Andy Scott gave The Sweet for a maximum of ten years when he joined the band in 1970 - now the guitarist is going on an anniversary tour on the occasion of the band's foundation 50 years ago. The 68-year-old, who once led the formation from bubblegum pop to glam rock and hard rock, would have liked to have played birthday concerts together with bassist Steve Priest, who is mainly on tour in the USA with a group of the same name. But that won't happen, as Scott regrets in an interview with eclipsed.
eclipsed: To be honest, could you imagine going on that birthday tour in 2018 when you joined The Sweet?
Andy Scott: No, of course not.
eclipsed: A few years ago you announced one last Sweet tour. What's the situation now, will The Sweet continue?
Scott: At that time I began to listen into myself. We had about 60 gigs from September to December 2015 and then we did another tour in England with Slade. I thought it might kill me if we went on like this. That's why we have reduced the productions, the number of concerts; with the current workload I feel comfortable. I have discussed with Ian Paice why we should continue to perform. His answer: because we fucking can! And he's right.
eclipsed: You fell seriously ill in 2009. How did cancer change your life?
Scott: I went to the doctor because I often had pain in my stomach. An examination then showed that I had prostate cancer. Such a diagnosis makes you once again clear: You do not know how much time you have.
eclipsed: A look far back: What were your musical influences?
Scott: The biggest thing in the late 50s was Cliff Richard and the Shadows. Everybody wanted to play guitar, everybody wanted to be Hank Marvin with his big glasses and the red Stratocaster. Then came the Beatles. I saw them playing "Love Me Do" on television in 1962; from then on my life changed. When I was 13, I was old enough to have my own guitar.
