Sweet Dreams (1970s band)
| Company type | Studio ensemble |
|---|---|
| Industry | Music |
| Founded | 1974 |
| Headquarters | England |
Key people | Polly Brown, Tony Jackson, Ron Roker, Gerry Shury |
| Products | Music recordings, singles, album |
Sweet Dreams was an English studio ensemble recognized for their 1974 successful rendition of ABBA's "Honey Honey".
Career
In 1974, Polly Brown, previously a member of Pickettywitch and an experienced session singer, recorded "Honey Honey" with production by Ron Roker and Gerry Shury, featuring Roker on male vocals. For live performances and further recordings, Tony Jackson—born in Barbados in 1944 and formerly part of the reggae outfit the Skatalites—was brought in to perform alongside Brown. Jackson had also led Gulliver's People, the resident band at London's Tiffany's nightclub.
Brown and Jackson performed "Honey Honey" on Top of the Pops, where the single debuted at No. 46 in the UK charts in July 1974 and climbed to No. 10 by August. The track reached No. 14 in Ireland and charted moderately in Germany (No. 42) and the United States (No. 68), although ABBA’s original version maintained stronger international chart positions.
To facilitate live performances, producers Roker and Shury assembled a backing band composed of members from Love Lane, the house band at La Dolce Vita club in Birmingham and Tiffany's venues: Robert Young (drums/vocals), Stuart Armstrong (keyboards/vocals), Stephen Parkes (bass/vocals), along with guitar and vocal duo Kim and Kerry (John Brindley and Marie). This group employed Mellotron and Moog synthesizers to faithfully reproduce the studio arrangements on stage. Sweet Dreams made their live debut opening for the Three Degrees at Southport Theatre. Occasionally, Brown adopted the stage name Sara Leone, a nod to Sierra Leone, for her vocal performances.
Following "Honey Honey", Brown and Jackson released six additional singles under the Sweet Dreams name; however, none achieved comparable chart success. Their most notable post-hit moment occurred in 1976 when they entered A Song for Europe with "Love Kiss and Run", written by Barry Blue and Stephen Worth, finishing in fourth place. Although Roker and Shury did not produce this entry, they contributed another song performed solo by Brown that placed tenth. Brown’s solo releases appeared on GTO Records, where Jackson also issued a single in 1975 produced by Roker and Shury.
Jackson provided vocals for the theme of the 1976 film The Cassandra Crossing and contributed as a session singer on notable tracks including Amii Stewart's "Knock on Wood", Paul Young's "Every Time You Go Away", and Terence Trent D'Arby's "Wishing Well". He continued his solo career with recordings such as a 1994 disco cover of "(Everything I Do) I Do It for You" credited to Q(11) featuring Tony Jackson.
A separate act named Sweet Dreams represented the United Kingdom at Eurovision in 1983 with the song "I'm Never Giving Up". Interestingly, that entry was co-written by Ron Roker, connecting back to the original Sweet Dreams’ producer.
Discography
- Singles
- July 1974 – "Honey Honey" (Bradley's) (UK No. 10, IRL No. 14, GER No. 42, CAN No. 59, US No. 68, AUS No. 38)
- January 1975 – "The Best of Everything" (Bradley's)
- August 1975 – "Let's Get into Something" (Bradley's)
- October 1975 – "I'll Be Your Music" (Bradley's)
- March 1976 – "Love Kiss and Run" (Bradley's)
- February 1977 – "Hollywood (Disco Star)" (Pye)
- Album
- 1975 – We'll Be Your Music (Bradley's)
Notes
- Not to be confused with the Searchers' lead vocalist.
- Brown’s solo track "Up in a Puff of Smoke" was recorded during the same session as Sweet Dreams’ version of "Honey Honey".