Steve Priest

Steve Priest (born Stephen Norman Priest, 23 February 1948, Hayes, Middlesex, England) is a founding member and bass player of the glam rock band Sweet.

Biography

Priest crafted his own homemade 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.

In January 1968, 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.

The Sweet was a band that went through many up and downs. Initial success for the Sweet began in 1971, after the band teamed up with songwriters Chinn and Chapman. However, the Sweet would pen a number of their own hits, with Steve Priest often directly backing up Brian Connolly's vocals. After Brian Connolly left the Sweet in early 1979, it was Steve Priest who took over the majority of vocal duties for the band. 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. He remarried, this time to his current wife Maureen, who was then a publicist for Capitol Records. In New York, he 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 a movie called "Fast Food."

Invited in 1985 by former bandmate Andy Scott to reform The Sweet, Steve Priest declined. Shortly thereafter, Steve and his family relocated to Los Angeles.

During this period, Steve had 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 band mate Stuart Smith.

Steve Priest did, however, go into 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. It is rumoured that the US record company MCA were interested at the time. However, the band members were unable to come to an agreement and the project failed.

However, despite the difficulties of the late 70s, Steve Priest would still continue to be a friend to former Sweet lead singer Brian Connolly, who was, by now, in poor health.

In 1994, Priest published his autobiography, Are You Ready Steve?, and in 2006, he released a CD entitled Priest's Precious Poems. In January 2008, Priest re-formed the Sweet.

The reformed band has played mainly festivals and venues in the U.S. and Canada. In early 2009, the band also released a live CD, which was recorded in August 2008 at the Morongo Casino in Cabazon, California.

Priest lives with his family in La Canada Flintridge, California.

Steve Priest's Sweet

Vorlage:Infobox musical artist In January 2008, Steve Priest assembled his own version of The Sweet in Los Angeles, California. He enlisted fellow Brit Stuart Smith, an old friend and a classically-trained former axeman for the bands Sidewinder and Heaven & Earth, on guitar. L.A. native Richie Onori, Smith's bandmate in Heaven & Earth, was brought in on drums. The keyboard spot was manned by ex-Crow and World Classic Rockers alumni Stevie Stewart. Frontman and vocalist Joe Retta was brought in to round out the lineup.

After an initial appearance on L.A. rock station 95.5 KLOS's popular Mark & Brian radio program, the "Are You Ready Steve?" tour kicked off at the Whisky a Go Go in Hollywood on 12 June 2008. The band spent the next several months playing festivals and gigs throughout the U.S. and Canada, including, among others: Moondance Jam in Walker, MN; headlining at the Rock 'n' Resort Festival in N. Lawrence, OH; London, Ontario's Rock The Park; another headlining gig at Peterborough's Festival of Lights; the Common Ground Festival in Lansing, MI; and a benefit concert for victims of California's wildfires at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, CA.

In January 2009, The Sweet not only presented at the concert industry's Pollstar Awards, but also played a short set at the Nokia Theater where the event was held, marking the first time in the ceremony's history that a band performed at the show. In addition to local gigs at the House of Blues on L.A.'s Sunset Strip and Universal's Citywalk, 2009 saw the band return to Canada for sold-out shows at the Mae Wilson Theater and Casino Regina, as well as the Nakusp Music Festival and Rockin' the Fields in Minnedosa, Manitoba. U.S. festivals have included Minnesota's Halfway Jam, Rockin' the Rivers in Montana (with Pat Travers and Peter Frampton), and two late-summer shows at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk.

The new band recorded a cover version of the Beatles' "Ticket to Ride," which was included on Cleopatra Records' "Abbey Road," a Fab Four tribute CD that was released on March 24, 2009.

A preview of the band's new CD "Live in America," which was recorded live at the Morongo Casino in Cabazon, California on August 30, 2008, was featured on KLOS's "Front Row" program on April 12, 2009. The CD, which was first sold at shows and via the band's online store, was released worldwide in an exclusive deal with Amazon.com on July 21, 2009. The release has garnered favorable reviews from The Rock n Roll Report, Classic Rock Revisited and Hard Rock Haven, among others.

Steve Preist's Sweet Members

Steve Priest's Sweet

Steve Priest's Sweet (2008–present)	Joe Retta - Lead vocals Steve Priest - bass, vocals Stuart Smith - lead guitar, vocals Stevie Stewart - keyboards, vocals Richie Onori - drums

External links

• Steve Priest's Sweet Band