Slade

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For other uses, see Slade (disambiguation).

Template:Infobox band Slade is a British glam rock band. The band formed in the late 1960s as R&B act, The N'Betweens, and later as the rock act Ambrose Slade, but found great success in the early 1970s, releasing a series of popular singles in what was perceived as being a glam rock style. Slade remain one of the most recognisable acts of the glam rock movement, and were, at their peak, the most commercially popular band in the UK. The band is possibly most famous for the song "Merry Xmas Everybody", originally released in December 1973 , which was never deleted and is heard regularly at Christmas time everafter; it is now the most iconic British Christmas pop song.

During the height of their success, Slade out-performed their chart rivals Wizzard, Sweet, T. Rex, Suzi Quatro, Smokie, Gary Glitter and even David Bowie. In the UK they achieved 11 top five hits in a three-year span from 1971 to 1974, six of which topped the charts.

Due to a number of changes in music fashion and the advent of punk and New Wave music, Slade's success had faded somewhat by the late 1970s, although the group continued to release credible records. They enjoyed a return to the UK charts in the early 1980s, even managing to enter the charts in the United States, and later returned to the UK singles chart in 1991 with a song entitled "Radio Wall of Sound". The classic line-up of Slade split in mid 1992, although Dave Hill and Don Powell - two of the group's original members formed Slade II at that point.

Respected NME journalist and music critic Eddie Shum, and Oasis guitarist Noel Gallagher have both been quoted as saying the band were "Fundamentally more important to the development of music than Radiohead".

Slade is most associated with the Black Country in Britain's West Midlands, although the group's members came from Devon, Staffordshire, as well as Black Country towns Walsall and Wolverhampton.

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Career

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History of the band

The group originally formed in 1966 from the component members of two Midlands bands The Vendors and Steve Brett & The Mavericks and was called the N'Betweens, but initially had little success. In the late 1960s, the band changed its name to Ambrose Slade and hooked up with manager Chas Chandler, former bass player of The Animals and manager of Jimi Hendrix until a short time before Hendrix died. Their name was abbreviated to just "Slade", and the band adopted a "skinhead" look, as an attempt to gain some publicity from what was a newsworthy minority fashion trend of the time.

They later abandoned this look, due to the unwelcome association with football hooliganism and trouble that accompanied the fashion. They grew their hair long again, in time to become a leading part of the glam rock movement, releasing songs with deliberately Black Country-style mis-spelled titles which made them stand out.

This change of direction paid off, and from 1971 to 1975, the band would score an impressive number of huge-selling consecutive hit albums and singles. Singles entered the charts at number one - a feat unheard of since the days of The Beatles. Their concerts were all automatic sell-outs and the band were the first to take the risk of booking the massive Earl's Court venue in London - the largest venue available in the UK - for a couple of nights (although David Bowie promptly booked the venue for a couple of dates before Slade were due to perform).

This triumph was certainly Slade's height of success. It was followed by the lowest point in their career, when Don Powell was critically injured in a car crash and the group's future was left in the balance. Fortunately for the group, Powell recovered over a period of time, though he still suffers with acute short-term memory and sensory problems to this day.

In 1974 Slade starred in the acclaimed rock movie Flame. Film critic Mark Kermode believed it to be the best rock biopic of all time. The soundtrack album, which was released to tie in with the film, included the top 5 hit "Far far away" and the top 20 hit "How does it feel". The movie was a dark gritty piece of work about the darker dealings of the music business and was certainly not what a number of critics and fans were expecting. It reinforced for some the incorrect idea that Slade were a band suffering from internal disputes. This - along with the advent of newer 'pop teen idols' - cost them a number of fans.

After a year spent away in America, touring incessantly, Slade were one of a great number of casualties left behind in the UK by punk in the late 1970s, and without radio plays, their hits largely dried up. They moved from the major Polydor label to their manager's own label, Barn Records and then to their independent Cheapskate label. They carried on playing impressive live shows to respectable-sized crowds in bigger clubs and Universities, while waiting for chart success to come round again. The music press either grudgingly acknowledged the power of their live shows or simply ignored them - mainly the latter.

In August 1980, Ozzy Osbourne's Blizzard Of Ozz cancelled a show at the prestigious annual Reading Rock Festival at very short notice and Slade, who had all but disbanded, were recommended to replace them. Dave Hill had effectively left the band and initially refused to do the show when the rest of the group asked him and had to be convinced to do the show by a doorstep visit from their persuasive manager Chas Chandler. To their surprise, they were the hit of the festival and darlings of the music press again, despite doing nothing different at Reading than they had on stage at any point in recent years.

A new run of chart success followed, though certainly not on the dizzy scale of their 70's heights. Holder and Lea became in-demand for production and song writing duties for other acts, as a result of this resurgence. A number of bands and musicians have covered their material over the years.

Slade had another two UK top 10 hits in 1984 with the singles "Run Runaway" and "My Oh My" (#2 UK, #36 US). "Run Runaway" reached #7, which would be their second top 40 hit in the USA, and their first since "Gudbuy T'Jane", which barely made the top 40 in 1972.

While Slade's attempts at cracking the American market were largely unsuccessful, they left their mark on a large number of US bands who cite Slade as an influence. A cover of Slade's "Cum on Feel the Noize" by metal band Quiet Riot was a smash Top 5 hit in America in 1983. Slade's sound and image influenced a number of American rock groups in the 1970s, particularly KISS, whose bassist Gene Simmons readily admits that their early song writing ethos, with regards to singles, and projection while performing, was loaned wholesale from Slade's approach.

Despite Slade being very highly regarded by some fans of a harder rock genre, Noddy Holder was weary of constant touring and of the music business and left the band in 1991 after 25 years. The remainder of the band had had time to consider their options and Jimmy Lea effectively retired, leaving Hill and Powell to carry on.

