The Ballroom Blitz

"The Ballroom Blitz"
Single by Sweet
from the album Desolation Boulevard (U.S. version)
B-side	"Rock and Roll Disgrace"
Released	September 1973 (U.S., Canada: May 1975)
Format	7" vinyl
Recorded	1973
Genre	Glam rock
Length	4:06
Label	RCA
Writer(s)	Nicky Chinn, Mike Chapman
Producer	Nicky Chinn, Mike Chapman
Sweet singles chronology
"Hell Raiser" (1973) "The Ballroom Blitz" (1973) "Teenage Rampage" (1974)
Music sample "The Ballroom Blitz"

"The Ballroom Blitz" (on some releases "Ballroom Blitz") is a song written by Nicky Chinn and Mike Chapman and originally recorded by the English rock band Sweet (then known as The Sweet).

The song was released as a single in 1973, where it reached #1 in Australia and entered at #2 in the UK singles chart. In North America, it was a 1975 hit, reaching #1 in Canada^[1] and #5 in the United States, making it one of the year's biggest chart successes. "The Ballroom Blitz" appeared on the U.S./Canadian version of The Sweet's 1974 album Desolation Boulevard.

This song was inspired by an incident in 1973 when the band was performing at the Grand Hall in Kilmarnock, Scotland and were driven offstage by a barrage of bottles. The instigator of the events of that evening is said to be Tommy Hogg of Kilmarnock. He still vehemently denies throwing the first bottle however, as he was drinking vodka with a can of coke. ^[2]

Personnel

• Brian Connolly – vocals
• Steve Priest – bass guitar, vocals
• Andy Scott – guitar, backing vocals
• Mick Tucker – drums, vocals

Cover versions

The first known cover of "The Ballroom Blitz" was by The Les Humphries Singers in 1975. In 1979 the song was covered by two bands, The Rezillos and The Damned. In 1984, Swiss heavy metal band Krokus covered the song for their album The Blitz. In 1989 the song was sampled by the Beastie Boys for the song "Hey Ladies" appearing on the album Paul's Boutique. In 2000 the song was performed in conjunction with the song "Dancing Queen" (originally by ABBA) by the group The Black Sweden. A cover of this song is featured on the main set list for the game Rock Band, while the Krokus cover was listed for the game Guitar Hero Encore: Rocks the 80s. The songs "The Pit" by The Dead Milkmen, "Armageddon Days Are Here (Again)" by The The, and "Vampire Money" by My Chemical Romance mimic the "soundoff" introduction to the song.

Other artists who have covered the song include:

• The Ark (live)
• Agent Orange (live)
• Batmobile (live)
• Buzzcocks (live)
• D.I. on Rat Music For Rat People Vol. III (1987)
• Calibretto 13 on Enter the Danger Brigade (2000)
• The Damned b-side of the single "Just Can't Be Happy Today" from Machine Gun Etiquette (1979) (Lemmy of Motorhead on bass.)
• Les Wampas (in French) on Tutti Frutti (1986)
• Krokus on The Blitz (1984)
• Moderatto (in Spanish as "Reventón") on Detector de Metal (2004)
• Material Issue (live)
• Nina Hagen (live)
• Nuclear Assault on Out of Order (1991)
• The Rezillos on Mission Accomplished...But the Beat Goes On (1979)
• Surf Punks on Oh No, Not Them Again (1988)
• Testify as "Ballroom Blitz 2001"
• The Offspring on their 1986 demo tape, with different lyrics
• Vanilla Ninja on Sügishitt 2003 (Estonian Hits Album) (2003)
• Tia Carrere on the soundtrack to Wayne's World (1992)
• KickStart (live)
• Recycled Percussion (live on America's Got Talent)
• The Peacocks Psychobilly version
• The Protomen (live)
• Rob Gravelle (2009)

Appearances

In 1992, the song was covered by Tia Carrere in the film Wayne's World. Carrere's cover was released on the Wayne's World soundtrack album.

In 1997, the song was used prominently in the film Bordello of Blood, starring Dennis Miller and Corey Feldman.

In 2000, the song was used on a Norsk Tipping advertising campaign^[3].

In 2005, the song was used in the Italian film "Romanzo Criminale".

In 2007, the song was used in the direct-to-video sequel of the 1993 film The Sandlot, "The Sandlot: Heading Home"

In 2010, the song was used in the Czech film Občanský průkaz.

In 2011, the song was used in the German film 'Tatort - Das Dorf' with Ulrich Tukur.

In 2012, the song was in the Australian film A Few Best Men, starring Xavier Samuel and Olivia Newton John.

References