Steve Priest

Stephen Norman "Steve" Priest (born 23 February 1948,Hayes, Middlesex, England) is a founding member and bass player/lead & backing vocalist of the rock band The Sweet.

Biography

Priest made his own bass guitar and began playing in local bands as a young teenager, after being influenced by artists such as Jet Harris of The Shadows, The Rolling Stones and The Who.

In January 1968, Priest was invited to form a four-piece band with vocalist Brian Connolly, drummer Mick Tucker, and guitarist Frank Torpey (b. 30 April 1947, Kilburn, North West London) – the band that was to become The Sweet. Torpey was replaced by Mick Stewart in 1969. Guitarist Andy Scott joined in August 1970, following Stewart's departure and the classic line-up established.

The Sweet was a band that went through many up and downs. Initial success for the Sweet began in 1971, after the band teamed up with songwriters Nicky Chinn and Mike Chapman. However, the Sweet would pen a number of their own hits. Priest often directly backed up Brian Connolly's vocals and took distinctive short high pitched vocal leads which was a key to their musical style at that time.