Sweet Dreams (1970s band)
Encyclopedia
Sweet Dreams were an English
studio group who in 1974 scored the English hit version of the ABBA
song "Honey Honey
".
, who the track's producers Ron Roker
and Gerry Shury had admired from her work with Pickettywitch
. The brief male vocal on "Honey Honey" was sung by Ron Roker.
"Honey Honey" entered the UK Top 50
at #46 on the chart dated 20 July 1974. It eventually rose to a #10 peak at the end of August. The Sweet Dreams version of "Honey Honey" reached #14 in the Republic of Ireland
. Otherwise outside of the UK the Sweet Dreams version of "Honey Honey" was bested by the single release of the ABBA original although the Sweet Dreams version did enter the charts in Germany and the US despite ABBA's version being a greater success in both markets. Sweet Dreams' "Honey Honey" reached #42 in Germany and #68 in the US where ABBA's version reached respectively #2 and #27.
Tony Jackson1 was recruited to act as a permanent partner for Polly Brown who in her capacity as the female vocalist in Sweet Dreams was billed as "Sara Leone". Jackson, born in Barbados
17 March 1944, had moved to London in 1965 and spent five years as a member of reggae outfit the Skatalites who had the #36 hit "Guns of Navarone" in 1967. Before being recruited by Roker to partner Brown live and on Sweet Dreams' post-"Honey Honey" recordings, Jackson had spent some time fronting Gulliver's People, the house band at the Purley
nightclub Tiffany's. Jackson and Brown appeared on TOTP
performing "Honey, Honey" and subsequently recorded tracks to complete a Sweet Dreams album entitled We'll Be Your Music.
To join Brown and Jackson in Sweet Dreams' live performances, Roker and Shury recruited the lineup of Love Lane, the house band at the La Dolce Vita club Birmingham,specifically Robert Young (born Robert Parkes drums/vocals) Stuart Armstrong,(keyboards/vocals) and Stephen Parkes,(bass/vocals) plus duo Kim and Kerry (guitar/vocals) who were John Brindley and Marie??. Sweet Dreams made their live debut opening for the Three Degrees
at the Southport Theatre. Brown sometimes performed as Sweet Dreams' vocalist in black face
and was billed as Sara Leone, a reference to the African country Sierra Leone
.
Brown and Jackson had five single releases as Sweet Dreams, the rest of which were overlooked. Sweet Dreams had their highest post-"Honey Honey" profile when Brown and Jackson competed in the 1976 A Song for Europe bidding to represent the UK at that year's Eurovision with the song "Love Kiss and Run" a Barry Blue
/ Stephen Worth composition which placed fourth. Roker and Shury were not associated with this Sweet Dreams project rather contributing another A Song for Europe entrant "Do You Believe in Love at First Sight" which was performed by Polly Brown solo - Roker and Shury having produced solo records for Brown concurrently with recording her in Sweet Dreams2 - to finish tenth. (That year's Eurovision UK entrant and eventual Eurovision winner was Brotherhood of Man
's "Save Your Kisses for Me
".) Brown' solo recordings were released on the GTO
label where Jackson also had a 1975 single: "As if by Magic", produced by Roker and Shury.
Jackson sang the theme song for the 1977 film The Cassandra Crossing and pursued a session singing career notably on the #1 hits "Knock on Wood
" by Amii Stewart
, "Every Time You Go Away" by Paul Young
and "Wishing Well" by Terence Trent D'Arby. Jackson continued to cut occasional solo tracks including a 1994 disco
version of "(Everything I Do) I Do It for You
" credited to Q(11) featuring Tony Jackson.
Sweet Dreams
would later be the name of the group who in 1983 represented the UK at Eurovision with "I'm Never Giving Up
"; by an apparent coincidence, the song by this male/female group - a trio with two females - was co-written by Ron Roker.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
studio group who in 1974 scored the English hit version of the ABBA
ABBA
ABBA was a Swedish pop group formed in Stockholm in 1970 which consisted of Anni-Frid Lyngstad, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson and Agnetha Fältskog...
song "Honey Honey
Honey, Honey
"Honey, Honey" is a song by the Swedish pop group ABBA. It was released as the second single from their second studio album, Waterloo, after the success of the title track winning the 1974 Eurovision Song Contest.-History:...
".
Career
A cover of an ABBA album track, "Honey Honey" was recorded by a session group backing vocalist Polly BrownPolly Brown
Polly Brown is an English singer. A member of Pickettywitch and Sweet Dreams - and with each group lead singer on a Top Ten hit, respectively "That Same Old Feeling" and "Honey Honey" - Brown had an international solo hit in 1975 with "Up in a Puff of Smoke".-Biography:Brown recorded with...
