Andy Scott

born on 30/6/1949 in Wrexham, Wales, United Kingdom

Andy Scott (guitarist)

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Andy Scott (guitarist)

Andy Scott (born Andrew David Scott, 30 June 1949, Wrexham, Wales) is a British musician and songwriter. He is best known for being the lead guitarist and a vocalist in the band Sweet.[1]

Early years

Scott started out playing bass guitar. His first gig was at St Peters Hall, Wrexham with The Rasjaks in November 1963 and then with other bands in Wales such as Guitars Incorporated and 3D's.

He then progressed to guitar and played with other bands including The Saints, The ForeWinds and The Missing Links. In 1966 he joined The Silverstone Set (later shortened to The Silverstones) who won the TV show Opportunity Knocks five weeks running and appeared in the all winners show for Christmas 1966, losing to Freddie Starr. One of their further highlights was to support Jimi Hendrix in Manchester in January 1967.

When The Silverstones split, Scott went on to form The Elastic Band, who recorded an album called Expansions of Life, but lead singer Ted Yeadon left to join Love Affair before its release and the band folded. During this time they also recorded an album, Pop Sounds, under the name The Cool.

Scott then played in the backing band for The Scaffold, which also included his brother Mike on bass and saxophone.

He went on to join Mayfield's Mule, who recorded three singles, "Drinking My Moonshine", "I See a River" and "We Go Rollin'". An album was also released in Uruguay called Mayfields Mule.

Auditioning for Sweet

In the late summer of 1970, Scott replaced Mick Stewart in The Sweet after an audition in front of Brian Connolly, Steve Priest and Mick Tucker, as well as group managers Nicky Chinn and Mike Chapman. He was one of the last guitarists to audition. According to Steve Priest's autobiography "Are You Ready Steve", Scott turned up looking pretty untidy, with very long hair and scruffy clothes. He plugged his guitar in and immediately blew the fuse on the amp. He eventually performed his piece and the members of the band thought he should join The Sweet.

Solo career

Scott's first single release in 1975 was a reworked version of the Desolation Boulevard track "Lady Starlight" backed by "Where D'Ya Go?". Both songs, recorded during the Give Us A Wink sessions, were written and produced by Scott and Mick Tucker and featured Scott playing all instruments except the drums (Tucker). Scott made a promotional video for the track and also appeared on Mike Mansfield's British TV Show "Supersonic".

Scott released his second solo single, "Gotta See Jane", in 1983 under the name Ladders. It was a cover of the R. Dean Taylor Motown hit and was produced by himself and Louis Austin, who had worked with Sweet as their engineer on past ventures. The B-side "Krugerrands" was subsequently released as the follow-up single (as Andy Scott this time), but like its predecessor failed to chart, except in Australia and South Africa where it was a top 10 hit.[2] In 1984, Scott released two more solo singles, "Let Her Dance" and "Invisible". A compilation of all his solo projects, including demos, was released by Repertoire Records in 1993, under the title 30 Years.

Paddy Goes to Holyhead and record production

In the early 1980s, Scott went into production and produced records for bands including Iron Maiden. He also produced a couple of demos for Weapon, which was then fronted by Danny Hynes who went on to form Paddy Goes to Holyhead[3] and Scott played with them now and again. Scott then produced, played on and appeared in the video for their single "Green Green Grass of Home" and then joined the band on a regular basis until reforming Sweet.

Scott produced the Suzi Quatro album, Back to the Drive, released in February 2006.

Andy Scott's Sweet

Main article: Sweet (band)

In 1985, Scott and Tucker re-formed Sweet with new players. Paul Mario Day [ex Iron Maiden] on lead vocals, Phil Lanzon (ex-Grand Prix now with Uriah Heep) on keyboards and Mal McNulty (ex-Weapon) on bass. This band became "Andy Scott's Sweet" following Tucker's departure in 1991.

Private life

Scott lives in a converted barn near Devizes in Wiltshire.

