Brian Connolly - New Sweet and Reunions

New Sweet and Reunions

From early 1984 onwards, despite recurring ill health, Connolly toured the UK and Europe with his band, now under the name of The New Sweet. His most successful concerts were in West Germany every year, before and after Germany's reunification. He visited other countries including Denmark, and he also continued to perform on and off in the UK.

During 1987, Connolly would meet up again with Frank Torpey, who was the original Sweet lead guitarist from 1968 to 1969. Frank Torpey later explained in interviews that Brian Connolly was trying to get a German recording deal. The two got on very well and Torpey subsequently invited Connolly to go into the recording studio with him, as an informal project. After much trepidation and as always, running very late, Connolly turned up and the track "Sharontina" was recorded. However, this recording would not be released until 1998, when Frank Torpey's 1998 CD album, "Sweeter", became available.

In 1988, Connolly reunited in Los Angeles, California, with former band members Mick Tucker, Steve Priest and Andy Scott, to rework studio versions of "Action" and "The Ballroom Blitz". This was to be trial to see if a full reunion and new album could be arranged. This was for America's MCA Records. Connolly arrived having had troubles with a local rental car and getting lost on the way to the studio. This Mike Chapman-produced reunion foundered quickly due to problems with Brian's voice, and Brian went back to performing with his band, "The New Sweet".

During 1990 Connolly reunited with the original Sweet line-up, for the promotion of a music video documentary in London at Tower Records and again there were rumours of a full band reunion which, ultimately, came to naught.

By July 1990, plans were made for Connolly and his band to tour Australia. A number of dates were planned with the tour starting in Adelaide. This proceeded and took place during November. However, during the very long flight to Australia, Brian Connolly's health had suffered and he was hospitalised in Adelaide Hospital. This was allegedly for dehydration and related problems. The rest of the band played a show in Adelaide without him, so as not to disappoint the waiting fans. After being released from hospital, Connolly joined the rest of the other band members in Melbourne for the first gig, which was at the Pier Hotel, in Frankston. After several other shows, including one at the Dingley Powerhouse, Connolly and his band played the final Australian date of the tour at Melbourne's Greek Theatre. It was felt at the time that Connolly's health was sufficient reason for the tour not to be extended, and some of the later planned dates were abandoned. Brian Connolly went back to England and his band appeared on The Bob Downe Christmas show, on the 18th December 1990.

During the early 1990s Connolly played the European "oldies" circuit and occasional outdoor festivals in Europe with his band. However his plans would suffer a small setback when on 22 March 1992, a heavy duty tape recorder was stolen from the band's van whilst at a gig in the Bristol Hippodrome with Mud. It contained demos of four new songs, totalling about 20 mixes.

Legal problems were still going on in the background over the use of the Sweet name between Connolly and Andy Scott. In something of a truce, both parties agreed to distinguish their group's name to help promoters and fans. The New Sweet became Brian Connolly's Sweet and Andy Scott's version became Andy Scott's Sweet. Without the previous difficulty with Andy Scott, Connolly and his band continued to tour, both in the UK and Europe.

In 1994, in somewhat of a departure and proving he was no stranger to a challenge, Connolly and his band played in Dubai. He appeared at the Galleria Theatre, Hyatt Regency. He also performed in Bahrain.

By this time Connolly had well and truly healed the differences with Steve Priest and Mick Tucker, as shown when he was invited to the wedding of Priest's eldest daughter, Lisa. At the private function, for which Priest specially flew back to England, Steve Priest and Brian Connolly performed together.

In 1995, Connolly released a new album entitled Let's Go. Available on CD, this was backed up at the time with merchandising as well. Also that year, his partner Jean, whom he had met a few years earlier, gave birth to a son. Also in 1995, Connolly performed in Switzerland.

During 1995, Connolly's partner Jean finally managed to track down his missing biological family. It emerged that he had an aunt in Ontario, Canada. She was able to reveal that Connolly's true birth mother had died in 1989. However, she was also able to inform him that he had a living brother and sister. Both flew almost straight away to England to meet Connolly during November 1995, the result giving him some closure to an issue that had haunted him since the age of eighteen.

On 2 November 1996, British TV Network Channel 4 aired a programme "Don't Leave Me This Way", which examined Connolly's time as a pop star with The Sweet and the subsequent decline in the band's popularity, and its impact on Connolly and the other band members. The show revealed Brian's ill health but also that he was continuing with his concert dates at Butlins. Much has been written about the fact he was touring Butlins. In fact his appearances were nothing new. Connolly and his band had appeared at Butlins consistently a number of times on tour during the early 1990s.

Connolly's final concert was at the Bristol Hippodrome on 5 December 1996, with Slade II and John Rossall's Glitter Band Experience.