the
Internet that very minute. He announced that the new AS Sweet album would be
previewed at a special fan event -  private evenings limited to 50 guests
per night where Andy would chat and mix with fans, as well as play an
acoustic set and tracks from the new album.

The big day was approaching and due to various technical problems I hadn't
received my Thursday ticket yet. In telephone calls to Kevin I learned that
Andy would be playing classic Sweet numbers in a set for a hardcore fan
audience, including many songs he hadn't played for  years, if  ever. Having
been thrilled with his Salisbury set just a few months ago, this was going
to be all too much!

The threat of floods,  petrol strikes and a mad dash from work meant that I
finally arrived at The Black Swan Hotel with a great feeling of relief. I
saw our editor Cos in the bar as I entered and, true to his word Andy was
soon there, happy to be milling around the fans ,chatting, etc.

The format of both evenings was similar and so, rather than repeat myself, I
'm reviewing them as a combined event. This has nothing to do with the fact
that I may have been completely "off my face" for most of Thursday night!  I
'm afraid to say that I was so keen not to miss anything that I started
drinking right away instead of getting a meal first!

The Videos

We all went to a room above the bar where we were treated to another showing
of  Kevin and Stewart Roney's megamix video, which made a fitting
introduction to the evening. This had previously been seen at Salisbury and
through popular demand is now available through Kevin Smith, entitled Its
Its The Video mix, which also features a video for the  Sweet'n'Foxy mix.


The Competitions

Things got truly underway as Andy hosted a competition each night. On
Thursday there was a "name that tune " session where three contestants were
invited to recognise Sweet classics from the original instrumental demos.
The biggest surprise for me was to hear how Strong Love started out as a
traditional rockin' Sweet number before being transformed into the
lightweight soul we know now. Andreas Spies was the lucky winner of Andy's
Stage Jacket from the Marquee gigs in 1989.



The audience from Thursday would already know the answers so a shorter
competition was devised for Friday. It was a quick show of hands but Paul
Rees correctly identified a blue leather jacket on display as being the one
worn by Andy in the Action video we watched earlier. The spot prize for this
observation was Andy's boots from the Marquee gigs. I wonder if they fit
him?

There was also a special raffle with a prize donated by Marilyn Connolly.
Owen Rafferty was the lucky winner of Brian's original silver disc for  UK
sales of Ballroom Blitz  in 1973.

The Archive Tapes

Kevin also dipped into the archives and brought several old and rarely heard
clips for us to hear. On Thursday we heard Mike Chapman's original demos for
Hellraiser and Ballroom Blitz and the unused Moonlight in Baskerville.

Friday brought us a BBC Radio 1 session of Summertime Blues, complete with
heavy Who - style riffing, Mike Chapman's demo of Poppa Joe (a special
request by Steve Grant!) and Lovin'...another unused Chinn & Chapman demo
that was more like Smokie than Sweet.

Kevin seems to have an almost bottomless supply of Sweet gems in Andy's
collection. It would be great if they could add to their earlier
compilations with more tracks like these...

The Music

After their success together at Salisbury, Steve Grant once again joined
Andy for the acoustic sets charting  Sweet's musical history. Those of us
who were at Salisbury knew we were in for a real treat. The songs take on a
new life of their own when stripped down to a raw acoustic feel.

The atmosphere was so informal that it didn't feel like a gig at all - the
chat and questions flowed for most of the night so they only got round to
playing six songs on the Thursday. Andy says that real songs stand up with
just guitar and voice and Thursday gave us gems like Be With You Soon and my
personal favourite, Into The Night. There was also room for some surprises
including Ronan Keating's (Life Is A) Roller Coaster and Elliott Tuffin,
Steve Priest's ex- son in law, guesting on vocals for Fox.

Full running order...Baby What You Want Me To Do?, Be With You Soon, Into
The Night, Roller Coaster, Blockbuster, Fox On The Run.


There was a conscious decision on Friday to play more numbers which included
Oxygen  - just as gorgeous as at Salisbury, but this time with Andy's vocal.
Other highlights were Dream On, which received a massive ovation and a
snippet of Leap Of Faith, a track off the new album. For a laugh he even had
a stab at  Windy City with his acoustic turned up to distortion level..!

