For other uses, see Slade (disambiguation).
| Slade |
| Background information |
| Origin |
 Midlands, England |
| Genre(s) |
Hard rock
Glam
rock |
| Years active |
1966–present |
| Label(s) |
Polydor
RCA |
| Website |
http://www.amazingslade.net/
(current line-up) |
| Members |
Dave
Hill - Guitars / Vocals / Bass Guitar
Don
Powell - Drums / Percussion
Mal McNulty - Vocals / Guitars
John Berry - Bass Guitar / Vocals / Violin
Former Members
Noddy
Holder - Vocals / Guitars / Bass Guitar
Jim
Lea - Bass Guitar / Vocals / Keyboards / Violin / Guitars
Steve Whalley - Vocals / Guitars
Steve Makin - Guitars / Vocals
Trevor Holliday - Bass Guitar / Vocals
Dave Glover - Bass Guitar / Vocals |
Slade are an English glam rock and hard rock
band. Slade were one of the most recognisable acts of the glam rock
movement and were, at their peak, the most commercially popular band in
the UK. They are well known for the deliberate misspelling of
their song titles and for the song "Merry
Xmas Everybody" (released December 1973), now one of the most iconic Christmas
pop songs in the United Kingdom.
|
Contents
- 1 Overview
- 2 Career
history
- 3 Members
- 4 Discography
- 5 External
links
|
Overview
Slade were praised by their fans for their critically
acclaimed live shows and their long string of hits. During the height
of their success, Slade out-performed their chart rivals Wizzard,
Sweet,
T.
Rex, Suzi
Quatro, Mud, Smokie,
Gary
Glitter, Roxy Music and David
Bowie. In the UK, they achieved 12 top five hits from 1971 to
1974, six of which topped the charts. In total, Slade had 17 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 The
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.
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".
While Slade's attempts at cracking the United
States market were largely unsuccessful, they left their mark on a
several US bands who cite Slade as an influence. Kiss
bassist Gene
Simmons readily admits that his band's early songwriting ethos and
stage performance style was influenced by Slade. In his book "Kiss and
Make-Up," Simmons writes on page 85, "the one we kept returning to was
Slade," and "we liked the way they connected with the crowd, and the
way they wrote anthems... we wanted that same energy, that same
irresistible simplicity. but we wanted it American-style." Tom
Petersson of Cheap Trick has said that his band went
to see Slade perform, and that they used "every cheap trick in the
book", thus inadvertently coining his group's name. Quiet Riot
had a U.S. hit with their cover of Cum
on Feel the Noize.
The original band's memory was kept alive by comedians Vic
Reeves and Bob Mortimer, who respectfully sent up
the band in a number of what the band called 'hysterically accurate'
'Slade in residence' and 'Slade on holiday' sketches in their The Smell of Reeves
and Mortimer TV show in the early 1990s - these
are available on DVD.
Slade are most associated with the Black
Country in Britain's West Midlands, although the
band's members came from Devon, Staffordshire, and the Black Country
towns Walsall
and Wolverhampton.
It has been claimed that Harry Shearer based the band Spinal
Tap, from This is Spinal Tap,
on Slade. However, it is widely known and confirmed that the band in
the film was based on numerous UK "heavy metal" and "glam" bands and
most certainly on Saxon. While doing research
for the film, Shearer and his fellow writers and cast-mates interviewed
a number of 70s Rock stalwarts requesting their greatest "road
stories". At one point in the film, Spinal Tap is listed on a marquee
as playing second billing to a Puppet Show. Noddy Holder tells a
similar story regarding Slade's "low phase" in his autobiography. This
very funny moment in "This Is Spinal Tap" could have been taken from a
page in Slade's story. It is worth noting that Slade always have had a
wonderful sense of humour about their success (or the lack thereof,
depending upon the decade) and have always been honest and apt to
parody themselves.
Career history
The band started out as the N'Betweens in
1966, formed from members of two Midlands bands, The Vendors and Steve
Brett & The Mavericks. They initially had little success, apart
from on the local club circuit, where they were extremely busy and in
the late 1960s the band changed its name to Ambrose Slade
and hooked up with manager Chas Chandler. Their name
was eventually shortened to Slade, and the band adopted a skinhead look,
as an attempt to gain publicity from what was a newsworthy youth
fashion trend. They later abandoned this look, due to the unwelcome
association with football hooliganism. 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.
