Block Buster!
This article needs additional citations for verification. (March 2014) |
"Block Buster!" | ||||
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File:Block Buster! (The Sweet album) coverart.jpg | ||||
Single by Sweet | ||||
from the album The Sweet | ||||
B-side | "Need a Lot of Lovin'" | |||
Released | January 1973 | |||
Recorded | 1972 | |||
Genre | blues rock[5] | |||
Length | 3:13 | |||
Label | RCA | |||
Songwriter(s) | Nicky Chinn, Mike Chapman | |||
Producer(s) | Phil Wainman | |||
Sweet singles chronology | ||||
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Official audio | ||||
"Blockbuster!" on YouTube |
"Block Buster!" (also sometimes listed as "Blockbuster!") is a 1973 single by 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,[6] 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.[7]
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.[8]
Charts
This section needs additional citations for verification. (January 2018) |
Chart (1973) | Peak position |
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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[9] | 1 |
United States[10] | 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,.[11] In the French speaking part (Wallonia) the song climbed to number one, for two consecutive weeks.[12]
References
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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. 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.
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- AC with 0 elements
- 1973 singles
- 1973 songs
- The Sweet songs
- Dutch Top 40 number-one singles
- Irish Singles Chart number-one singles
- Number-one singles in New Zealand
- Number-one singles in Austria
- Number-one singles in Germany
- UK Singles Chart number-one singles
- Songs written by Mike Chapman
- Songs written by Nicky Chinn
- Song recordings produced by Phil Wainman
- RCA Records singles
- Glam rock songs