--- In glamrockandthe70s@..., seventieshero <no_reply@...> wrote:
>
> Hmmm. Bands with original members????
>
> No offence meant here and much as I agree bcSweet are a good band, I'd
> be interested to know which of their members was in the original
> Sweet... As far as I'm aware they're a tribute to the music of the
> Sweet. Andy Scott's Sweet however is a different matter as they do
> indeed have an original member of seventies band the Sweet...
>



Colin, you know full well that there are NO original members of Sweet in BC
Sweet. Two
are no longer with us and one has retired to the USA. You are well aware of this
fact. Your
comment was silly and provocative.

BC Sweet are not a tribute to The Sweet. They were Brian Connolly's backing band
until his
death in 97. End of!

I have no issue whatsoever with tribute bands and have spent most of my life
playing in
such bands. BC Sweet make no attempt to look like Sweet or pass themselves off
as Sweet.
In my opinion Sweet ceased to be in 1978 when Brian parted company with the
band. OK,
so they carried on for a year or two without Brian but never achieved any
commercial
success during that period.

Today, you pays your money you takes your choice. You can either go and see AS
Sweet
that features the guitarist from Sweet, the drummer from Praying Mantis and
State
Trooper, a guy on keys and the excelllent Peter Lincoln, formerly of Sailor and
Cliff's
backing band.... or us featuring Pete Phipps, Kev Moore, formerly of Christie
and Graham
Oliver's Saxon and Mike Koch of Les' BCRs. Two different acts with pretty
different shows.

Personally I am not into the whole Kiss make up and tina Turner wigs thang.
Since when
did the Tina Turner wig become a necessary glam accessory?????? Beats me!
HOWEVER.......
Live and let live and everyone has the right to do their own thing the same way
as paying
customers can choose to spend their money as and where they like.

This debate is a bore to be honest. At the end of the day we are all either
musos doing
what we love or fans going to see something that we enjoy. There is no need to
try to
debate or intellectualise this any further. I know from history that all these
debates serve
to do is create bad feeling.

With a very few exceptions there are NO original 70s bands out there anymore.
People get
old and retire and sadly people die. Fact of life. Anyone been to see The
Drifters lately?
Great show, but all the guys in the band are younger than me these days I think.
Odd
considering they were having hits 10 years before I was born. Now you can either
drive
yourself nuts with this or just go with it and enjoy the night out. That's my 2p
worth.

Highwayman, to address your point, yes we travel abroad a lot. What happens is,
we travel
with a suitacase and our guitars. The PA and backline are hired locally to the
gig. We give a
broad spec of the backline we would like, but invariably get there and have to
work with
what is provided.

As pros, we take steps to ensure that our core sound requirements are stored in
our guitar
pedals, largely making the choice of amp almost irellevant. We mostly fly on
budget
airlines too! It's all about being realistic. We COULD try and be arsehole
primaddonnas
about this but ultimately we want to put on a great show and get re-booked, so
you smile,
act like a professional and do your job and make sure people get value for money
no
matter what.

I think you would be surprised at the calibre of bands you could get to travel
to do shows
for you. Some bands would take a hit on the money and enjoy a few days together
in the
sun for example. You should try it. Especially with the number of middle aged
Brits you
have there, especially in the winter months. You could be on a winner. I'd be
happy to
discuss BC Sweet or The Glitterband with you in this regard should you want to.
You can
call me anytime on +44-7736-847128.

Remember this, ANY muso is damned lucky to be making a living in this game. We
are
NOT stars, we are regular working guys doing what we love. Your love and support
are
never taken for granted and totally appreciated. You go support ANY act that
does it for
YOU! Sod what anyone else thinks!

Luv on ya all!

Axe!
XXXXX