Sweet

In some ways, the Sweet epitomize all the tacky hubris and garish silliness of the early '70s. Fusing bubblegum melodies with crunchy, fuzzy guitars, they looked like a heavy metal band but were as tame as any pop group. It was a dichotomy that served them well as they racked up hits in the U.K. and U.S. They were smart enough to latch onto the British glam rock fad, building a safer, radio-friendly, teen-oriented version of Queen, T. Rex, and Gary Glitter. While the group's time at the top of the charts had expired by the end of the '70s, their hit singles lived on not only as cultural artifacts but also as the predecessors for the pop-metal of the '80s, a genre they significantly influenced. The band's competing incarnations, led by bassist Steve Priest and guitarist Andy Scott, continued to perform live and occasionally record into the early 2020s.