The Six Teens (song)

"The Six Teens"
German release picture sleeve
Single by Sweet
from the album Desolation Boulevard
B-side	"Burn on the Flame"
Released	5 July 1974 [1]
Recorded	1974
Genre	Glam rock [2] [3]
Length	4:01
Label	RCA
Songwriter(s)	Nicky Chinn, Mike Chapman
Producer(s)	Phil Wainman, Nicky Chinn, Mike Chapman
Sweet singles chronology
"Teenage Rampage" (1974) "The Six Teens" (1974) "Turn It Down" (1974)

"The Six Teens" (often spelled as "The Sixteens") is a song by English glam rock band Sweet, written by Nicky Chinn and Mike Chapman, appearing on Sweet's album Desolation Boulevard . The song was Sweet's first single simply as "Sweet" (previously, the band was known as The Sweet). The B-side is the band composition "Burn on the Flame".

Background

The song references six teenagers growing up in the revolutionary rhetoric of the 1960s. The song was the penultimate single written by Chinn and Chapman for the band and the last on which long-time producer Phil Wainman assisted.

The song features softer acoustic verses contrasted with heavier electric guitar-based choruses and was regarded something of a significant departure from the band's glam rock sound heard on previous singles. Guitarist Andy Scott, when introducing the song in his current band's live show, often states he regards it as Chinn and Chapman's best work.

Chart positions

The single reached the top 10 in several European countries, and was the band's 10th #1 in Denmark.

Chart (1974)	Peak position
Australia	48
Austria	9
Denmark	1
Finland	8
Germany	4
Ireland	15
Netherlands	7
Norway	7
Switzerland	6
United Kingdom [4]	9

Personnel

• Brian Connolly - lead vocals
• Steve Priest - bass guitar, backing vocals, additional lead vocals,
• Andy Scott - guitars, backing vocals
• Mick Tucker - drums, backing vocals

Legacy

The Vinyl District referred to the song as "a bona fide lost glam classic". ^[5]

References

1. "Promo disc with release date".
2. Savage, Jon (1 February 2013). "The 20 best glam-rock songs of all time". The Guardian . Retrieved 3 February 2014.
3. Dolan, Joe; Martoccio, Angie; Sheffield, Rob (November 20, 2024). "The 74 Best Albums of 1974". Rolling Stone . Retrieved November 29, 2024. Along with the depraved glam stomp of "Ballroom Blitz," "The Six Teens," and "Fox on the Run," you get deep cuts that are better than they need to be...
4. "UK Official Charts". Official Charts Company. 2019. Retrieved 25 January 2019.
5. Little, Michael H. (June 17, 2016). "Graded on a Curve: Sweet, Desolation Boulevard". The Vinyl District.