Were Spangles Sweets Really Any Good?

Written on November 10, 2010 by Sol in Child Of The 70's, The Friday Afternoon Nostalge

OK it’s confession time. And this might upset some people but here goes.

I didn’t really like Spangles sweets all that much. There – I said the unthinkable.

Spangles Sweets - Were They Any Good?

I mean I thought they were alright – just nothing special. It’s true that I probably didn’t try all of the different flavours that there were, but the ones that I did sample were just ok.

Is that nostalgic blasphemy? Or am I missing something?

If Mars brought them back now would they be as popular as ever, or do you think that you’d realise that the memory is better than the actual sweet?

Come to think of it, if they were so popular, why did Mars stop making them in the first place? (mind you that logic must fall down with the axing of the ultra delicious Pacers – they MUST have been massive sellers surely!)

From the emails that we get, Spangles would definitely rank in the top 5 most missed sweets. But is that really because they were so delicious? Or is it more because they have become so iconic?

So – when it comes to Spangles – am I right or do I need my bumps feeling?

Were Spangles sweets really any good?

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Comments

36 Comments - Leave a comment!

http://www.craftyjo.org.uk Joanna Mackintosh

I think you’re right, the memory is what makes them special. Basically they were just a fruit sweet with a nice shape – though wasn’t there an Old English version which taste pretty good and not fruity?
Hugh Otterburn

Spangles were OK if there was nothing better to be had, but even as ‘sucks’ there were many better alternatives – they are certainly not a sweet that I would like to see/eat again. I think that it was the convenience of having the sweets wrapped in a stick that appealed to many, you could stick them in your pocket I preferred Rowntrees Fruit Gums & Fruit Pastilles to Spangles, or the wonderful Pez sweets in a proper dispensing tube that could be refilled – but Spangles tasted sickly sweet and the flavours did not compare to the pukka versions, the pear drops one especially comes to mind here.
Emma

I’m afraid I’m going to have to agree with you. They were average! Just a boiled sweet. Maybe it was the square shape that got us all going, but I think it was probably the name…..
Now Pacers…. Oh, how I loved them. And still miss them. Sigh……..
http://www.AQuarterOf.co.uk Michael Parker

Stop it! You’re making my mouth water thinking about Pacers again. Does anyone know why Mars stopped making them?
http://www.AQuarterOf.co.uk Michael Parker

Thanks Hugh… I still don’t really ‘get’ though why Spangles have achieved such a cult-like status.

Like you say, they were wrapped and in a stick which made them nice and convenient… but other sweets were too. I mean, does anyone remember Double Agents for example? Not many people I bet!

I used to really love those but they seem to have largely disappeared down the drainpipe of history whereas Spangles have entered confectionery folklore.

I’d love to know why. Any ideas anyone?
http://www.AQuarterOf.co.uk Michael Parker

Hurrah… I’m not going mad it seems! They made loads of varieties over the years I think.

Maybe that was just a cover for trying to find one that tasted half decent!

Can anyone remember what the Old English (please tell me they didn’t call it Olde!) version actually tasted of?
Lois

Does anyone remember Texan bars? – Nougat covered in chocolate. They were lovely. The double agents I remember were Ice lolly bars. Mint ice cream covered in chocolate. Yummy in the 6 weeks summer holiday from school in the 80′s ……
http://www.AQuarterOf.co.uk Michael Parker

Nestle brought Texans back about 4 years ago for about 6 weeks. From memory we sold about 20,000 in that time – they flew out.

We really hoped that Nestle would bring them back for good… but no, sadly not.

I held a box of Texans back… purely for nostalgic purposes of course! They have a best before date of years ago but every so often I have a little taste.

I bet they’d go for a fortune on Ebay!
Sharon

Yep Spangles are a bit of nostalgia for us oldies but at they same time they tasted pretty good too. They were affordable for most of us with limited pocket money and they lasted.
Tom Meiklejohn

I didn’t bother with most of the Spangles flavours but I did like the “Acid Drop” and “Old English” ones (Old English was a mix of flavours: if you buy a quarter of Winter Mix you’re from these nice people at AQuarterOf.co.uk then you could see Old English Spangles are a sort of Winter Mix for kids). Pacers – meh; was never really bothered by them but I reckon that’s because I was a bit older and not really a kid any more when they were brought out. To me they were just minty opal fruits and a bit dull. (Ducks to avoid rotten fruit & vegetables). )
Mandy Knight

I think the Old English Spangles were mint, cinnamon, clove? That sort of thing.
alex hughes

The Old English spangles were a kind of cough sweet flavour…they were black. I still prefer them to Rowntrees Fruit Gums, as the gums stuck to your teeth and were tasteless.
Julie Jones

I loved Spangles and was sorry they stopped making then but even if Mars brought them back they would not taste the same. I think we should all keep them as a memory of times gone by!
http://www.AQuarterOf.co.uk Michael Parker

I think Mars did bring them back for a while. Was it in the 90′s?

But I can’t think they sold very well and they soon disappeared again.

I think you are right… remakes often aren’t anything like as good as our memory of the original – just look at all the remakes of TV programmes and films which are pale shadows of the pukka version.
http://www.AQuarterOf.co.uk Michael Parker

Pacers? Dull? Nooooooooooo

They were cool and minty and so so moreish.

Uhoh… my mouth is watering at the the mere mention of their name. I’ve turned into one of Pavlov’s dogs…
Julia-Ann

Does anyone remember Blobs,cola flavour and strawberry and cream flavour I believe were just 2 I remember but nobody else seems to recall them?…=D
http://www.AQuarterOf.co.uk Michael Parker

Yes we definitely remember Blobs here at AQO.