In September 2009, Scott was diagnosed with prostate cancer and following treatment is now in remission.[4] In July 2010, Scott appeared in UK television adverts for the insurance company VanCompare.com. Three adverts were in circulation featuring "Fox On The Run", "Love Is Like Oxygen" and "Action".[5]

He also was a main organiser of the first charity Rock against Cancer concert in All Cannings Wiltshire in May 2012 which headlined Brian May and Midge Ure.Another Concert is arranged for May of 2013.[6]

Discography

With Sweet

Main article: Sweet discography

As Andy Scott

Singles

  • "Lady Starlight" / "Where D'Ya Go" (1975) RCA Records (RCA 102715)
  • "Where D'Ya Go" / "Lady Starlight" (1975) RCA Records (RCA 2929)
  • "Krugerrands" / "Face" (1984) Statik (TAK 10)
  • "Let Her Dance" / "Suck It And See" (1984) Statik (TAK 24)
  • "Invisible" / "Never Too Young" (1984) Statik (TAK 31)

12" Singles

  • "Gotta See Jane" / "Gotta See Jane" (Radio Mix) (3:10) / "Krugerrands" (4:00)
  • "Krugerrands" (Club Mix) (4:04) / "Face" (4:48) / "Krugerrands" (Single Edit) (3:40) / "Krugermental" (4:08)
  • "Let Her Dance" (8:06) / "Let Her Dance" (Instrumental) (4:24) / "Suck It and See" (4:19)
  • "Invisible" (7" Version) (3:54) / "Invisible" (Instrumental) (5:53) / "Invisible" (5:20) / "Never Too Young" (3:08)

Albums

With Ladders

Singles

  • "Gotta See Jane" / "Krugerrands" (1983) Statik/Virgin (105547100)

With Andy Scott's Sweet

Singles

  • "X-Ray Specs" (1991) SPV Records
  • "Stand Up" (1992) SPV Records
  • "Am I Ever Gonna See Your Face Again" (1992) (1970's Australian chart hit, written by Brewster-Neeson-Brewster and recorded by band The Angels) SPV Records
  • "Do It All Over Again" (2002) Delicious Records
  • "Join Together (a cover of The Who's 1972 chart single, written by Pete Townshend)" (2011) online digital release
  • "Let It Snow" (US # 1 for Vaughan Monroe in 1946; recorded by Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin et al., written by Sammy Cahn and Jule Styne) (2011) online digital release

Albums

  • Live at the Marquee (1989) double album which includes four new studio recordings SPV Records (Maze in USA/Canada). NB- released as a recording by "Sweet"- as it also featured original member Mick Tucker.
  • "A" (1992) studio album of new material SPV Records
  • The Answer (1995)
  • Alive and Giggin'! (1995) live album Pseudonym Records
  • Glitz, Blitz & Hitz (1996) - CNR Music
  • Glitz, Blitz & Hitz (1996) - same album, only limited edition of 500 cd's with 4 live bonus tracks and different cover
  • Hannover Sessions (1996) 4 cd set containing "A" recording sessions, "Alive And Giggin'", rarities with bonus video clips and "The Answer" Pseudonym Records
  • Dangerous Game (1997) - same album as "The Answer" with different cover - Chinebridge Ltd.
  • Chronology (2002) studio album with re-recordings of Sweet material Delicious Records
  • Sweetlife (2002) studio album of new material Delicious Records
  • New York Connection (2012) - studio album with cover songs
  • Sweet Fanny Adams Revisited (2012) - live album - Digital download, cd version from the official web site and full release in March 2013
  • Desolation Boulevard Revisited (2012) - live album - Digital download and full release in March 2013 (this is the same album as Sweet Fanny Adams Revisited, only with a different cover)
  • The Hits (2012) - studio album with re-recordings of Sweet material and "Let It Snow" as hidden bonus track (included in the track "Peppermint Twist") - Digital download and cd version from the official web site.

References

  1. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. [Andy Scott (guitarist) at All Music Guide Biography: Sweet]. Allmusic. Retrieved on 15 April 2010.
  2. Youtube.com
  3. Paddygoestoholyhead.com
  4. [1]
  5. Vancompare.com
  6. [2]

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Andy Scott (guitarist)

Sweet
Brian Connolly | Andy Scott | Steve Priest | Mick Tucker |
Discography
Albums: Gimme Dat Ding | Funny How Sweet Co-Co Can Be | The Sweet's Biggest Hits | Sweet Fanny Adams | Desolation Boulevard | The Sweet Singles Album | Strung Up | Give Us A Wink | Off the Record | The Golden Greats | Level Headed | Cut Above The Rest | Water's Edge | Identity Crisis
This page was last modified 09.11.2013 11:56:06

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