This band seemed to sound like a different band on many of their singles. They were rock, glam rock, and bubblegum rock. This song has been covered by several different artists. The song peaked at #5 in the Billboard 100 and #2 in the UK in 1973. Their other well-known songs were Little Willy, Fox on the Run and Love is Like Oxygen.
This was written by Nicky Chinn and Mike Chapman, who wrote many glam rock hits like this one. They also wrote Sweet’s “Blockbuster,” Suzi Quatro’s “Devil Gate Drive” and Tony Basil’s “Mickey.”
This song was inspired by an incident in 1973 when the band were performing at the Grand Hall in Kilmarnock, Scotland and were driven offstage by a barrage of bottles.
The Ballroom Blitz
Andy? Yeah!
Mick? Okay.
All right, fellows, let’s go!Oh, it’s been getting so hard
Livin’ with the things you do to me, ah-ha
My dreams are getting so strange
I’d like to tell you everything I see, mm
Oh, I see a man at the back as a matter of fact
His eyes are red as the sun
And a girl in the corner, let no one ignore her
‘Cause she thinks she’s the passionate one
Oh yeah, it was like lightning
Everybody was frightening
And the music was soothing
And they all started grooving
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
And the man at the back said: “Everyone attack”
And it turned into a ballroom blitz
And the girl in the corner said: “Boy, I wanna warn ya”
It’ll turn into a ballroom blitz
Ballroom blitz
Ballroom blitz
Ballroom blitz
Ballroom blitz
Oh, I’m reaching out for something
Touching nothing’s all I ever do
Oh, I softly call you over
When you appear, there’s nothing left of you, ah-ha
Now the man at the back is ready to crack
As he raises his hands to the sky
And the girl in the corner is everyone’s mourner
She could kill you with a wink of her eye
Oh yeah, it was electric
So frantically hectic
And the band started leaving
‘Cause they all stopped breathing
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
And the man at the back said: “Everyone attack”
And it turned into a ballroom blitz
And the girl in the corner said: “Boy, I wanna warn ya”
It’ll turn into a ballroom blitz
Ballroom blitz
Oh yeah, it was like lightning
Everybody was frightening
And the music was soothing
‘Cause they all started grooving
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
And the man at the back said: “Everyone attack”
And it turned into a ballroom blitz
And the girl in the corner said: “Boy, I wanna warn ya”
It’ll turn into a ballroom blitz
Ballroom blitz
Ballroom blitz
Ballroom blitz
Ballroom blitz
It’s, it’s a ballroom blitz
It’s, it’s a ballroom blitz
It’s, it’s a ballroom blitz
Yeah, it’s a ballroom blitz
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Great little tune, it was one of probably the first dozen 45s I bought. I recall hearing “Love is like Oxygen” now and then on radio back in the day too, but it took me a long time to find out it was the same band.
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I still have the US Capitol Records LP “Desolation Boulevard” that featured Ballroom Blitz. Blitz got a lot of radio airplay where I lived. Fox on the Run got a lot of airplay too. I liked the heaviness of Sweet F.A. and Solid Gold Brass. Here is the US album’s song lineup:
Side one
“Ballroom Blitz” (Chapman, Chinn)
“The Six Teens” (Chapman, Chinn)
“No You Don’t” (Chapman, Chinn)
“A.C.D.C.” (Chapman, Chinn)
“I Wanna Be Committed” (Chapman, Chinn)
Side two
“Sweet F.A.” (Scott, Tucker, Connolly, Priest)
“Fox on the Run” (Scott, Tucker, Connolly, Priest) (single version)
“Set Me Free” (Scott)
“Into the Night” (Scott)
“Solid Gold Brass” (Scott, Tucker, Connolly, Priest) (with guitar overdub)
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That is cool. They are an interesting band to me because of the different sounding records they put out… Thank you for that info.
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I was never a fan of the term “Glam Rock.” David Bowie’s music got labeled as glam too. But when I listen to his album The Man Who Sold The World, I hear so much more. Same with Sweet.
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Sorry this got caught in the pending section. When I think of Glam I think of Mott The Hoople and Slade…of course they try to label everything. The Sweet were a lot of things…all good.
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Still remember the first time I heard this. Loved how catchy and over-the-top theatrical it was!
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Love The Sweet, their Glam Rock and later stuff still stand up as exciting, and this one is the jewel in the Sweet Crown. They were huge in the UK and for the run of singles Wig Wam bam, Blockbuster, Hellraiser, ballroom Blitz & Teenage Rampage they could do no wrong, rockin’, camp, colourful and frantic-paced, just amazing. Sadly only one of them is now left…
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They were one band were some of their singles sound like they came from different bands. I liked them a lot.
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