The Ballroom Blitz
| "The Ballroom Blitz" | |
|---|---|
| Song | |
| B-side | "Rock and Roll Disgrace" |
"Ballroom Blitz" is a song written by Nicky Chinn and Mike Chapman and originally recorded by the glam rock band Sweet. It was released as a single in 1973, where it reached number 1 in Australia and entered at number 2 in the UK singles chart but failed to go to number one. The song reached number 5 in the States and was one of that country's biggest hits of 1975. "Ballroom Blitz" appeared on the U.S. version of The Sweet's 1976 album Desolation Boulevard. "Ballroom Blitz" remains one of The Sweet's best-known songs and has been covered by a variety of artists.
Track listing
- "Ballroom Blitz"
- "Rock and Roll Disgrace"
Cover versions
The first cover of "Ballroom Blitz" was recorded by The Damned in 1979 with Lemmy of Motörhead guesting on bass. It was originally released as the B-side of "I Just Can't Be Happy Today" and was later added to the CD release of Machine Gun Etiquette in addition to appearing on several live albums.
A number of other artists have also covered the song:
- The Ark (live)
- Batmobile (live)
- Calibretto 13 on Enter the Danger Brigade (2000)
- The Damned on Machine Gun Etiquette (1979)
- Krokus on The Blitz (1984)
- Les Wampas {in French} on Tutti Frutti (1986)
- Moderatto (in Spanish) on El Detector de Metal (2004)
- Nuclear Assault on Out of Order (1991)
- The Offspring (as "Manic Subsidal") (live)
- The Rezillos on Mission Accomplished...But the Beat Goes On (1979)
- Surf Punks on Oh No, Not Them Again (1988)
- Testify as "Ballroom Blitz 2001"
- Vanilla Ninja[citation needed]
In popular culture
"Ballroom Blitz" was used in several movies long before the 1992 film Wayne's World, where it was performed by Tia Carrere. Sweet's version of the song was also used in Bordello of Blood (1996), Daddy Day Care (2003), Romanzo Criminale (2006) and The Sandlot: Heading Home (2007). Sweet's version was also used in the first series of Life on Mars. The Surf Punks cover version is used in the 1989 surfer movie, "Under The Boardwalk."
The song's opening, in which Brian Connolly asks the other band members in turn if they are ready to play, has been parodied by other artists including The The in "Armageddon Days Are Here (Again)" and the Dead Milkmen in "The Pit."
- The Buzzcocks have been known to play this song live. They have also recorded the single, which was not well received by the public.
- "Ballroom Blitz" was sampled by the Beastie Boys in their 1989 single "Hey Ladies."[citation needed]
- The song has appeared in a Mitsubishi commercial
- The song was used by Director Stephen Chow for promotional use for the film Kung Fu Hustle
- The song itself was written about the Grand Hall of the Palace Theatre in Kilmarnock, Scotland, after the band were forced off stage by a barrage of bottles. [1]
- A 2007 commercial for Ghost Rider uses this song.
- This song's tune was also used for the intro on Disney Channel's "The Suite Life of Zack & Cody"
- The song appeared in a commercial for Norsk Tipping Lottery in 2001.[1]
- A cover of Krokus' version of the song appears as a playable track in the music video game Guitar Hero Encore: Rocks the 80s, produced by the video game company Harmonix. The song was once again featured in their latest producement, Rock Band, but this time as a cover of the original Sweet version
- The song appeared in Quentin Tarantino's short film "My Best Friend's Birthday"
- The song was used on the Fox musical game show "Don't Forget the Lyrics"
- The song also appeared in a commercial for the British show Life on Mars.[2]
- The song was briefly sung by Ryan Stiles as the host before a game of Party Quirks in Episode 15 of Series 3 of Whose Line is it Anyway.