The Sweet's Andy Scott speaks ahead of Bilston gig

On the verge of breaking up, they rose to fame in the 1970s with their most prolific line-up yet, including the introduction of guitarist Andy Scott.

The Sweet have maintained worldwide fame ever since and are heading to our region twice in quick succession – having supported the Bay City Rollers at Wolverhampton Civic Halls last night before headlining Bilston's Robin 2 on Monday.

Scott, who is part of Don Powell's new project QSP, lets us in on what fans can expect from the show, saying: "On the road with the Rollers we're playing much bigger places for a lot less time, then in the smaller venues such as the Robin we get to play for twice the time.

"In the smaller venues, it's more discerning fans just coming to see us, and expecting a right royal cross-section of our work.

"We love both big and small shows, they both have validity. When we're abroad we play a lot of the bigger shows to upwards of 3,000 or 5,000 people, and the sets we played abroad will feature at our smaller shows like the Robin. It has the hits of course, as well as the obligatory acoustic set in the middle and a drum solo. Our fans will get everything they would at a big show, but more up-close and personal."

Scott, from Wrexham in North Wales, is a big fan of the Midlands, and will always make time for a venue close to his heart: the Robin 2.

The Sweet have came a long way since Scott joined in 1970, and he has a lot of proud memories of his time with the band:

"I joined after auditioning to play guitar, the band were on the verge of splitting. I knew the songwriter Mike Chapman and I'd met the band before, I went along with my guitar and when I plugged in and turned the amp up there was a huge squealing feedback.

"I looked up and Mick Tucker just said 'well, it looks like you're in', and the rest is history.

"Since joining I have too many proud moments to mention. We have played some amazing gigs along the way.

With such a colourful career and so many milestones already achieved, what keeps The Sweet going you ask? Scott tells us it's not what we'd think:

"I'd love to say it was the sex, drugs and rock'n'roll but sadly that's not the truth. I always say, you're a long time dead.

"I've come through quite a lot of things along the way, I was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2009 and I came through that in 2010 as my numbers are really good.

"I had one real job in my life when I was 17 – I wanted to be a professional musician but my father said it would be in my best interest to have some sort of job initially, so I worked in a bank.

"My father was very proud"

By Becci Stanley