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verification. (March 2014) |
"Block Buster!" | ||||
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Single by Sweet | ||||
from the album The Sweet | ||||
B-side | "Need a Lot of Lovin'" | |||
Released | 5 January 1973 [1] | |||
Recorded | 1972 | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 3:13 | |||
Label | RCA | |||
Songwriter(s) | Nicky Chinn, Mike Chapman | |||
Producer(s) | Phil Wainman | |||
Sweet singles chronology | ||||
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Video | ||||
"Blockbuster" - Top Of The Pops on YouTube |
"Block Buster!" (also sometimes listed as "Blockbuster!") is a 1973 single by The Sweet. Written by Nicky Chinn and Mike Chapman, and produced by Phil Wainman, "Block Buster!" was the band's sole UK No. 1 hit. Released in January 1973, it spent five weeks at the top of the UK Singles Chart, [8] and also made #1 in the Netherlands, Germany, Austria and Ireland, and #3 in Finland, Switzerland, Denmark and Norway. Outside Europe it peaked at #1 in New Zealand, #29 in Australia and at #73 on the American Billboard Hot 100.
Its Muddy Waters-inspired blues riff is markedly similar to that featured on fellow RCA act David Bowie's " The Jean Genie", released shortly before, but all parties maintained this was a coincidence. [9]
Some controversy arose after the band's performance of the song on the British television program Top of the Pops on 25 December 1973, for which bassist Steve Priest wore a swastika arm band. [10]
This section needs additional citations for
verification. (January 2018) |
Chart (1973) | Peak position |
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Australia | 29 |
Austria | 1 |
Belgium | 2 |
Denmark | 1 |
Finland | 3 |
Germany | 1 |
Ireland | 1 |
Italy | 30 |
Netherlands | 1 |
New Zealand | 1 |
Norway | 3 |
South Africa | 7 |
Spain | 12 |
Switzerland | 3 |
United Kingdom [11] | 1 |
United States [12] | 73 |
In the case of Belgium, there are two types of lists. The one for the Flemish speaking part of Belgium (Flanders) saw the song reach number two, for five consecutive weeks,. [13] In the French speaking part (Wallonia) the song climbed to number one, for two consecutive weeks. [14]