In one interview, you stated that you were a totally different person than Andy Scott was in the seventies. Where do you see the difference?
"In the seventies we were really crazy. The success of that time markedly influenced us and brought along many unforgetable experiences. We were forever the center of attention. Today I can concentrate more on music."
During the last regime, information about happenings within western culture was quite limited. That`s certainly why many myths came into being and exist to this day, or rather we still don`t know what the truth is. One was that on your first full-length (there was an earlier LP where The Sweet played only on one side) LP "Funny Funny How Sweet Coco Can Be", you didn`t play any instruments, only sang. The record company supposedly preferred studio players...
"The truth is, on that album we only played on a few songs, and those were on the B side. The basis of the whole project were the songs put together by the writing duo Chinn and Chapman. The Sweet were used mainly because of the vocals. We didn`t sing the original versions of those recordings and the label decided that they would use the instruments which were already on tape, but it would have to be sung over again. At that time, and in that branch of the music business, it was a daily routine. The main problem was, as always, about money. It was simply cheaper to use what was already recorded than to do something new. That didn`t make us very happy because we wanted a group which sounded more like Deep Purple. We found ourselves in a position where we didn`t want to be. The songs could stay as they were, but we had a different image of how they should be put forth musically. We are talking about a short period during our being introduced to the listening public. Later we got space as players as well."
Your work with the pop writing duo of Chinn and Chapman eventually reached the point where you opted for your own songs. The last rock-oriented album which Mike Chapman took part in was "Give us a Wink." It was a success. Yet the first real `sweet` album "Off the Record" was sunk by the critics. We could say that it is the most rock-oriented, and at the highest level as far as playing is concerned. At the same time, it was distant from the image which you had garnered from the previous projects. Were you where you wanted to be - in hard rock. Then something happened which is very hard to comprehend. All at once you put out the album"Level Headed", which musically had nothing in common with any of your previous work. You completely changed your style, shifting it somewhere into the lyrics. What was the reason for the change?
"We had finished with our first record company and had begun on a project for another. At that time the era of the Sex Pistols had started, and how people thought of music reached new dimensions. No one knew what was coming next. We were already a part rock, part metal band. Therefore in the area which was most touched by the changes. That is when I wrote the song "Love is Like Oxygen", and then the idea came along to compose it in a style which at that time was totally new, yet one that suited us. I think it worked out well. Of course the people didn`t accept it so easily. I consider "Level Headed" to be a good album, it sold around the world. Although the peak of popularity we had reached before that. Popularity and quality don`t always go hand in hand. If I like "Level Headed" it is because of how it sounds and not how it sold. And I repeat, it sold well in comparison with the albums of other bands of that period, even if it failed to reach the level of success the previous albums had."
After "Level Headed" Brian Connoly, who is now deceased, left the band. Did you try to get back together while he was still alive?
"When Brian left us in 1979, he began his own show. I don`t think he surrounded himself with quality musicians. A few months before he died, I told him that the time was right for us to get back together. Some certain things from the past are best to be forgotten. I told him about Germany, where there was a wave of comebacks happening for old bands. There was real hysteria, big concerts. It was enough for us to hit the stage for half an hour and it would be excellent. We spoke about it quite seriously, but his disease got worse, until I finally received word that he had died."
As for the first era of The Sweet, the last CD "Identity Crisis" came out in 1982. The next one being released in 1989. What did you do during those seven years?
"When we recorded "Identity Crisis", I did some mixing for the label. But it was just the introduction of new material, and nothing ready to be released. If you just listen to that LP, it doesn`t have the sound of a finished product. The label didn`t do the final mixes and just put it out as it was. Suddenly I read in a music magazine that a new album is coming out from The Sweet. I phoned the label at once to see what was going on, and they said it was what I gave them. Supposedly it was good and they made LPs from it. For me that was unacceptable, and I had had just about enough. So I stopped playing in the group, and as a producer, began to release albums for many other groups. I worked on some recording for Iron Maiden for instance. I missed playing though, so I put together another tour for The Sweet and started to perform with various other musicians, more or less as the opportunities came up. They were regular musicians who used to play in various famous groups like U.F.O. I enjoyed playing in the London clubs, where the atmosphere is direct and up-close. We played some songs from The Sweet too, and they were well-received. At the end of 1984 and early 1985 I put the group back together again, this time called Andy Scott`s Sweet. The first CD after our rebirth was made up of concert recordings and four new songs, and came out in 1989 as "Live at Marquee".
At your shows you mainly play things which have been well-known for many years. How do you see the current music scene, its evolution and trends?
"Today the range of music is very rich and a lot of good things have come out. Also the playing ability of the musicians in rock bands has reached a very high level. So has the quality of recordings and the reproduction of sound. I think that these days better quality things are coming out of America than anywhere else."
Slavo Szabo, Photo: Karol Hatala
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