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One of my heroes is gone
Steve Priest died yesterday. He was the bassist for the Sweet. Only one of the four original band members is still alive now.
Sweet were my adolescent obsession in the mid-70s. Andy Scott, the guitarist, was my OTC, if you will. But in a bunch of ways I identified with Steve. I decided to learn to play the bass in part because he did. I changed my first name to something resembling his and have kept it ever since. (I didn't identify as nonbinary when I did this, but it came in handy having a gender-inclusive name when I did.) I've always felt like we looked kind of alike (moreso when we were older).
I lost interest in Sweet soon after I went to college, but soon after I turned 40 (fall of 2001), I found my interest again. Being a fan post-Internet, even 20 years ago, is so different from being a fan in the 70s. It's so...easy (*shakes stick*). I joined a fan forum. The handle I had on the Sweet web forum was "myadrenaline." It's from a lyric that Steve wrote and sung, from a song called "Fever of Love."
I haven't let go of my interest since, although it's waxed and waned.
It broke my heart that Steve and Andy fell out after the band broke up. Steve snarked about Andy in public. I had a short email exchange with Steve once and he snarked about Andy at me too. I understand that they reconciled sometime in the past 10 years but they never performed together again.
For most of the 21st century, Andy and Steve have each had a band called Sweet. Andy's band played in the UK, Europe, and Australia. Until the pandemic, they were still touring. Steve's band played in the US. I never got around to seeing Steve's band even though they played a fair bit in L.A. and I live in the SF Bay Area. I'm sad about that.
I hope he passed knowing he was loved.
https://www.theguardian.com/music/2020/jun/04/the-sweet-bassist-steve-priest-dies-aged-72
https://www.theguardian.com/music/2020/jun/05/steve-priest-the-sweet-bassist-heavy-metal
https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-52933584
Sweet were my adolescent obsession in the mid-70s. Andy Scott, the guitarist, was my OTC, if you will. But in a bunch of ways I identified with Steve. I decided to learn to play the bass in part because he did. I changed my first name to something resembling his and have kept it ever since. (I didn't identify as nonbinary when I did this, but it came in handy having a gender-inclusive name when I did.) I've always felt like we looked kind of alike (moreso when we were older).
I lost interest in Sweet soon after I went to college, but soon after I turned 40 (fall of 2001), I found my interest again. Being a fan post-Internet, even 20 years ago, is so different from being a fan in the 70s. It's so...easy (*shakes stick*). I joined a fan forum. The handle I had on the Sweet web forum was "myadrenaline." It's from a lyric that Steve wrote and sung, from a song called "Fever of Love."
I haven't let go of my interest since, although it's waxed and waned.
It broke my heart that Steve and Andy fell out after the band broke up. Steve snarked about Andy in public. I had a short email exchange with Steve once and he snarked about Andy at me too. I understand that they reconciled sometime in the past 10 years but they never performed together again.
For most of the 21st century, Andy and Steve have each had a band called Sweet. Andy's band played in the UK, Europe, and Australia. Until the pandemic, they were still touring. Steve's band played in the US. I never got around to seeing Steve's band even though they played a fair bit in L.A. and I live in the SF Bay Area. I'm sad about that.
I hope he passed knowing he was loved.
https://www.theguardian.com/music/2020/jun/04/the-sweet-bassist-steve-priest-dies-aged-72
https://www.theguardian.com/music/2020/jun/05/steve-priest-the-sweet-bassist-heavy-metal
https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-52933584
<3
The fannish music connection is so visceral.
May his memory be a blessing.
Re: <3
Thank you
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I'm glad to know I'm not the only one who sees it!
Yeah, it happened to a lot of bands, didn't it?