Sweet Sensation

Sweet Sensation was an English soul-pop octet from Manchester that released ten singles between 1974 and 1977 on Pye, including the 1974 UK No. 1 “Sad Sweet Dreamer.”

Members: Junior Daye (vocals), Roy Flowers (drums), Vincent James (vocals), Barry Johnson (bass), Marcel King (vocals), St. Clair L. Palmer (vocals), Gary Shaugnessy (guitar), Leroy Smith (keyboards)

Background

Sweet Sensation formed in 1971 in south Manchester as The Sensations around singer Marcel King and guitarist Gary Shaughnessy. The early lineup included bassist Keith Johnson, who taught the instrument to his younger brother and eventual replacement, Barry Johnson.

The group settled on an eight-piece lineup with drummer Roy Flowers, bassist Barry Johnson, guitarist Shaughnessy, keyboardist Leroy Smith, and singers King, Junior Daye, Vincent James, and St. Clair Palmer. Four members (Daye, Flowers, Johnson, Smith) mirgrated from Kingston, Jamaica.

King was born Marcel Neville King on Jan. 4, 1957, in Manchester and grew up on Palmerston Avenue in Whalley Range. He attended Our Lady’s Primary School and St George’s Secondary School in Manchester. King frequented the weekly underage disco at Chorlton Irish Club with his brother Phineas.

In one of their earliest public appearances, The Sensations entered the October 1971 Pub Entertainer of the Year competition. King played his first Sweet Sensation show at age fifteen in 1972 at Barrow-in-Furness. The group spent the next two years on the northern cabaret and working-men’s-club circuit, where they played cover sets for fees around £30 a night.

By late 1973, they changed their name to Sweet Sensation after learning another act already performed as The Sensations. Pye issued the first Sweet Sensation single, “Snowfire” (b/w “Till It Hurts Me Baby”), in April 1974 as the group entered the second series of ATV’s New Faces. Sweet Sensation won the April 13 heat before an audience of roughly six million viewers. Judge Tony Hatch signed the group to a production deal after the broadcast.

Sweet Sensation returned for the July 6 Gala Final with “Sad Sweet Dreamer” and placed ninth with 306 points. Hatch co-produced the song with writer Des Parton. Pye issued “Sad Sweet Dreamer” in July 1974 (b/w “Surething, Yes I Do”), and the single reached No. 1 on the UK chart. “Purely by Coincidence” followed in January 1975 (b/w “Touched by Magic”) and reached No. 11. Pye scheduled the self-titled debut album for release in March 1975.

Discography:

• Sweet Sensation (1975 — Sad Sweet Dreamer in US/Canada)