"Are you ready, Steve? Andy? Mick? Alright fellas, let's go!" and then an avalanche of guitars that gives you goosebumps. You'd recognise that intro even if you swore you'd never heard of the band. It's Ballroom Blitz and it was written by The Sweet. And here's a fact right from the start: the chorus that now runs through adverts, films and playlists was reportedly born out of one truly catastrophic night when the band was driven off stage in Scotland by a shower of bottles. The Sweet Mikulov concert on 15 August 2026 means you can hear this piece of glam-rock history under the open sky below the Pálava hills. And what really happened that night, we'll get to that, because the truth is more tangled than the legend suggests.

The Sweet Mikulov: what's happening on 15 August 2026

A one-off summer concert by the British glam-rock band on Saturday 15 August 2026 at the Mikulov amphitheatre. Tickets are on sale through the official vendor.

The date is fixed: Saturday 15 August 2026, venue the amphitheatre in Mikulov. The band performs under the banner of The Sweet (UK), meaning the British branch, about which we'll say more in a moment, because there's an interesting history around the name. According to the event page, local act Precedens is also on the bill for the evening, so the programme won't be all about the Brits. The full details of The Sweet Mikulov concert, the start time and a link to official sales can be found at the event in our calendar.

Why mark this date? The Sweet don't tour Central Europe all that often, and the open-air amphitheatre format is a perfect match for a repertoire that is built from start to finish on hits. No half-hour warm-up where you nip off for a beer. With this band you know almost every song, even if you haven't realised it yet.

From Sweetshop to the charts: who are The Sweet

The band formed in London in 1968, broke through with catchy pop and became one of the icons of seventies glam rock, with sales of over 55 million records.

They had quite a start. Concerts by this outfit stretch back to the late sixties. The band formed in London in 1968, originally under the name Sweetshop, and their first hit Funny Funny came in 1971 when they teamed up with songwriters Nicky Chinn and Mike Chapman and producer Phil Wainman. At first it was sweet pop for teenagers. But underneath the surface things were bubbling.

During 1971 and 1972 their sound changed noticeably: from a bubblegum style à la Archies to harder rock influenced by The Who, with sharp guitars and prominent high backing vocals. In other words, a chorus you hum in the car, but with a guitar that takes your head off. The turning point came in 1973 with the single Block Buster!, which topped the British chart. A string of classics followed: they had thirteen hits in the British Top 20 during the seventies, and after Block Buster! came three consecutive number twos - Hell Raiser, The Ballroom Blitz and Teenage Rampage.

The peak of that era is the album Desolation Boulevard from 1974, on which Connolly screams more than he sings and Scott drives a wah-wah guitar with space effects. Their last big Top 10 hit came in 1978 with the more ballad-like Love Is Like Oxygen. Over their entire career the band sold over 55 million records worldwide, and that's a number that turns a gang of glammed-up lads into one of the most commercially successful bands of their era.

Ballroom Blitz: the banger that may have been born from chaos

The popular story says the song was inspired by a night when the band was pelted with bottles in Kilmarnock, Scotland. The songwriters later disputed this, and researchers found almost nothing in the local press. Either way, it's one of the most famous glam-rock tracks ever.

The legend is appealing. "The Ballroom Blitz" is said to have been inspired by an incident on 27 January 1973, when the band was performing at the Grand Hall in Kilmarnock and was driven off stage by a shower of bottles. The song was written in June 1973 and released as a single in September of that year. A collector's note: on the Desolation Boulevard album it only appeared on the American and Canadian versions, not on the British release.

But here's where it gets more interesting. The song wasn't written by the band but by the duo Chinn and Chapman, and Chapman later claimed it had nothing to do with any specific event. According to him it was a song about a boy who has a bad dream that his record flopped. Scottish researcher Grant McPhee also went through the contemporary Kilmarnock press and found only a mention that the band had just reached number one in the charts, with no reports of any disturbance. In his view, a minor incident gradually became a nicely polished legend. Whatever the truth, that very ambiguity makes Ballroom Blitz a more interesting story than most rock myths.

It doesn't change the result. The song climbed to number two in the British chart and, after its American re-release in 1975, to number five on the Billboard Hot 100. Today it has over 133 million streams on Spotify. Echoes of that track can still be heard: in 1979 The Damned covered it in a punk version with Lemmy from Motörhead on bass, and a new generation was introduced to it by the film Wayne's World. When the band launches into it in Mikulov, you'll recognise it better than you expected.

Which Sweet is actually coming? Andy Scott and two versions of the band

Of the legendary line-up, only one member is still alive today - guitarist Andy Scott, who leads the British version of the band. A second, American branch also exists, so the "UK" in the concert name is no accident.

This is something a connoisseur will appreciate and a newcomer might get lost without. The best-known line-up consisted of vocalist Brian Connolly, bassist Steve Priest, guitarist Andy Scott and drummer Mick Tucker. Fate was not kind to them: Connolly died in 1997, Tucker in 2002 and Priest in 2020. Andy Scott is thus the last surviving member from the classic era.