From 1971 to 1975, the band scored many huge-selling
consecutive hit albums and singles. Their most noted Christmas anthem
has resurfaced seasonally and formed one of a successions of singles
that entered the charts at number one - a feat unheard of since the
days of The Beatles. After dominating
the chart in 1973, 1974 saw a slight change in musical direction for
the band. The self titled 'Slade In Flame' album contained a more
mature sound and perhaps remains to this day their most influential
album, with clever use of brass and piano, somewhat forerunning bands
such as the Jam and Oasis. Their concerts were all automatic sellouts,
and the band was the first to take the risk of booking the massive Earls Court Exhibition
Centre in London
for a couple of nights (although David Bowie promptly booked
the venue for a couple of dates before Slade were due to perform).
Following this period, Don Powell was critically
injured in a car crash and the band's future was left in the balance.
Powell eventually recovered, although he still suffers with acute
short-term memory and sensory problems.
Partly due to changes in music trends and the advent of punk rock
and New
Wave music, Slade's success faded somewhat by the late 1970s, although
the group continued to release records and punk bands were not afraid
to cite them as an influence. They enjoyed a return to the UK charts,
after their 1980 Reading festival appearance and finally managed to
enter the higher reaches of the United States charts.
In August 1980, Ozzy Osbourne's Blizzard Of Ozz
cancelled their set at the Reading Festival with
very short notice. Slade, who had all but disbanded, were recommended
to replace them. A demoralised Dave Hill had effectively left
the band and initially refused to do the show when asked by the other
band members, but manager Chas Chandler convinced Hill
to play what could very well have been their last ever live show in
front of a huge crowd rather than in a small club. To Hill's utter
astonishment, the band were well-received at the festival (highlights
of their performance were also broadcast on BBC
Radio 1's Friday Rock Show Reading special),
and quickly became darlings of the music press again — despite doing
nothing different at Reading than they had done onstage in recent years.
A new run of chart success followed, though not on the large
scale of their 1970s heights. Holder and Lea became in-demand for
production and songwriting duties for other acts for a while. Slade had
another two UK top 10 hits in 1984, with the singles "Run Runaway" and
"My Oh My" (#2 UK, #36 U.S.) "Run Runaway" reached #7, which would be
their second top 40 hit in the U.S. — and their first since "Gudbuy
T'Jane", which barely made the top 40 in 1972. Interestingly enough,
these hits happened despite Slade not touring to support the releases.
They later returned to the UK
Singles Chart in 1991 with the song "Radio Wall of Sound".
Noddy
Holder became weary of constant touring, effectively managing the band
and of the music business and left the band in late 1991 after 25
years. The remainder of the band were given a period of notice in which
to consider their options. Rather than take on another singer, Jimmy Lea
effectively retired. Dave Hill and Don
Powell (the band's founder members) formed Slade II with
three other local musicians at that point. The name was once again
shortened to Slade after a period.
Save for the release in 1991 of an album of demo recordings
and gathered songs that had previously been released under the
pseudonym The Dummies, Jimmy Lea remained resolutely silent. In
2007, however, he finally released an album of mainly unheard new
original material, entitled Therapy.
Members
| Slade (1966-1991) |
- Noddy Holder - Vocals / Guitars / Rhythm
Guitar
- Dave Hill - Guitars / Vocals / Lead
Guitar
- Jim Lea - Bass
Guitar / Vocals / Keyboards / Violin / Guitars
- Don Powell - Drums / Percussion
|
Slade II (1991-1997)
|
- Steve Whalley - Vocals / Guitars
- Dave Hill - Guitars / Vocals
- Steve Makin - Guitars / Vocals
- Craig Fenney - Bass Guitar / Vocals
- Don Powell - Drums / Percussion
|
Slade (1998-2000)
|
- Steve Whalley - Vocals / Guitars
- Dave Hill - Guitars / Vocals
- Trevor Holliday - Bass Guitar / Vocals
- Don Powell - Drums / Percussion
|
Slade (2000-2003)
|
- Steve Whalley - Vocals / Guitars
- Dave Hill - Guitars / Vocals
- Dave Glover- Bass Guitar / Vocals
- Don Powell - Drums / Percussion
|
Slade (2003-2005)
|
- Steve Whalley - Vocals / Guitars
- Dave Hill - Guitars / Vocals
- John Berry - Bass Guitar / Vocals / Violin
- Don Powell - Drums / Percussion
|
Slade (2005-Present)
|
- Mal McNulty - Vocals / Guitars
- Dave Hill - Guitars / Vocals
- John Berry - Bass Guitar / Vocals / Violin
- Don Powell - Drums / Percussion
|
Discography
Albums
| Title |
Highest UK
Chart Position |
Year |
Highest Australian
Chart Position |
Highest U.S.