The running order for Friday was...Into The Night, Lady Starlight, Oxygen,
Dream On, Kruggerrands, Leap Of Faith, Roller Coaster and Blockbuster.

The Chat

Over both nights Andy was up for questions and chat, whether it was at the
bar or in front of the microphone. He covered the whole of his musical
career, from early days with Mayfields Mule where he played support to Jimi
Hendrix (who was refused entry to his own gig apparently) right up to his
hopes and dreams for the future.

He spoke with sadness of the circumstances that lead to Brian leaving the
band - a series of events leading to an ultimatum that went wrong - rather
than the abrupt ending that is widely reported. There was a cracking story
about the lengths bootleggers will go to, to illegally tape gigs. One guy
was caught carrying a full size mannequin stuffed with Hi - Fi equipment,
supposedly "his girlfriend", with microphones sticking out where her ears
should be!

The New Album

The main event for many would be the unveiling of the long awaited new
album.

 I  learned that  The Resurrection Shuffle - the old Ashton, Gardner & Dyke
song - has been recorded but won't be used on the album (Shame!). Also
discarded is the popular live favourite Bluesbuster, as they felt they
shouldn't record the ultimate version of what is, essentially, a live jam
session. Very wise I think... As it happens, they are still putting the final
overdubs and mixes together, meaning the official release is now likely for
March 2000. This makes the snippets we heard all the more intriguing and the
following is a track-by-track review of what we heard on the night, it'll be
interesting to see how these first impressions compare with the final
result:

Sweet Life: The title track to the album which would make an excellent
opening number. A different sound with a celtic feel to the guitar, but with
trademark high harmonies to let you know that this was new and Sweet at the
same time.

You Are Crazy: This goes through interesting changes in pace and key that
suggests we may have a Mother Earth type epic on our hands. We heard the
vocals on the night but the audience were given a 3 rack sampler including
an instrumental backtrack of this.

Airhead: Has a classic 70s ballad that will remind you of many influences -
for me it's a Jeff Lynne style vocal,  Focus (Sylvia) in the guitar solo
and, most of all ,  Bowie's All The Young Dudes! However it's entirely
original  and one of my favourites.

Do it All Again: A good slice of R & B boogie that really chugs along. This
is going to be a good rockin' number when it's finished.

Leap Of Faith: A very recent track that was written very quickly - always
the sign of a good song. It's an acoustic song at the moment that grows
through with fantastic Sweet harmonies again. Another personal favourite.

Oxo: Not the finished title, but a name given because that song has staccato
keyboards and a choppy guitar sound, a bit like Love Is Like Oxygen.

Car: Again, this may or may not be the final name for this epic, sweeping
song that grows into a strong, chugging track.

Neon Psychedelia: Originally this was going to be the title track to the
album. A truly MASSIVE guitar riff that makes you think of AC/DC's Highway
To Hell. If you love Windy City then this is going to be classic, bone
crunching rock of the same calibre.

Overall, I would say that Sweet Life is not trying to pick up where "A" left
off, it's a genuine step towards creating a "classic" Sweet album - quality
rock music with an emphasis on strong melodies, big high harmonies and
interesting musical changes of pace. Having said that, it manages to sound
familiar yet fresh, with enough new ideas to keep you interested.

 Now Andy has to decide how to promote this new and original  album whilst
playing to audiences who are only interested in hearing the 70s hits...

Overall

 The evenings were a great success. I know from conversations that Andy was
very pleased with the events and plans to repeat the format at various other
locations elsewhere in the future. It was a great opportunity to see Andy in
a relaxed environment, not as a star in a hurry, but someone relaxing with
us for the whole evening. In fact, he most popular phrase over the weekend
was Andy booming "of course you can!", as he once again obliged eager fans
with autographs, photos and answers to questions.

The atmosphere was relaxed , upbeat and happy as was Andy and his music.
Maddy was with Andy both evenings and everyone was smiling. Now that's what
I call  living the Sweet Life...