The undisputed greatest self-penned B-side in the entire Sweet catalogue, Burn On The Flame was every bit as good as its reverse, The Six Teens. From its sneering lyrics – a venomous put-down to the critics that still refused to take them seriously – to the riff, chorus, harmonies and the all-important injected sound of a cash register, this is just about flawless. It’s a self-contained nugget of pop-rock superiority that you seek? Then look no further than Action, a song that Def Leppard realised they couldn’t improve, and simply covered. Here it’s more accessible and polished, its use of multi-part vocals – ‘ You looked alright before, Or, OR, ORRRRRR!’ particularly impressive. The roots of Sweet’s independence can be traced back to this chest-beating yet deeply melodic ode to groupies, their first self-penned and self-produced hit (the song’s original version was recorded in more base form by ChinniChap for the domestic edition of the album Desolation Boulevard). Kiss: "English bands gave us our chance.10 Slade Songs That Prove They're Bigger Than Just Xmas.A cornucopia of hard rock riffs, pounding drums, aggressive lyrics (‘ Well, it’s Friday night/And I need a fight/If she don’t spread/I’m gonna bust her head’), Little Willy this was not.
It’s amusing to wonder how many spotty teenagers brought home their copy of the Sweet Fanny Adams album, dropped the needle and were almost thrown across the room by the full force of its contents (your correspondent figures among this total). Retaining bassist Steve Priest’s camp vocal interjections, it told the tale of six teenagers – Julie and Johnny, Suzie and Davey and, teasingly, Bobby and Billie – to a more mature instrumental backdrop. For all of the stick they took, Chinn and Chapman did their best to accommodate the band’s growth, and Sweet were well suited to this superbly arranged hit.