Slade are perhaps best remembered by their fans for their critically acclaimed live shows, as much as the long string of hits that they had in the 1970s, 80s and early 90s. The original band's memory was cheerfully kept alive by comedians Vic Reeves and Bob Mortimer, who respectfully sent up the band in a number of what the group themselves called 'hysterically accurate' sketches in their 'Smell of Reeves and Mortimer' TV show in the late 1990s.

It is a myth that bands like Slade suffered because of punk. Punk never achieved great airplay, and during the mid-to-late 1970s mainstream acts such as ABBA and Blondie were most likely to be heard on mainstream radio. Punk was very rarely heard, and was vey much suppressed by radio stations, apart from in specialist slots. Bands such as Slade had merely run their course.

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Post-group careers of band members

Noddy Holder went on to become an occasional actor; most notably in the nostalgic late 1990s television period comedy The Grimleys, set in the early 1970s. In the show, he played Mr. Holder, a frustrated ex-small time musician with a day job as a music teacher. In one notable scene he played a Slade song on the guitar, whilst wistfully wishing he had become famous in music. Holder, has in real life, been honoured by his country with an MBE for his services to music. He is also a broadcaster, and has appeared as a guest on a number of television programmes, and in a number of advertisements. Noddy currently (2005) appears as a bi-weekly guest reviewer and presenter on the BBC Radio 2, Mark Radcliffe show, 10:30pm through Midnight, Monday - Thursday.

Jimmy Lea opted not to continue in Slade when Noddy Holder left the group. He has studied psychotherapy, invested in properties, released a number of singles, mainly under varying pseudonyms (Greenfields Of Tong, The Dummies, The Clout, Whild, Gang of Angels) and has recently recorded a number of new tracks on his own, many of which remain unreleased.

Dave Hill and Don Powell have continued the band, calling themselves Slade II between 1992 and 1997, but since then, they have reverted back to simply calling themselves Slade. They have released an album and several singles, mainly available in Europe rather than the UK. Don Powell's brother Dick Powell was drummer for Babe Ruth.

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Discography

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Albums

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Singles

  • 1969 "Genesis" Did Not Chart
  • 1969 "Wild Winds Are Blowing" Did Not Chart
  • 1970 "The Shape Of Things To Come" Did Not Chart
  • 1970 "Know Who You Are" Did Not Chart
  • 1971 "Get Down And Get With It" UK #16
  • 1971 "Coz I Luv You" UK #1
  • 1972 "Look Wot You Dun" UK #4
  • 1972 "Take Me Bak 'Ome" UK #1
  • 1972 "Mama Weer All Crazee Now" UK #1
  • 1972 "Gudbuy t'Jane" UK #2
  • 1973 "Cum on Feel the Noize" UK #1
  • 1973 "Skweeze Me, Pleeze Me" UK #1
  • 1973 "My Friend Stan" UK #2
  • 1973 "Merry Xmas Everybody" UK #1
  • 1974 "Everyday" UK #3
  • 1974 "Bangin' Man" UK #3
  • 1974 "Far Far Away" UK #2
  • 1975 "How Does It Feel" UK #15
  • 1975 "Thanks For The Memory (Wham Bam Thank You Mam)" UK #7
  • 1975 "In For A Penny" UK #11
  • 1976 "Let's Call It Quits" UK #11
  • 1976 "Nobody's Fool" Did Not Chart
  • 1977 "Gypsy Road Hog" UK #48
  • 1977 "Burning In The Heat Of Love" Did Not Chart
  • 1977 "My Baby Left Me" UK #32
  • 1978 "Give Us A Goal" Did Not Chart
  • 1978 "Rock N Roll Bolero" Did Not Chart
  • 1979 "Ginny Ginny" Did Not Chart
  • 1979 "Sign O' The Times" Did Not Chart
  • 1979 "Okey Cokey" Did Not Chart
  • 1980 "When I'm Dancin' I Ain't Fighting" UK #44
  • 1981 "We'll Bring The House Down" UK #10
  • 1981 "Wheels Ain't Comin' Down" Did Not Chart
  • 1981 "Lock Up Your Daughters" UK #29
  • 1981 "Ruby Red" UK #51
  • 1981 "(And Now The Waltz) C'est La Vie" UK #50
  • 1983 "My Oh My" UK #2
  • 1984 "Run Runaway" UK #7
  • 1984 "Slam The Hammer Down" Did Not Chart
  • 1984 "All Join Hands" UK #15
  • 1985 "Seven Year Bitch" UK #60
  • 1985 "Myzterious Mizter Jones" UK #50
  • 1985 "Little Shelia" Did Not Chart
  • 1985 "Do You Believe In Miracles?" UK #54
  • 1986 "Walking On Water, Running On Alcohol" Did Not Chart
  • 1986 "I Win, You Lose" Did Not Chart
  • 1987 "Still The Same" UK #73
  • 1987 "You Boyz Make Big Noize" Did Not Chart
  • 1987 "Ooh La La In L.A." Did Not Chart
  • 1988 "Let's Dance" UK #52
  • 1991 "Radio Wall Of Sound" UK #21
  • 1991 "Universe" UK #38

In total, Slade had 16 top 20 hits between 1971 and 1976 including six #1s, three #2s and two #3s. No other UK act of the period enjoyed such consistency in the UK top 40 and Slade actually came the closest to emulating Beatles' 22 top ten records in a single decade (1960s). Three of their singles entered the charts at #1, and they sold more singles in the UK than any other group of the 1970s.

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External links

de:Slade fr:Slade nl:Slade pt:Slade simple:Slade fi:Slade sv:Slade

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