Friday September 18, 2020 “Ballroom Blitz” The Sweet

A ballroom blitz...it’s certainly frivolous.

For some reason The Sweet feel like one hit wonders but they actually had a number of one hit wonder US hits beyond “Ballroom Blitz”.  Think “Fox on the Run”, “Little Willy” “Love is Like Oxygen” among other perhaps forgettable tunes, but all of them top ten songs and each of which were written and produced by Nicky Chinn and Mike Chapman.

Chinn & Chapman have a remarkable catalog of huge hits that they are responsible for in addition to those written for The Sweet including:  “Kiss You All Over” (Exile), “Mickey” (Toni Basil), “Better Be Good to Me” (Tina Turner) and “Heart & Soul” (Huey Lewis & the News).

For the drummers in the group, The Sweet released an album in 1974 Desolation Boulevard that contains a track “The Man with the Golden Arm” which features an eight and one half minute drum solo by Sweet drummer Mick Tucker. You’ll need to find that on your own.

As for “Ballroom Blitz” just what are all these people doing, the man in the back, the girl in the corner and the band who stopped breathing.  According to Nicky Chinn this song started out as a joke and the lyrics were a lot a lot raunchier and much less radio friendly in its original imagining.

Stay safe and well...and are you ready Steve, Andy, Mick?

Are you ready Steve? Uh-huh

Andy? Yeah

Mick? Okay

Alright fellas, let's go!

Oh it's been getting so hard

Living with the things you do to me

My dreams are getting so strange

I'd like to tell you everything I see

Oh, I see a man at the back as a matter of fact

His eyes are as red as the sun

And the girl in the corner let no one ignore her

Cause she thinks she's the passionate one

Oh yeah! It was like lightning

Everybody was fighting

And the music was soothing

And they all started grooving

Yeah, yeah, yeah-yeah-yeah

And the man in the back said everyone attack

And it turned into a ballroom blitz

And the girl in the corner said boy I want to warn you

It'll turn into a ballroom blitz

Ballroom blitz, ballroom blitz, ballroom blitz, ballroom blitz

Oh reaching out for something

Touching nothing's all I ever do

Oh I softly call you over

When you appear there's nothing left of you

And the man in the back is ready to crack

As he raises his hands to the sky

And the girl in the corner is everyone's woman

She could kill you with a wink of her eye

Oh yeah! It was electric

So perfectly hectic

And the band started leaving

'Cause they all stopped breathing

Yeah, yeah, yeah-yeah-yeah

And the man in the back said everyone attack

And it turned into a ballroom blitz

And the girl in the corner said boy I want to warn you

It'll turn into a ballroom blitz

Ballroom blitz, ballroom blitz, ballroom blitz, ballroom blitz

Oh yeah! It was like lightning

Everybody was fighting

And the music was soothing

And they all started grooving

Yeah, yeah, yeah-yeah-yeah

And the man in the back said everyone attack

And it turned into a ballroom blitz

And the girl in the corner said boy I want to warn you

It'll turn into a ballroom blitz

Ballroom blitz, ballroom blitz, ballroom blitz, ballroom blitz

It's it's a ballroom blitz

It's it's a ballroom blitz

It's it's a ballroom blitz

Yeah, it's a ballroom blitz