| Steve Priest | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Stephen Norman Priest |
| Born | 23 February 1948 |
| Origin | Hayes, Middlesex, England |
| Genres | Hard rock, glam rock, heavy metal |
| Occupations | Musician, songwriter |
| Instruments | Bass guitar, keyboard, harmonica, vocals |
| Years active | 1962–present |
| Website | www.thesweetband.com |
Steve Priest (born Stephen Norman Priest, 23 February 1948,[1] Hayes, Middlesex, England)[2] is a founding member and bass player/backing vocalist of the glam rock band Sweet.
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Priest crafted his own homemade bass guitar and began playing in local bands as a young teenager, after being influenced by artists such as Jet Harris of The Shadows, The Rolling Stones and The Who.[2]
In January 1968, Priest was invited to form a four-piece band with vocalist Brian Connolly, drummer Mick Tucker, and guitarist Frank Torpey — the band that was to become The Sweet.[2] Torpey was replaced by Mick Stewart in 1969. Guitarist Andy Scott joined in August 1970, following Stewart's departure and the classic line-up established.
The Sweet was a band that went through many up and downs. Initial success for the Sweet began in 1971, after the band teamed up with songwriters Nicky Chinn and Mike Chapman. However, the Sweet would pen a number of their own hits, with Priest often directly backing up Brian Connolly's vocals and taking distinctive short vocal leads. After Brian Connolly left the Sweet in early 1979, Priest took over the majority of vocal duties for the band. This continued until 1982, when the original Sweet disbanded. By this time, Priest had divorced his first wife, Pat, and moved to New York City. On June 18, 1981, he remarried, this time to his current wife Maureen (née O'Connor), who was then East Coast Director of Publicity and Artist Relations for Capitol/EMI Records in New York. While in New York, he formed a band called The Allies with guitarist Marco Delmar and drummer Steve Missal. Success was elusive, although their composition "Talk To Me" was featured in a film, Fast Food.
Invited in 1985 by former bandmate Andy Scott to reform The Sweet, Steve Priest declined. Shortly thereafter, Priest and his family relocated to Los Angeles.
During this period, Priest had largely reverted to private life, but made occasional forays into production and session work, as well as collaborations with other artists such as David Arkenstone and future band mate Stuart Smith.
Priest did, however, go into a demo session in Los Angeles with the other members of the original Sweet in 1988, with Mike Chapman producing, to see if a studio album and reformation were possible. It is rumoured that the US record company MCA were interested at the time. However, the band members were unable to come to an agreement and the project failed. Despite the difficulties of the late '70s, Priest continued his friendship with former Sweet lead singer Connolly, who was, by now, in poor health.
In 1994, Priest published his autobiography, Are You Ready Steve?, and in 2006, he released a CD entitled Priest's Precious Poems.[2] In January 2008, Priest re-formed the Sweet.[2]
The reformed band has played mainly festivals and venues in the U.S. and Canada. In early 2009, the band also released a live CD, which was recorded in August 2008 at the Morongo Casino in Cabazon, California.
Priest lives with his wife Maureen and daughters Danielle and Margaret in La Canada Flintridge, California.[2]
| Steve Priest's Sweet | |
|---|---|
| Also known as | The Sweet |
| Origin | California |
| Genres | Hard rock, heavy metal |
| Years active | 2008–present |
| Website | www.thesweetband.com |
| Members | |
| Steve Priest Joe Retta Stuart Smith Stevie Stewart Richie Onori |
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In January 2008, Steve Priest assembled his own version of The Sweet in Los Angeles. He enlisted fellow Brit Stuart Smith, an old friend and a classically-trained former axeman for the bands Sidewinder and Heaven & Earth, on guitar. L.A. native Richie Onori, Smith's band-mate in Heaven & Earth, was brought in on drums. The keyboard spot was manned by ex-Crow and World Classic Rockers alumni Stevie Stewart. Front-man and vocalist Joe Retta was brought in to round out the line-up.
After an initial appearance on L.A. rock station 95.5 KLOS's popular Mark & Brian radio program, the "Are You Ready Steve?" tour kicked off at the Whisky a Go Go in Hollywood on June 12, 2008. The band spent the next several months playing festivals and gigs throughout the U.S. and Canada, including, among others: Moondance Jam in Walker, MN; headlining at the Rock 'n' Resort Festival in North Lawrence, OH (near Canal Fulton); London, Ontario's Rock The Park; another headlining gig at Peterborough's Festival of Lights; the Common Ground Festival in Lansing, MI; and a benefit concert for victims of California's wildfires at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, CA.
In January 2009, The Sweet not only presented at the concert industry's Pollstar Awards, but also played a short set at the Nokia Theatre where the event was held, marking the first time in the ceremony's history that a band performed at the show. In addition to local gigs at the House of Blues on L.A.'s Sunset Strip and Universal's Citywalk, 2009 saw the band return to Canada for sold-out shows at the Mae Wilson Theater and Casino Regina, as well as the Nakusp Music Festival and Rockin' the Fields in Minnedosa, Manitoba. U.S. festivals have included Minnesota's Halfway Jam, Rockin' the Rivers in Montana (with Pat Travers and Peter Frampton), and two late-summer shows at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk.
The new band recorded a cover version of the Beatles' "Ticket to Ride," which was included on Cleopatra Records' "Abbey Road," a Fab Four tribute CD that was released on March 24, 2009.[3]
A preview of the band's new CD "Live in America," which was recorded live at the Morongo Casino in Cabazon, California on 30 August 2008, was featured on KLOS's "Front Row" program on April 12, 2009. The CD, which was first sold at shows and via the band's on-line store, was released worldwide in an exclusive deal with Amazon.com on July 21, 2009.[4] The release has garnered favourable reviews from The Rock n Roll Report, Classic Rock Revisited and Hard Rock Haven, among others.
In April 2010, the band released its first single on iTunes: an updated, hard rock version of the Beatles' "I Saw Her Standing There." Performances on the 2010 summer tour included The Wildflower! Festival in Richardson, TX; Las Vegas, Nevada's Fremont Street Experience; Rock N' America in Oklahoma City, OK; Summer Jam in Des Moines, IA; Jack FM's Fifth Show at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheater in Los Angeles; an appearance at the Hard Rock Hotel in Biloxi, MO; and the inaugural edition of the Thunder Mountain Rock Festival in Sawyer, ND.
On November 11, 2010 it was announced that in May 2011 "Steve Priest's Sweet" had been booked to perform at a handful of European dates, but the gigs ultimately had to be canceled in late January 2011 after it was learned that one of the promoters was a suspected swindler wanted by British law enforcement officials. As of February 2011, fans who purchased pre-sale tickets were still in the process of working through the administrative channels with PayPal and various banks and credit card issuers in order to try to reclaim their funds.
As far as it goes, the band toured South America along with Journey during March 2011.[5]
The band and their European fans then also got re-united quicker than thought, when the band got booked by a befriended female Belgian promoter. Two east German gigs, May 27 and 28 2011, so in Borna and in Schwarzenberg Steve Priest's Sweet hit the European grounds. After more than 30 years, Steve Priest got a warm welcome back in Europe.
| Steve Priest's Sweet (2008–present) |
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