And here it gets complicated. After the original band split, two rival versions gradually emerged. One was led in England by Andy Scott, the other was founded in Los Angeles by bassist Steve Priest, focused on North American touring. Priest died in 2020, but his American line-up continues under the Sweet name, now without a single founding member. That's precisely why the poster explicitly says "UK": the band heading to Mikulov is the British branch, kept alive by Scott, which typically tours Europe and Australia.

Today's British line-up around him is no substitute act. Alongside Andy Scott on guitars and keyboards are Paul Manzi (vocals), Lee Small (bass), Tom Cory (keyboards, guitar) and Adam Booth (drums). The band is also touring with the album Full Circle from 2024, which they themselves describe as their final studio album, so the setlist isn't just a museum tour of the past.

What will be played in Mikulov

Expect a run through the biggest hits - a set built entirely on songs you almost certainly know.

The tour follows a clear greatest hits line. According to the band's announced repertoire, the set includes Ballroom Blitz, Fox on the Run, Love Is Like Oxygen, Wig-Wam Bam, Block Buster!, Teenage Rampage, Hell Raiser and Action. British line-up concerts also often open with Wig-Wam Bam, which has the whole venue singing from the very first bars.

Each of those songs has its own story. Fox on the Run was the band's first self-written single and became their biggest international success. Love Is Like Oxygen, written by Andy Scott himself, shows a different, more sophisticated pop side of the band from the late seventies. And because Sweet were always harder than their polished image suggested, expect a solid dose of guitars at the amphitheatre. In short, you'll get roughly fifty years of rock history packed into one evening.

The Mikulov amphitheatre and how to get tickets

An open-air concert at the Mikulov amphitheatre below the Pálava hills. Sort your tickets through the official vendor listed at the event so you don't get burned on resale.

Mikulov lies in southern Moravia close to the Austrian border, in the middle of wine country beneath the Pálava hills. An open-air amphitheatre combines a summer evening and a band that knows how to fill a space with loud choruses into one setting. The most practical tip I can give you: arrive with time to spare so you can park comfortably and find your spot, and dress for an outdoor event where the weather can turn by evening. The specific start time, capacity and ticket price are all at the event detail page, which also has a link to official sales.

One more recommendation. With bands that have a long history and more than one "version" in the world, it's worth buying tickets only through the verified channel listed at the event, not through the first link that comes up in a search engine. And if you want to tune your ears in advance, put on Desolation Boulevard, the album that fans and critics alike regard as the band's peak.

Where to go next for rock and glam in the Czech Republic

If The Sweet hook you on old-school rock classics and younger glam, you'll find follow-up concerts and festivals in the calendar.

Anyone who wants to continue in a similar vein could head to The Legends Rock Fest 2026 at Areál Zahrada in Hořice, where rock stalwarts converge. Fans of the domestic harder scene will enjoy Škwor or Arakain. And if you're more into new-generation glam, check out the Starbenders concert at Bike Jesus in Prague. A complete overview of what's happening where is kept together in our concerts overview.

Frequently asked questions (FAQ)

When and where are The Sweet playing in Mikulov?

The Sweet will perform on Saturday 15 August 2026 at the amphitheatre in Mikulov. The exact start time and further details can be found at the event in our calendar, which also has a link to official ticket sales.

Is it the original Sweet line-up?

It isn't, and it can't be. Of the classic four, only one member is still alive today - guitarist Andy Scott, who leads the British version of the band, hence the "UK" in the name. Connolly, Tucker and Priest are unfortunately no longer with us. Alongside Scott, the current line-up features Paul Manzi, Lee Small, Tom Cory and Adam Booth.

Which hits will be played?

The band plays a set built on classics. According to the announced repertoire, expect Ballroom Blitz, Fox on the Run, Love Is Like Oxygen, Wig-Wam Bam, Block Buster!, Teenage Rampage and Action - songs you'll almost certainly recognise even if you've never explored glam rock yourself.

Is there a support act?

According to the event page, local act Precedens is also on the bill for the evening, so you'll get a taste of the domestic scene as well as the British headliners. The exact running order will be confirmed by the organiser.

Did Ballroom Blitz really come out of a riot in Kilmarnock?

That's a tricky question. For years the story went that the song was inspired by a night when the band was driven off stage by a shower of bottles. Songwriter Mike Chapman later claimed it was more of a song about a bad dream, and researchers found almost nothing about any major disturbance in the contemporary Scottish press. Some kind of incident probably did take place in Kilmarnock, but its scale is disputed.

Sources

  • The Sweet (UK), amphitheatre Mikulov, 15. 8. 2026 - event detail and official ticket sales (kdykam.com)
  • Wikipedia: The Ballroom Blitz - origins, recording and cover versions of the song
  • Songfacts and Yahoo Entertainment: disputes around the song's inspiration and quotes from the songwriters
  • Grant McPhee (Substack): research into the Kilmarnock myth in the contemporary press
  • The Note and Rock and Roll Garage: current line-up around Andy Scott, album Full Circle (2024) and overview of hits
  • Ticketmaster and Bandsintown: band profile, album Desolation Boulevard and the situation around the two versions of Sweet