Andrew Scott

Oration for: Andrew Scott

Delivered by: Spencer Harris

I am delighted to present Andrew Scott for the award of Honorary Fellow of Wrexham University.

Andy Scott is best know as the guitarist of the one of the UK’s best-selling bands of the 70s - Sweet – and as a staunch supporter of Wrexham AFC. Andy grew up in Wrexham with a love of music and sport. He sang in choirs in the Parish Churches of Rhosddu and Wrexham and on special occasions in the Cathedral at St. Asaph.

The 1950s and 1960s set the standards for popular music which led Andy to a career in music.  In 1966, as part of a band The Silverstones, he appeared on the TV talent show Opportunity Knocks, winning 5 weeks in a row but ultimately lost out in the final to Freddie Starr. His first real taste of the big time came with The Silverstones in 1967 when they found themselves supporting Jimi Hendrix in Manchester.

His next band, The Elastic Band, was notable for Andy starting to feature on lead guitars and also that his brother, Mike, who played bass and saxophone, joined the band. The band was signed to Decca records and released a few singles and one album to critical acclaim. It was also about this time that he met Mike McCartney, brother of Paul and Andy moved on to become part of the backing band for The Scaffold.

In 1970, Andy made a move to London and joined The Sweet. The band went on to sell millions of records and had chart successes all over the world including in America. After the original line up stopped touring in 1981, Andy made the decision to continue. Sweet are still active today touring the world and releasing new recordings regularly.

Andy has received many awards as an artist, songwriter and music producer. In 1978 his song Love is Like Oxygen was nominated in the UK for the prestigious Ivor Novello award and the song also won the American ASCAP award that year. Many other Sweet songs have appeared on Movie and TV soundtracks, most recently Guardians of the Galaxy II, and many have been covered by artists of all generations.

He has appeared on Top of the Pops wearing a Wrexham rosette and has performed at various events, including here at the University in the William Aston Hall, to raise money for his beloved Wrexham AFC during the dark days of the early 2000s.

In an interview with The Wrexham Leader last year, in response to a question about how often he gets to Wrexham now, Andy responded ‘Not enough’. It is therefore our pleasure to welcome him back to accept our highest honour at Wrexham University. 

In recognition of his outstanding contribution to Wrexham AFC and the wider community, I present Andrew Scott, a son of this place, for admission to our highest honour of Honorary Fellowship.