, who the track's producers Ron Roker
Ron Roker
Ron Roker is an English songwriter and singer.-Career:Roker first worked as a song-plugger. His first taste of chart success was provided by the theme music to children's TV programme The Adventures of Rupert Bear. The song "Rupert", co-written with Len Beadle and recorded by Beadle's wife Jackie...
and Gerry Shury had admired from her work with Pickettywitch
Pickettywitch
Pickettywitch was a British pop group. Fronted by singer Polly Brown , the group became best known for its hit single, "That Same Old Feeling", which was written by Tony Macaulay and John Macleod...
. The brief male vocal on "Honey Honey" was sung by Ron Roker.
"Honey Honey" entered the UK Top 50
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
at #46 on the chart dated 20 July 1974. It eventually rose to a #10 peak at the end of August. The Sweet Dreams version of "Honey Honey" reached #14 in the Republic of Ireland
Irish Singles Chart
The Irish Singles Chart is Ireland's music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association and compiled on behalf of the IRMA by Chart-Track. Chart rankings are based on sales, which are compiled through over-the-counter retail data captured...
. Otherwise outside of the UK the Sweet Dreams version of "Honey Honey" was bested by the single release of the ABBA original although the Sweet Dreams version did enter the charts in Germany and the US despite ABBA's version being a greater success in both markets. Sweet Dreams' "Honey Honey" reached #42 in Germany and #68 in the US where ABBA's version reached respectively #2 and #27.
Tony Jackson1 was recruited to act as a permanent partner for Polly Brown who in her capacity as the female vocalist in Sweet Dreams was billed as "Sara Leone". Jackson, born in Barbados
Barbados
Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles. It is in length and as much as in width, amounting to . It is situated in the western area of the North Atlantic and 100 kilometres east of the Windward Islands and the Caribbean Sea; therein, it is about east of the islands of Saint...
17 March 1944, had moved to London in 1965 and spent five years as a member of reggae outfit the Skatalites who had the #36 hit "Guns of Navarone" in 1967. Before being recruited by Roker to partner Brown live and on Sweet Dreams' post-"Honey Honey" recordings, Jackson had spent some time fronting Gulliver's People, the house band at the Purley
Purley, London
Purley is a place in the London Borough of Croydon, England. It is a suburban development situated 11.7 miles south of Charing Cross.The name derives from "pirlea", which means 'Peartree lea'. Purley has a population of about 72,000....
nightclub Tiffany's. Jackson and Brown appeared on TOTP
Top of the Pops
Top of the Pops, also known as TOTP, is a British music chart television programme, made by the BBC and originally broadcast weekly from 1 January 1964 to 30 July 2006. After 25 December 2006 it became a radio program, now hosted by Tony Blackburn...
performing "Honey, Honey" and subsequently recorded tracks to complete a Sweet Dreams album entitled We'll Be Your Music.
To join Brown and Jackson in Sweet Dreams' live performances, Roker and Shury recruited the lineup of Love Lane, the house band at the La Dolce Vita club Birmingham,specifically Robert Young (born Robert Parkes drums/vocals) Stuart Armstrong,(keyboards/vocals) and Stephen Parkes,(bass/vocals) plus duo Kim and Kerry (guitar/vocals) who were John Brindley and Marie??. Sweet Dreams made their live debut opening for the Three Degrees
The Three Degrees
The Three Degrees are an American female vocal group. Formed in 1963 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania,, the group has always been a trio though there have been a number of personnel changes and a total of fourteen women have represented the group so far. The original members were Fayette Pinkney,...
at the Southport Theatre. Brown sometimes performed as Sweet Dreams' vocalist in black face
Black Face
Black Face is the south wall of an east-west ridge in Arena Valley, south of East Beacon, in the Quartermain Mountains, Victoria Land. The feature is a prominent landmark and is formed by a dolerite dike which rises over above the floor of the valley...
and was billed as Sara Leone, a reference to the African country Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone , officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Guinea to the north and east, Liberia to the southeast, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west and southwest. Sierra Leone covers a total area of and has an estimated population between 5.4 and 6.4...
.
