A Rockapaedia Obituary
Steve Priest
Band: The Sweet
Steve Priest died aged seventy-two on 4th of June, 2020 in La Cañada Flintridge, California, United States of America. Steve was survived by
his wife Maureen and their two daughters, 
Danielle and Maggie, as well as daughter Lisa from his first marriage to Patricia, as well as three grandchildren, Jordan, Jade and Hazel.
Steve Priest was born in Hayes, Middlesex, United Kingdom. He made his own bass guitar and began playing in local bands as a young teenager, after being influenced by artists includng Jet Harris of the Shadows, the Rolling Stones and The Who.
In January, nineteen sixty-eight, Steve 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. Frank Torpey was replaced by Mick Stewart in July 1969 and guitarist Andy Scott joined in August 1970.
The Sweet was a band that went through many ups and downs but success started in 1971, after they teamed up with songwriters Nicky Chinn and Mike Chapman . Tthey would, however, pen a number of their own hits.
Steve Priest often directly backed up Brian Connolly's vocals and took distinctive short high pitched vocal leads which was a key to their musical style at that time. He adopted a camp image, wearing heavy make-up and outrageous costumes.
After Brian Connolly left The Sweet in early 1979, Steve Priest became the main singer. This continued until 1982, when the original Sweet disbanded. By this time, Steve Priest had divorced his first wife, Pat, and moved to New York City. On 18th of June 1981, he married his second wife Maureen, who was then the East Coast Director of Publicity and Artist Relations f
or Capitol/EMI Records in New York. While in New York, Steve 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 the film, 'Fast Food.'
Steve Priest had a demo session in Los Angeles, California, United States of America with the other members of the original Sweet in nineteen eighty-eight , with Mike Chapman producing, to see if a studio album and reformation was possible. The band did not agree on terms and the project failed.
Despite the difficulties of the late '1970s, Steve Priest continued his friendship with former Sweet lead singer Connolly, who was by now in poor health. In 1994, Steve Priest published his autobiography, "Are You Ready Steve?".
In January 2008, Steve Priest formed a new version of the Sweet which was not related to Andy Scott's version of the band. This new band played mainly festivals and venues in the U.S.A. and Canada and in early 2009, released a live CD, recorded in August 2008 at the Morongo Casino in Cabazon, California.