Everyone knows Ballroom Blitz — the chaotic energy, the iconic drum intro, the electrifying guitars — but Sweet was so much more than a glam rock band. They had the heaviness of Deep Purple, the attitude of The Rolling Stones, and the hooks of The Beatles. Set Me Free could have easily fit on a Judas Priest record, while Sweet F.A. had the raw aggression of early AC/DC.
At the height of their fame, Sweet sold an astonishing 50 million records worldwide.
And at the center of it all was Brian Connolly. The charming frontman, with his striking looks and commanding stage presence, became the face of the band. He had the world at his feet, millions of fans, and the voice that defined an era. But as history would show, fame and fortune could not shield him from the darker side of rock stardom.
Abandoned as infant
Brian, who was originally known as Brian MacManus until he turned eighteen, was born in Scotland in 1945.
From the very beginning, Brian had a difficult life — he was abandoned as a baby and raised by a nurse and her husband. His biological father’s identity was never revealed, but when Brian reached adulthood, he discovered he was the half-brother of famed Scottish actor Mark McManus, who played Detective Taggart in one of the UK’s longest-running television dramas.
By the mid-1960s, Brian was making a name for himself as a singer in the UK. A few years later, he co-founded the band Sweet, which went on to achieve enormous success throughout the 1970s.
The band’s guitarist, Andy Scott, confirmed their immense success:
“A lot of money went through the bank accounts during that period. We moved into the millionaire status,” he said, noting that Sweet had 39 worldwide hits and 13 top-20 singles in the UK, including the number-one hit Block Buster!.
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