"Turn It Down" is a song by English

glam rock Glam rock is a style of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom in the early 1970s and was primarily defined by the flamboyant clothing, makeup, and hairstyles of its musicians, particularly platform shoes and glitter. Glam artists d ...

band

the Sweet Sweet (known as the Sweet until the early 1970s) are a British glam rock band who rose to prominence in the 1970s. Their best-known line-up consisted of lead vocalist Brian Connolly, bassist Steve Priest, guitarist Andy Scott and drummer ...

released in 1974 as the second single from their third album ''

Desolation Boulevard ''Desolation Boulevard'' is the third studio album by English glam rock band Sweet, released in the UK in November 1974. Two noticeably different versions of the album were released: one by RCA Records in Europe, and another by Capitol Record ...

''. The song was removed from the US version of ''Desolation Boulevard'', along with two other songs, "Breakdown," and "Medussa. In the UK, the single reached No. 41 on the charts, but fared better in Europe, reaching the top five in Norway and Germany.

Composition

"Turn It Down" is a

hard rock Hard rock or heavy rock is a heavier subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and Distortion (music), distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the Garage rock, garage, Psychedelic rock, psychedelic and blues ...

and proto-glam metal song, more in-line with what the band sounded like live.

Controversy

"Turn It Down" was banned by the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

due to its subjective nature, and the lyric "I can’t take no more of that Godawful sound, so for God’s sake turn it down."

Personnel

Brian Connolly Brian Francis Connolly (5 October 1945 – 10 February 1997) was a Scottish singer-songwriter, musician and actor, best known as the lead singer of glam rock band Sweet between 1968 and 1979 and known for his charismatic stage presence and di ...

– lead vocals *

Steve Priest Stephen Norman Priest (23 February 1948 – 4 June 2020) was an English musician who was the Bass guitar, bassist (and, later, co-lead vocalist) of the glam rock band The Sweet. Early life Priest was born in Hayes, Hillingdon, Hayes, Middlese ...

– bass, backing vocals * Andy Scott – guitars, backing vocals *

Mick Tucker Michael Thomas Tucker (17 July 1947 – 14 February 2002) was an English musician, best known as the drummer of the glam rock and hard rock band Sweet. Personal life Mick Tucker was born on 17 July 1947 in Kingsbury, North West London, the s ...

– drums, percussion, backing vocals

Charts

References

{{The Sweet 1974 songs The Sweet songs Songs written by Mike Chapman Songs written by Nicky Chinn