I used to absolutely love them!

Made by Trebor and around in the late 1970s… , they were boiled sweets on the outside with a chewy centre from memory.

And they came in a load of different flavours apart from Fizzy Cola and Strawberry and Cream – including Toffee Apple, Raspberry & Sherbet and even (I am told this existed… I don’t think I tried this one)… Apple, Banana and Pear!

But my favourite was Cider flavour… it was scrumpy-tious (like what I did there???)

Anyone else remember any more about Trebor Blobs?
Howard

Really liked the Old English flavour, childhood favourite – very hard to categorise the actual taste but would love the chance to try some again just to see!
Cazz

The Old English version was much better but very supplies seemed to be “patchy” at best, in fact the fruit version was a “last resort” for buying!
Garry Manser

Woolworths brought Spangles back in fruit flavours in the early nineties , but not the old english flavour. They still tasted great but sales were slow . Foxes glacier fruits in a stick were good too, missing getting a boiled sweet in a tube!
Bev Dawes

Old English were assorted flavours and I preferred them to the original fruit. I remember anniseed was one, but my favourite was a sort of creamy colour and tasted very like a butter mintoe. I think everyone is right though it is the memory that is special I dont think the sweets were anything out of the ordinary.
What I would like to see back in the shops isn’t actually a sweet but I really miss potato puffs. They were cheaper, lighter and much tastier than crisps. Ah sweet nostalgia………..
Loopyangel

I hated Spangles, they used to come in the selection boxes that were around in the mid-late 70′s that my brother and I had for Christmas, I always gave mine to him. I loved Pacers, was heartbroken when they stopped making those.
http://www.AQuarterOf.co.uk Michael Parker

Potato puffs… can you tell us more? Were they Wotsit like? Or am I miles out there?
Ossie

This question is not really that nostalgic, but why have Lindt stopped selling their raspberry chocolate bar in the UK? I can’t find it anywhere, but anytime a friend goes to Switzerland they I get them to bring me some – usually from Zurich airport.
Maria Hopwood

Yes, they certainly were but I’m talking about the original Spangles here, the ones from the ’60s and ’70s. Old English Spangles were the best, especially the black ones.
Maria Hopwood

I remember Potato Puffs – 3d a bag from the school tuck shop. The bags were red and the puffs themselves were like nothing we have today and nothing at all like Wotsits. I used to love them – ah, memories!
tim

Spangles were great.
I remember them as a kid AND also remember them from the Army. They used to be in the old ratpacks (and by christ they were OLD ratpacks when I was eating them!!)
Mars prolly brought them back to clear stocks when the Army contract fell through..? Dunno. I miss them though.
Jason Root

I do remember the Old English Spangles – one was beige, whereas all the others were vaguely transparent. More of an acquired taste for the older kids than my pre-teen tastebuds.

Pacers – totally brilliant! White with green stripes (2 or 3, I seem to recall.) The bags of spearmint sweets from Pound shops are the nearest thing nowadays (but, sadly, not striped.)

Double Agents – these were great! A roll of individually wrapped hard, round sweets, one flavour on the outside with a different flavoured filling. I remember the lime ones with a chocolate centre. The wrapper used to have some ‘spy’-type tip on it…
http://www.AQuarterOf.co.uk Michael Parker

We scour the sweetworld to find the closest that we can to Pacers… these Spearmint Chews are the best we have found… we like them a lot!

If only Mars would bring back Pacers for a test run to see if sales would be good… I think they would be very pleasantly surprised.
Phyn Barr

I only liked the black ones – I think you’re all right, they were the Old English Flavour, ther rest were a bit too bland. But wasn’t there a Spangles type of Polo? I seem to remember a white minty one because the hole in the middle went quite quickly and I used to get my tongue stuck

the other thing I miss was a sort of fudge like sweet which tasted of the Old English flavour. Can’t even remember what it was called but it was addicitive and I haven’t seen it for years

and on a purely personal note. Being born and brought up in Sheffield I remember the MarryMeQuick which was available from Castle Market. It was like an enormous humbug rolled up like a cumberland sausage. Ace! Never seen them anywhere else
Jean Skitt

I was going to disagree at first – but on second thoughts I have to agree – things are always better in the memory – it probably is a reminder of childhood, – the old english ones were nice though – pacers, well it did love them but have found many a spearmint chew to be just as good now – but what I do miss is the pink spearmint bar which had honeycomb indentations on it – I am going back to the middle 50s though!!!!!!!!!!!!!
http://www.AQuarterOf.co.uk Michael Parker

I was just about to say ‘eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeewwwwwwwwwwww’.

But then I reread what you’d written… I thought you’d said that a MarryMeQuick was a humbug rolled up IN a cumberland sausage.

Just a thought also… when you talk about the fudge like sweet that tasted of Old English, was it like our Herbal Candy?
http://www.AQuarterOf.co.uk Michael Parker

thanks Jean… can you remember what your pink spearmint bar was called?
Kris

Spangles weren’t that bad, but I can only remember the fruit flavours. Not a patch on Rowntrees fruit gums. We used to try and see how many we could get in our mouth at once. I never quite managed a a whole packet. . I also loved Refreshers.

Polo did make a fruit flavoured packet as well as the mints.

Ah Potato puffs that takes me back. They were great.
http://www.AQuarterOf.co.uk Michael Parker

Good news!

We still sell Fruit Polos and Refreshers!

I’m going to do some investigating of Potato Puffs… I’m starting to feel like I’m missing out because I don’t remember them.
Phyn Barr

Well I’m willing to give herbal candy a try – purely on the basis of experimenation you understand!