{"id":26670,"date":"2025-10-04T01:58:56","date_gmt":"2025-10-04T01:58:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/new50.info\/?p=26670"},"modified":"2025-10-04T01:58:56","modified_gmt":"2025-10-04T01:58:56","slug":"teenage-heartthrob-who-suffered-13-heart-attacks-in-24-hours-died-penniless-in-the-projects-after-selling-his-house-to-pay-bills","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new50.info\/?p=26670","title":{"rendered":"Teenage heartthrob who suffered 13 heart attacks in 24 hours died penniless in the projects after selling his house to pay bills"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the 1970s, Brian Connolly lit up stages as the frontman of The Sweet, blasting out glam-rock anthems like \u201cThe Ballroom Blitz\u201d<\/em> and \u201cBlock Buster!\u201d<\/em> With 50 million records sold and hit after hit, he embodied the glitter and fire of the era\u2014charisma up front, thunderous riffs behind, and the look of someone who belonged to the spotlight.<\/p>\n

But his story began far from the stage. Born in 1945 as Brian MacManus, he was abandoned as an infant and only later discovered he was half-brother to actor Mark McManus. By the mid-\u201960s he was hustling gigs across the UK, eventually co-founding The Sweet and riding a rocket of fame, fortune, and excess.<\/p>\n

Behind the glam, though, alcohol and health troubles pulled him down. By the early \u201980s he had left the band, suffered multiple heart attacks, partial paralysis, and crushing financial woes. He toured on as \u201cBrian Connolly\u2019s Sweet,\u201d giving everything he had even when his voice frayed and his body broke down. His final show was in 1996; just months later, at 51, he was gone.<\/p>\n

What remains is more than glitter. Connolly\u2019s life is a story of resilience\u2014an orphan who fought his way to the world\u2019s biggest stages, fell hard, but never stopped performing for the fans who loved him. Play \u201cThe Ballroom Blitz\u201d<\/em> now and you still hear it: the feral whoop, the wink, the charge. The fame has faded, but the spark endures\u2014and so does the reminder that the brightest lights often come with the heaviest price.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In the 1970s, Brian Connolly lit up stages as the frontman of The Sweet, blasting out glam-rock anthems like \u201cThe Ballroom Blitz\u201d and \u201cBlock Buster!\u201d With 50… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":26671,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-26670","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nTeenage heartthrob who suffered 13 heart attacks in 24 hours died penniless in the projects after selling his house to pay bills -<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/new50.info\/?p=26670\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" 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