UK News

‘Ballroom Blitz’ Sweet Guitarist Steve Priest dies aged 72

By Tony Winterburn • Published: 05 Jun 2020 • 8:11

Steve Priest, the founder, bassist, and vocalist of the glam rock band the Sweet, has died age 72 – the cause of his death is not yet known.

Bandmate Andy Scott paid tribute to Priest, describing him as the best bass player he had ever played with. “From that moment in the summer of 1970 when we set off on our musical odyssey the world opened up and the roller coaster ride started.”

Priest was born in Hayes, Middlesex, on 23 February 1948. He is survived by his wife, Maureen, and their three daughters. Maureen, née O’Connor, was a director of publicity for Capital and EMI in New York.

David Ellefson of Megadeth said that Priest was “without parallel.” He said that the Sweet “gave me one of my earliest memories of great hard rock on the radio as a kid and [1974’s] Desolation Boulevard still holds up as one of rock’s greatest albums from that period.”

The Sweet were key figures in the glam rock era, scoring 13 Top 20 hits in the 1970s. Priest joined the fledgling group, then known as the Sweetshop, in the late 60’s. After a false start on Parlophone at the turn of the 70’s, they signed to RCA worldwide and had their first hit with Funny Funny in 1971.

Priest had been living in the Los Angeles area for several years, and his band played often at local venues including the Canyon clubs in Agoura Hills and Santa Clarita.