Mud were a glam rock band, formed in February 1966, who had fourteen UK Top 20 hits between 1973 and 1976, including three No1s, two of which occurring in what was to be their best year,1974.

1974 was the year that there was a major Mud slide in the UK charts with the band having No1 hit singles with “Tiger Feet”, which was the UK’s best-selling single of 1974, and “Lonely This Christmas” which perhaps unsurprisingly was the Xmas No1 in 1974. Mud were the Record Press author’s favourite band in 1974 and Mud was splattered all over my bedroom wall – not literally, but in poster form of course!! I was totally obsessed with lead singer Les Gray and his chums, lead guitarist Ray Stiles, cross dressing bass player Rob Davies and drummer Dave Mount.

I still recall to this day going out with my Mum and my best friend Stephen Humphries into Loughborough in February 1974 in order to buy his 12th Birthday present from Woolworths, or was it Tower Records? He chose two vinyl singles, both on RAK Records – Suzi Quatro’s “Devil Gate Drive” and Mud’s “Tiger Feet”. The former succeeded the latter at No1. I still remember despite the passage of time, pleading and begging my Mum to also buy me a copy of Mud’s “Tiger Feet”, but alas she put her paw down and refused. I had to make do listening to Stephen’s copy on his dansette record player.

However there was a happy ending to the story, as a few months later in June, I discovered a copy of “Tiger Feet” on a second hand stall at a car boot sale near Melton Mowbray. This time I was able to persuade my Dad to part with 10 pence and Mud’s “Tiger Feet” was secured for my vinyl single record collection, which at that point only consisted of my first record, Rubettes “Sugar Baby Love”. It quickly grew in the years to come!!

The irony is that after all the obsessive effort to get my paws on “Tiger Feet”, I actually prefer the follow up single, also of a feline theme, “The Cat Crept In”. It reached No2 in the UK Charts in April 1974, kept off the No1 spot by Terry Jacks’ “Seasons In The Sun”. This song saw singer Les Gray adopt a more than passable impression of Elvis Presley, which continued on Mud’s follow up singles in 1974, “Rocket” and “Lonely This Christmas”.

Although Mud were all cheeky chappies with loads of charisma, their phenomenal success in 1974 was down to RAK Records owner Mickie Most, who if you recall was the pantomime villain on the ATV talent show “New Faces”. Mickie Most teamed the band up with songwriters / producers Nicky Chinn and Mike Chapman, who not only wrote all Mud’s biggest hits, but also those of fellow glam rockers The Sweet and Suzi Quatro.

So glam rockers Mud were an integral part of my formative years and childhood, but there is a twist to this story when Mud indirectly reappeared briefly in my adulthood nineteen years later. In January 1993 I was attending a radio course at Leicester Sound and found I was in the company of songwriter Nicky Chinn. The poor man was trapped in a classroom with me for four whole days. He simply could not escape the Mud and Sweet fan, as I interrogated him about the back stories behind every glam rock hit he ever wrote. It’s funny how the path of adult life can be crossed by your childhood heroes, in the most obscure places.

Let’s pay tribute to Nick Chinn’s song writing with Mike Chapman, with this Record Press Top 10 Best Mud and Sweet Songs –

Top 10 Best Mud and Sweet Songs

1) Sweet – Ballroom Blitz ( No2 1973 )

2) Mud – The Cat Crept In ( No2 1974 )

3) Mud – Dyna-mite ( No4 1973 )

4) Sweet – Fox On The Run ( No2 1975 )

5) Mud – Tiger Feet ( No1 1974 )

6) Sweet – Teenage Rampage ( No2 1974 )

7) Mud – Lonely This Christmas ( No1 1974 )

8) Sweet – Hellraiser ( No2 1973 )

9) Mud – The Secrets That You Keep ( No3 1975 )

10) Sweet – Blockbuster ( No1 1973 )

What are your favourite Mud and Sweet songs? Let us know in the Reply Box below.

Celebrate your love of Mud and Sweet in your home or office, by ordering your favourite Mud or Sweet song in a vinyl or CD format; single, album or album cover; framed and mounted as a picture disc souvenir. You can also personalise it with an inscribed / engraved plaque…… 

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Framed vinyl records, framed CDs and framed DVDs with a personalised plaque, make unique presents or original gifts for a special celebration  / special occasion ie a Wedding ( Wedding First Dance Song ), an Engagement Party ( Our Song ), a House Warming Party ( New Home ), a 21st, 30th, 40th, 50th, 60th Birthday ( How about the No1 song on the day of birth? ), a Silver, Ruby or Golden Wedding Anniversary, Father’s or Mother’s Day or Valentine’s Day!!  THE PERFECT PERSONALISED PRESENT!!