Sweet Sensation (band)

Sweet Sensation was an eight piece British soul group who had some success in the mid-1970s.[1][2] They are best known for their 1974 No. 1 UK hit, "Sad Sweet Dreamer".

This article is about the 1970s British soul group. For the unrelated American dance music trio, see Sweet Sensation (trio).

Sweet Sensation
A promotional image of the group in the Pub Entertainer of the Year competition
A promotional image of the group in the Pub Entertainer of the Year competition
Background information
OriginManchester, England
GenresSoul
Years active1971–1978
LabelsPye Records
Past membersJunior Daye
Roy Flowers
Vincent James
Barry Johnson
Paul Douglas
Marcel King
Rikki Patrick
St. Clair L. Palmer
Gary Shaughnessy
Leroy Smith
Delroy Drummond

Career

Formed in Manchester in 1971, the band came to prominence after appearing on the ITV talent show New Faces. Under the guidance of panellist Tony Hatch, the band signed to Pye Records. The debut single "Snowfire" failed to reach the charts, but the follow-up "Sad Sweet Dreamer" was a UK number one single in October 1974[3] that also reached No. 14 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 the following spring.[4] The follow-up "Purely by Coincidence" reached No. 11 in the UK in January 1975.[3] Both songs were written by David Parton.

Follow-up singles "Hide Away from the Sun", "Mr Cool", "Sweet Regrets" and "Mail Train" all failed to make the charts over the next couple of years. In 1977, the band participated in A Song for Europe in an attempt to represent the United Kingdom at the Eurovision Song Contest. Their song "You're My Sweet Sensation" ended in eighth place. Subsequently, they were then dropped by Pye and disbanded shortly after. However, they were the forerunners of many similar acts from the Real Thing to Imagination.[5]

The youngest member and lead vocalist, Marcel King, tried to resurrect a solo career in 1985, and with Donald Johnson (A Certain Ratio) and Bernard Sumner (New Order) recorded "Reach for Love" (written by King) for Factory Records without commercial success, followed by "Hollywood Nights" for ZYX. King died of a brain hemorrhage on 5 October 1995 at age 38.[6]

Bass guitarist Barry Johnson later joined Quando Quango and then Aswad.

Founder member Leroy Smith was found dead in his Manchester flat on 15 January 2009. He died from bronchopneumonia at age 56.[7]

Band members
Sweet Sensation Publicity Photo of Original Founding Members
  • Junior Daye (born 26 June 1950, Kingston, Jamaica) – vocalist
  • Roy Flowers (born 4 August 1951, Kingston, Jamaica) – drummer
  • Vincent James (born 12 February 1951, St. Mary's, Jamaica - died 9 May 2019) – vocalist
  • Barry Johnson (born 20 August 1954, Kingston, Jamaica) – bassist
  • Marcel King (born Marcel Neville King, 4 January 1957, Manchester – died 5 October 1995) – vocalist
  • St. Clair L. Palmer (born 4 March 1954, St. Kitts) – vocalist
  • Gary Shaugnessy (born 25 July 1953, Manchester) – guitarist
  • Leroy Smith (born 3 September 1952, Kingston, Jamaica – died 15 January 2009) – keyboardist[8]
  • Delroy Alexander Drummond (born 26 December 1950, Kingston, Jamaica) – vocalist

Recardo "Rikki" Patrick replaced Marcel King in 1975.

Discography

Album
  • 1975: Sad Sweet Dreamer (Pye) (US No. 163)[4]

Singles
Year Title Label Peak chart positions Certifications
US Adult
[9]		 US R&B
[9]		 US
[9]		 UK
[3][10]
1974 "Snow Fire" Pye Records — — — —
"Sad Sweet Dreamer" 18 63 14 1
1975 "Purely by Coincidence" — — — 11
"Hide Away from the Sun" — — — —
"Mr Cool" — — — —
1976 "Sweet Regrets" — — — —
"Mail Train" — — — —
1977 "You're My Sweet Sensation" — — — —
"Wake Up and Be Somebody" — — — —
"—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that territory.

Marcel King solo discography
  • "Reach for Love" / "Keep on Dancin'" (12", Factory FAC-92, March 1984)
  • "Reach for Love (New York remix)" / "Reach for Love (dub)" / "Keep on Dancin'" (12", Factory FAC-92-R, February 1985)
  • "Reach for Love (New York remix)" / Reach for Love (dub)" (12", Factory Benelux FBN-43, March 1985)
  • "Hollywood Nights" (6:02) / "Hollywood Nights (instrumental)" (3:53) (12", Debut 12-DEBT-1, 1985)

References
  1. Hanson, Amy. "Artist Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved 30 June 2014.
  2. "New Faces, New Stars (1986)". Bfi.org. Archived from the original on 29 January 2009. Retrieved 23 November 2008.
  3. Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 543. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
  4. "Sweet Sensation | Awards". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 2 November 2014. Retrieved 30 June 2014.
  5. Rice, Jo (1982). Guinness Book of 500 Number One Hits (1st ed.). Enfield, Middlesex: Guinness Superlatives Ltd. p. 162. ISBN 0-85112-250-7.
  6. "The godlike genius of Tony Hatch". 27 July 2004. Archived from the original on 21 October 2006.
  7. Doc Rock. "The Dead Rock Stars Club 2009 January to June". Thedeadrockstarsclub.com. Retrieved 30 June 2014.
  8. "De beste bron van informatie over bodo-schoenhuette. Deze website is te koop". Bodo-schoenhuette.de. Retrieved 30 June 2014.
  9. "Sweet Sensation [English band] Top Songs / Chart Singles Discography". Music VF. Retrieved 24 October 2021.
  10. "SWEET SENSATION - full Official Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 24 October 2021.
  11. "Sweet Sensation - Sad Sweet Dreamer". bpi.co.uk. Retrieved 15 January 2022.
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