Stephen Norman Priest (23 February 1948 – 4 June 2020) was an English musician who was the bassist (and, later, co-lead vocalist) of the glam rock band The Sweet.

Early life

Priest was born in Hayes, Middlesex. He made his own 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.

Priest recalled talking to David Bowie backstage on Top of the Pops: “I was plastering this make-up on, and Bowie's going: 'Oh no, no, no. You've got to be subtle.' Bowie just didn't get it. It isn't supposed to be subtle. I'm supposed to look like an old tart."

Some controversy arose after the band's performance of the hit song "Block Buster!" on the BBC's Top of the Pops on 25 December 1973, for which Priest wore a swastika arm band. He appeared in German military uniform on the 1973 Christmas edition of the show. The song was named after the Allied blockbuster bomb. In 2010 Priest said: "It's amazing how everyone still talks about the Nazi uniform... Good old BBC wardrobe department. People always want to know if I was serious. I mean, a gay Hitler. Hello?!"

After Brian Connolly left The Sweet in early 1979, Priest became the main singer. This continued until 1982, when the original Sweet disbanded.

Invited in 1985 by former bandmate Andy Scott to reform the Sweet, Priest declined.

Later career

During the 1980s, Priest 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 bandmate Stuart Smith.

Priest had 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. The band did not agree on terms 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?, the title of which is taken from the intro to the Sweet's "The Ballroom Blitz" when Brian Connolly counts in the song with "Are you ready Steve? ...Andy? ...Mick? ...Alright fellas, let's gooooo!", and in 2006, he released a CD titled Priest's Precious Poems. In January 2008, Priest formed a new version of the Sweet, not related to Andy Scott's version of the band. Steve Priest was cremated and his ashes are interred at Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Glendale, California.

thumb|Steve Priest’s ashes

Discography

References

  • The Sweet
  • Steve Priest at the British Film Institute
  • Steve Priest eBook Site