| 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[1] |
| Recorded: | 1972 |
| Length: | 3:13 |
| Label: | RCA |
| Producer: | Phil Wainman |
| Prev Title: | Wig-Wam Bam |
| Prev Year: | 1972 |
| Next Title: | Hell Raiser |
| Next Year: | 1973 |
"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,[2] and also made #1 in the Netherlands, Germany, Austria and Ireland, and #3 in Finland, Switzerland, Denmark and Norway. Outside Europe it peaked at #1 in New Zealand, #29 in Australia and at #73 on the American Billboard Hot 100.
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.[3]
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.[4]
| 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 | |
| United Kingdom[5] | 1 | |
| United States[6] | 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,.[7] In the French speaking part (Wallonia) the song climbed to number one, for two consecutive weeks.[8]