Stephen Norman Priest (23 February 1948 – 4 June 2020)[1] was an English musician who was the bassist (and, later, co-lead vocalist) of the glam rock band The Sweet.

[2] He made his own bass guitar and began playing in local bands as a young teenager, after being influenced by artists such as Jet Harris of the Shadows, the Rolling Stones and The Who.

Initial success for The Sweet began in 1971, after the band teamed up with songwriters Nicky Chinn and Mike Chapman.

During the 1980s, Priest largely reverted to private life but made occasional forays into production and session work, as well as collaborations with other artists such as David Arkenstone and future bandmate Stuart Smith.

Priest had a demo session in Los Angeles with the other members of the original Sweet in 1988, with Mike Chapman producing, to see if a studio album and reformation were possible.

Despite the difficulties of the late '70s, Priest continued his friendship with former Sweet lead singer Connolly, who was by now in poor health.

While in New York, he formed a band called the Allies with guitarist Marco Delmar and drummer Steve Missal.

On 18 June 1981, he married his second wife Maureen (née O'Connor), who was then East Coast Director of Publicity and Artist Relations for Capitol/EMI Records in New York.

[5][9][10] Steve Priest was cremated and his ashes are interred at Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Glendale California.