Block Buster!

"Block Buster!"
"Block Buster!"
Single by Sweet
from the album The Sweet
B-side	"Need a Lot of Lovin'"
Released	5 January 1973
Recorded	1972
Genre	Glam rock; hard rock; blues rock; bubblegum;
Length	3:13
Label	RCA
Songwriters	Nicky Chinn, Mike Chapman
Producer	Phil Wainman
Sweet singles chronology
Video
	"Blockbuster" - Top Of The Pops on YouTube

"Block Buster!" (also sometimes listed as "Blockbuster!") is a 1973 single by The Sweet. Written by Nicky Chinn and Mike Chapman, and produced by Phil Wainman, "Block Buster!" was the band's sole UK No. 1 hit. Released in January 1973, it spent five weeks at the top of the UK Singles Chart,^[8] and also made #1 in the Netherlands, Germany, Austria and Ireland, and #3 in Finland, Switzerland, Denmark and Norway. Outside Europe it peaked at #1 in New Zealand, #29 in Australia and at #73 on the American Billboard Hot 100.

Music and lyric

Its Muddy Waters-inspired blues riff is markedly similar to that featured on fellow RCA act David Bowie's "The Jean Genie", released shortly before, but all parties maintained this was a coincidence.^[9]

TV performances

Some controversy arose after the band's performance of the song on the British television program Top of the Pops on 25 December 1973, for which bassist Steve Priest wore a swastika arm band, a painted Hitler moustache and a Pickelhaube.^[10]

Charts

Chart (1973)	Peak position
Australia	29
Austria	1
Belgium	2
Denmark	1
Finland	3
Germany	1
Ireland	1
Italy	30
Netherlands	1
New Zealand	1
Norway	3
South Africa	7
Spain	12
Switzerland	3
United Kingdom^[11]	1
United States^[12]	73

In the case of Belgium, there are two types of lists. The one for the Flemish speaking part of Belgium (Flanders) saw the song reach number two, for five consecutive weeks,.^[13] In the French speaking part (Wallonia) the song climbed to number one, for two consecutive weeks.^[14]

References

^ "Promo disc with release date". Discogs. 1973.
^ Popoff, Martin (2014). The Big Book of Hair Metal: The Illustrated Oral History of Heavy Metal?s Debauched Decade. Voyageur Press. p. 16. ISBN 978-1-62788-375-7.
^ Swanson, Dave (10 May 2014). "10 Underrated Glam Rock Stompers Worth Getting All Dolled Up For". Diffuser.fm. Retrieved 8 August 2019.
^ Chapman, Ian (2015). Experiencing David Bowie: A Listener's Companion. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 72. ISBN 978-1-44223-752-0.
^ Wroe, Nicholas (12 September 2014). "That's neat: Chinnichap's blitz of 70s hits become a musical". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 16 February 2019.
^ Sandford, Christopher (1996). Bowie: Loving The Alien. Da Capo Press. pp. 400–103. ISBN 978-0306808548.
^ Stanley, Bob (13 September 2013). "Deluxe and Delightful: Glam". Yeah Yeah Yeah: The Story of Modern Pop. Faber & Faber. p. 338. ISBN 978-0-571-28198-5.
^ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. pp. 282–3. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
^ Nicholas Pegg (2000). The Complete David Bowie: p.110
^ "Steve Priest | The Sweet". Thesweetband.com. Archived from the original on 7 August 2020. Retrieved 8 October 2016.
^ "UK Official Charts". Official Charts Company. 2019. Retrieved 25 January 2019.
^ "Hot 100: The Sweet". Billboard. 2019. Archived from the original on 26 January 2019. Retrieved 25 January 2019.
^ "The Sweet - Block Buster - Vlaanderen". ultratop.be.
^ "The Sweet - Block Buster - Wallonie". ultratop.be.

[1] "Promo disc with release date". Discogs. 1973.

[2] Popoff, Martin (2014). The Big Book of Hair Metal: The Illustrated Oral History of Heavy Metal?s Debauched Decade. Voyageur Press. p. 16. ISBN 978-1-62788-375-7.

[3] Swanson, Dave (10 May 2014). "10 Underrated Glam Rock Stompers Worth Getting All Dolled Up For". Diffuser.fm. Retrieved 8 August 2019.

[4] Chapman, Ian (2015). Experiencing David Bowie: A Listener's Companion. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 72. ISBN 978-1-44223-752-0.

[5] Wroe, Nicholas (12 September 2014). "That's neat: Chinnichap's blitz of 70s hits become a musical". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 16 February 2019.

[Bowie:_Loving_The_Alien-6] Sandford, Christopher (1996). Bowie: Loving The Alien. Da Capo Press. pp. 400–103. ISBN 978-0306808548.

[Stanley_2013-7] Stanley, Bob (13 September 2013). "Deluxe and Delightful: Glam". Yeah Yeah Yeah: The Story of Modern Pop. Faber & Faber. p. 338. ISBN 978-0-571-28198-5.

[British_Hit_Singles_&_Albums-8] Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. pp. 282–3. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.

[9] Nicholas Pegg (2000). The Complete David Bowie: p.110

[10] "Steve Priest | The Sweet". Thesweetband.com. Archived from the original on 7 August 2020. Retrieved 8 October 2016.

[UKchart-11] "UK Official Charts". Official Charts Company. 2019. Retrieved 25 January 2019.

[Hot100-12] "Hot 100: The Sweet". Billboard. 2019. Archived from the original on 26 January 2019. Retrieved 25 January 2019.

[13] "The Sweet - Block Buster - Vlaanderen". ultratop.be.

[14] "The Sweet - Block Buster - Wallonie". ultratop.be.

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v t e The Sweet
Brian Connolly Steve Priest Mick Tucker Andy Scott Frank Torpey Mick Stewart
Studio albums	Funny How Sweet Co-Co Can Be Sweet Fanny Adams Desolation Boulevard Give Us a Wink Off the Record Level Headed Cut Above the Rest Waters Edge Identity Crisis
Live albums	Strung Up Live in Denmark 1976 Live at the Rainbow 1973
Compilation albums	Gimme Dat Ding The Sweet's Biggest Hits The Sweet The Sweet Singles Album Strung Up The Golden Greats The Ballroom Blitz & More Sweet Hits Platinum Rare Action: The Sweet Anthology
Singles	"Funny, Funny" "Co-Co" "Poppa Joe" "Little Willy" "Wig-Wam Bam" "Block Buster!" "Hell Raiser" "The Ballroom Blitz" "Teenage Rampage" "The Six Teens" "Peppermint Twist" "Fox on the Run" "Action" "Love Is Like Oxygen"
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