Died On This Date (February 9, 1997) Brian Connolly / The Sweet

themusicsover February 9, 2010 8 Comments

Brian Connolly (born Brian McManus)
October 5, 1945 – February 9, 1997

Born in Scotland, Brian Connolly grew up to become the lead singer of the internationally acclaimed ’70s glam rock band, Sweet (sometimes referred to as The Sweet).  When Connolly was a teen, he moved with his family to England where he eventually joined a band that included Ian Gillan and Mick Tucker.  After the 1968 break-up of the band,  Connelly and Tucker recruited Steve Priest and Frank Torpey to form a group that would eventually be known as Sweet.  Over the next decade, the band released a series of albums that made them international superstars by successfully marrying the best of bubblegum with that of glam rock.  Albums like Desolation Boulevard, Give Us A Wink and Level Headed produced iconic hits like “Ballroom Blitz,” “Fox on the Run,” “Action,” and “Love is Like Oxygen.”  Connelly left the Sweet in 1978 and tried without much success to launch a solo career.  He suffered multiple heart attacks in 1982 but soldiered on through the mid ’90s, either on his own or in reformatted versions of Sweet.  On February 9, 1997, Brian Connelly, age 51, died liver failure that was likely brought on by many years of heavy alcohol consumption.

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