Sweet‘s “Ballrooom Blitz” came from a riot that saw the band bottled off the stage at the Grand Hall Palace Theater, Kilmarnock, Scotland, in 1973. Men spat, and the women screamed to drown out the music. This was unexpected for a group famous for their string of chart hits like Little Willy, Wig-Wag Bam, and the number 1, Block Buster.
Why it happened led to suggestions that the band’s appearance in eye-shadow, glitter and lipstick was too much for the audience.
Another was the rumor that Sweet didn’t play their instruments, that they were a manufactured band like The Monkees. A story which may have gained credence as the band’s famous song-writing duo of Nicky Chinn and Mike Chapman, preferred using session musicians to working with artists.
The sliver of truth in this rumor was that Sweet only sang on the first 3 Chinn-Chapman singles (Funny, Funny, Co-Co and Poppa Joe). It wasn’t until the fourth, Little Willy, that Chinn and Chapman realized Sweet was in fact far better musicians than any hired hands, and allowed the band to do what they did best - play.