Brown and Jackson had five single releases as Sweet Dreams, the rest of which were overlooked. Sweet Dreams had their highest post-"Honey Honey" profile when Brown and Jackson competed in the 1976 A Song for Europe bidding to represent the UK at that year's Eurovision with the song "Love Kiss and Run" a Barry Blue
Barry Blue
Barry Blue is a singer / producer / songwriter from the United Kingdom. He is best known for his hit songs, "Dancin' " , which he co-wrote with Lynsey de Paul, and "Do You Wanna Dance" .At 14 he signed to record producer Norrie Paramor whose erstwhile assistant was one Tim Rice - the producer of...
/ Stephen Worth composition which placed fourth. Roker and Shury were not associated with this Sweet Dreams project rather contributing another A Song for Europe entrant "Do You Believe in Love at First Sight" which was performed by Polly Brown solo - Roker and Shury having produced solo records for Brown concurrently with recording her in Sweet Dreams2 - to finish tenth. (That year's Eurovision UK entrant and eventual Eurovision winner was Brotherhood of Man
Brotherhood of Man
Brotherhood of Man are a British pop group who achieved success in the 1970s, most notably by winning the 1976 Eurovision Song Contest with "Save Your Kisses for Me"....
's "Save Your Kisses for Me
Save Your Kisses For Me
"Save Your Kisses for Me" was the winning song of the Eurovision Song Contest 1976, performed for the United Kingdom by Brotherhood of Man in The Hague, Netherlands. The lyrics and music were written by Tony Hiller, Lee Sheriden, and Martin Lee, the latter two being members of the band...
".) Brown' solo recordings were released on the GTO
GTO Records
GTO Records is a British Record label which released many hits during the 1970s. It ran from 1974 to 1981 and mainly concentrated on pop music and disco.-Background:...
label where Jackson also had a 1975 single: "As if by Magic", produced by Roker and Shury.
Jackson sang the theme song for the 1977 film The Cassandra Crossing and pursued a session singing career notably on the #1 hits "Knock on Wood
Knock on Wood (song)
"Knock on Wood" is a hit 1966 song written by Eddie Floyd and Steve Cropper and originally performed by Eddie Floyd. The Eddie Floyd version peaked at number twenty-eight on the Hot 100, and spent one week at number one on the soul singles....
" by Amii Stewart
Amii Stewart
Amy 'Amii' Paulette Stewart is an American contemporary R&B/disco/dance-pop singer, dancer and actress most famous for her hit disco record "Knock on Wood". Stewart is the stepsister of actress-singer Miquel Brown and aunt to Brown's actress-singer daughter Sinitta.-Career:Amy Stewart was the...
, "Every Time You Go Away" by Paul Young
Paul Young (singer and guitarist)
Paul Antony Young is an English pop musician. Formerly the frontman of the short-lived bands Kat Kool & The Kool Cats, Streetband and Q-Tips, his following solo success as a solo recording artist turned him into a 1980s teenage pop idol...
and "Wishing Well" by Terence Trent D'Arby. Jackson continued to cut occasional solo tracks including a 1994 disco
Disco
Disco is a genre of dance music. Disco acts charted high during the mid-1970s, and the genre's popularity peaked during the late 1970s. It had its roots in clubs that catered to African American, gay, psychedelic, and other communities in New York City and Philadelphia during the late 1960s and...
version of "(Everything I Do) I Do It for You
(Everything I Do) I Do It for You
" I Do It for You" is a power ballad performed by Bryan Adams and co-written with Michael Kamen and Robert John "Mutt" Lange, featured on the soundtrack album from the 1991 film Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves and on Adams' album Waking Up the Neighbours...
" credited to Q(11) featuring Tony Jackson.
Sweet Dreams
Sweet Dreams (band)
Sweet Dreams were a British vocal trio comprising teenagers Carrie Gray, Helen Kray and Bobby McVay who represented the UK in Eurovision 1983 with the song "I'm Never Giving Up"....
would later be the name of the group who in 1983 represented the UK at Eurovision with "I'm Never Giving Up
I'm Never Giving Up
"I'm Never Giving Up", written and composed by Ron Roker, Jan Pulsford, and Phil Wigger, was the United Kingdom's entry at the Eurovision Song Contest 1983, performed by the trio Sweet Dreams....
"; by an apparent coincidence, the song by this male/female group - a trio with two females - was co-written by Ron Roker.
- 1 Not to be confused with the lead singer of the SearchersTony Jackson (bass player)Tony Jackson was an English bass guitar player and singer who was a member of The Searchers.-Biography:...
. - 2 Brown's solo hit "Up in a Puff of Smoke" was in fact recorded in the same session as Sweet Dreams' "Honey Honey".