Block Buster!
title: "Block Buster!" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1973-singles", "1973-songs", "the-sweet-songs", "dutch-top-40-number-one-singles", "irish-singles-chart-number-one-singles", "number-one-singles-in-new-zealand", "number-one-singles-in-austria", "number-one-singles-in-germany", "uk-singles-chart-number-one-singles", "songs-written-by-mike-chapman", "songs-written-by-nicky-chinn", "song-recordings-produced-by-phil-wainman", "rca-records-singles", "glam-rock-songs"] topic_path: "arts/music" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Block_Buster!" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::data[format=table title="Infobox song"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | Block Buster! |
| cover | Block Buster! (The Sweet album) coverart.jpg |
| type | single |
| artist | Sweet |
| album | The Sweet |
| B-side | Need a Lot of Lovin' |
| released | 5 January 1973 |
| recorded | 1972 |
| genre | |
| length | 3:13 |
| label | RCA |
| writer | Nicky Chinn, Mike Chapman |
| producer | Phil Wainman |
| prev_title | Wig-Wam Bam |
| prev_year | 1972 |
| next_title | Hell Raiser |
| next_year | 1973 |
| misc | |
| :: |
| name = Block Buster! | cover = Block Buster! (The Sweet album) coverart.jpg | alt = | type = single | artist = Sweet | album = The Sweet | B-side = Need a Lot of Lovin' | released = 5 January 1973 | recorded = 1972 | studio = | venue = | genre = | length = 3:13 | label = RCA | writer = Nicky Chinn, Mike Chapman | producer = Phil Wainman | prev_title = Wig-Wam Bam | prev_year = 1972 | next_title = Hell Raiser | next_year = 1973 | misc = "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,{{cite book | first= David | last= Roberts | year= 2006 | title= British Hit Singles & Albums | edition= 19th | publisher= Guinness World Records Limited | location= London | isbn= 1-904994-10-5 | pages=282–3}} and also made No. 1 in the Netherlands, Germany, Austria and Ireland, and No. 3 in Finland, Switzerland, Denmark and Norway. Outside Europe it peaked at No. 1 in New Zealand, No. 29 in Australia and at No. 73 on the American Billboard Hot 100.
Music and lyric
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.
TV performances
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, a painted Hitler moustache and a Pickelhaube.
Charts
::data[format=table] | Chart (1973) | Peak position | |---|---| | 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 | | url=https://www.officialcharts.com/artist/14266/sweet/ |title=UK Official Charts |author= |date=2019 |website=Officialcharts.com|access-date=25 January 2019 }} | 1 | | url=https://www.billboard.com/music/the-sweet/chart-history |title=Hot 100: The Sweet |date=2019 |magazine=Billboard |access-date=25 January 2019 |archive-date=26 January 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190126075939/https://www.billboard.com/music/the-sweet/chart-history |url-status=dead }} | 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,. In the French speaking part (Wallonia) the song climbed to number one, for two consecutive weeks.
References
References
- (1973). "Promo disc with release date".
- Popoff, Martin. (2014). "The Big Book of Hair Metal: The Illustrated Oral History of Heavy Metal?s Debauched Decade". Voyageur Press.
- Swanson, Dave. (10 May 2014). "10 Underrated Glam Rock Stompers Worth Getting All Dolled Up For".
- Chapman, Ian. (2015). "Experiencing David Bowie: A Listener's Companion". Rowman & Littlefield.
- Wroe, Nicholas. (12 September 2014). "That's neat: Chinnichap's blitz of 70s hits become a musical". [[The Guardian]].
- Sandford, Christopher. (1996). "Bowie: Loving The Alien". Da Capo Press.
- Stanley, Bob. (13 September 2013). "Yeah Yeah Yeah: The Story of Modern Pop". Faber & Faber.
- [[Nicholas Pegg]] (2000). ''The Complete David Bowie'': p.110
- "Steve Priest | The Sweet".
- "Flavour of New Zealand - search listener".
- (2019). "UK Official Charts".
- (2019). "Hot 100: The Sweet".
- "The Sweet - Block Buster - Vlaanderen".
- "The Sweet - Block Buster - Wallonie".
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