ballroom blitz

from the album Desolation Boulevard (U.S. version) B-side "Rock and Roll Disgrace" Released September 1973

(U.S., Canada: May 1975) Format 7" vinyl Genre Hard rock, glam rock Length 4:06 Label RCA Writer(s) Nicky Chinn, Mike Chapman Sweet singles chronology "Hell Raiser"

(1973) "The Ballroom Blitz"

(1973) "Teenage Rampage"

(1974) Music sample The Ballroom Blitz Problems listening to this file? See media help.

"The Ballroom Blitz" (on some releases abbreviated to "Ballroom Blitz") is a song written by Nicky Chinn and Mike Chapman and originally recorded by the glam rock band The Sweet. It was released as a single in 1973, where it reached number 1 in Australia and entered at number 2 in the UK singles chart but failed to go to number one. The song reached number 5 in the United States and was one of the biggest hits there in 1975. "The Ballroom Blitz" appeared on the U.S. version of The Sweet's 1974 album Desolation Boulevard. "The Ballroom Blitz" remains one of The Sweet's best-known songs and has been covered by a variety of artists. The song itself was written about the Grand Hall of the Palace Theatre in Kilmarnock, Scotland, after the band was forced off stage by a barrage of bottles. [1] Contents [hide] 1 Cover versions 2 In popular culture 3 Personnel 4 External links 5 References //

Cover versions

The first cover of "The Ballroom Blitz" was recorded by The Damned in 1979 with Lemmy of Motörhead guesting on bass. It was originally released as the B-side of "I Just Can't Be Happy Today" and was later added to the CD release of Machine Gun Etiquette in addition to appearing on several live albums.

A number of other artists have also covered the song: The Ark (live) Batmobile (live) Calibretto 13 on Enter the Danger Brigade (2000) The Damned on Machine Gun Etiquette (1979) Krokus on The Blitz (1984) Les Wampas {in French} on Tutti Frutti (1986) Moderatto (in Spanish) on El Detector de Metal (2004) Natural Blonde (live) Nina Hagen (live) Nuclear Assault on Out of Order (1991) The Offspring (as "Manic Subsidal") (live) The Rezillos on Mission Accomplished...But the Beat Goes On (1979) Surf Punks on Oh No, Not Them Again (1988) Testify as "Ballroom Blitz 2001" Vanilla Ninja on Sügishitt 2003 (Estonian Hits Album) (2003) Tia Carrere on the soundtrack to Wayne's World (1992) Bella bestia Album ´´Listo para matar´´

In popular culture

"The Ballroom Blitz" was used in the 1992 film Wayne's World, where it was performed by Tia Carrere. Sweet's version of the song was used in Bordello of Blood (1996), Daddy Day Care (2003), Romanzo Criminale (2006) and The Sandlot: Heading Home (2007). Sweet's version was also used in the first series of Life on Mars, and the 2008 film Get Smart. The Surf Punks cover version is used in the 1989 surfer movie, "Under The Boardwalk."

The song's opening, in which Brian Connolly asks the other band members in turn if they are ready to play, has been parodied