The Sweet on 'Lift Off with Ayshea', July 1974

Although Bowie was undoubtedly the master of changes in the 1970s, RCA Records labelmates The Sweet also shifted shapes several times in the same period. With the songwriting and production skills of Nicky Chinn and Mike Chapman, they emerged as a pure bubblegum group in 1971 with their first hit Funny Funny, a lightweight pop confection with a pat-a-cake rythym and insidiuous chorus. More hits followed, but the band were dissatisfied with their recordings - in fact, they were barely recordings of the band as the Chinnichap team used session musicians on the records with the band contributing only vocals, although they were permitted to write and record their own B sides.

The band were finally allowed to play their instruments in 1972 with the release of 'Wig-Wam-Bam', a much heavier single than they had released before. By now they had adopted increasingly glam styling, apparently started by the impossibly laddish bass player Steve Priest, who discovered that using make-up was an effective means to chatting up birds at the BBC make up department.

Despite these , the group finally split from Chinnichap in late 1974, and moved away from pop to a more metal sound, which ended their run of hit singles, although the group maintained a loyal German fanbase.

The two videos here are taken from an episode of the Granada Television pop show 'Lift Off with Ayshea', which was broadcast along with children's programmes at tea time. Presented by Ayshea Borough, who had most notably starred in UFO previously, and was dating Pop Archaeologist favourite Roy Wood around this period.

First up is 'The Six Teens', their penultimate Chinnichap 7", and an uncharacteristic ballad for the band. It's an enjoyable mimed performance.

The second video is more interesting, starting with Ayshea telling the band 'That was super', before a brief interview which mentions singer Brian Connolly's voice (He'd been attacked and punched in the throat earlier in the year), and then the band launch into a track from their Sweet Fanny Adams LP, 'Set Me Free'. It's a thunderous track, way heavier than the single, but what is completely incongruous is when the studio cameras focus on the audience, who are several years younger than the average TOTP crowd. Nevertheless, they clap along gamely, as the credits (in a wonderfully period font) roll.

None of the episode these clips were taken from survives officially; it's believed they were recorded from the television by the group's guitarist, Andy Scott.