Chart Position |
| "Beginnings" |
- |
1969 |
- |
- |
| "Play It Loud" |
- |
1970 |
- |
- |
| "Slade Alive!" |
#2 |
1972 |
1 |
#158 |
| "Slayed?" |
#1 |
1972 |
1 |
#69 |
| "Sladest" |
#1 |
1973 |
#3 |
#129 |
| "Old, New, Borrowed and
Blue" |
#1 |
1974 |
#6 |
#168 |
| "Slade in Flame" |
#6 |
1975 |
#25 |
#93 |
| "Nobody's Fools" |
#14 |
1976 |
- |
- |
| "Whatever Happened To
Slade?" |
- |
1977 |
- |
- |
| "Slade Alive, Vol. 2" |
- |
1978 |
- |
- |
| "Return to Base" |
- |
1979 |
- |
- |
| "Slade Smashes!" |
#21 |
1980 |
- |
- |
| "We'll Bring the House
Down" |
#25 |
1981 |
- |
- |
| "Til Deaf Do Us Part" |
#68 |
1982 |
- |
- |
| "Slade On Stage" |
#98 |
1982 |
- |
- |
| "The Amazing Kamikaze
Syndrome" |
#49 |
1983 |
#50 |
- |
| "Keep Your Hands
Off My Power Supply" |
- |
1984 |
- |
#33 |
| "Rogues Gallery" |
#60 |
1985 |
- |
#132 |
| "Crackers: The Party Album" |
#34 |
1986 |
- |
- |
| "You Boyz Make Big Noize" |
#98 |
1987 |
- |
#133 |
| "Wall of Hits" |
#34 |
1991 |
- |
- |
| "Feel The Noize -
Greatest Hits" |
#19 |
1997 |
- |
- |
| "The Very Best of Slade" |
#31 |
2005 |
#28 |
- |
Singles
| Song Title |
Highest UK
Chart Position |
Year |
Highest US
Chart Position |
| "You Better Run" |
- |
1966 |
- |
| "Genesis" |
- |
1969 |
- |
| "Wild Winds Are Blowin'" |
- |
1969 |
- |
| "The Shape of Things To Come" |
- |
1970 |
- |
| "Know Who You Are" |
- |
1970 |
- |
| "Get Down and Get With It" |
#16 |
1971 |
- |
| "Coz I Luv You" |
#1 |
1971 |
- |
| "Look Wot You Dun" |
#4 |
1971 |
- |
| "Take Me Bak 'Ome" |
#1 |
1972 |
#97 |
| "Mama Weer All Crazee Now" |
#1 |
1972 |
#76 |
| "Gudbuy T' Jane" |
#2 |
1972 |
#68 |
| "Cum on Feel the Noize" |
#1 |
1973 |
#98 |
| "Skweeze Me Pleeze Me" |
#1 |
1973 |
- |
| "My Friend Stan" |
#2 |
1973 |
- |
| "Merry Xmas Everybody" |
#1 |
1973 |
- |
| "Everyday" |
#3 |
1974 |
- |
| "The Bangin' Man" |
#3 |
1974 |
- |
| "Far Far Away" |
#2 |
1974 |
- |
| "How Does It Feel?" |
#15 |
1975 |
- |
| "Thanks For The Memory (Wham Bam Thank You Mam)" |
#7 |
1975 |
- |
| "In For A Penny" |
#11 |
1975 |
- |
| "Let's Call It Quits" |
#11 |
1976 |
- |
| "Nobody's Fool" |
- |
1976 |
- |
| "Gypsy Roadhog" |
#48 |
1977 |
- |
| "Burning In The Heat Of Love" |
- |
1977 |
- |
| "My Baby Left Me - That's All Right" |
#32 |
1977 |
- |
| "Give Us A Goal" |
- |
1978 |
- |
| "Rock n' Roll Bolero" |
- |
1978 |
- |
| "Ginny Ginny" |
- |
1979 |
- |
| "Sign O' The Times" |
- |
1979 |
- |
| "Okey Cokey" |
- |
1979 |
- |
| "Merry Xmas Everybody" (reissue) |
#70 |
1980 |
- |
| "We'll Bring The House Down" |
#10 |
1980 |
- |
| "Wheels Ain't Comin' Down" |
#60 |
1981 |
- |
| "Knuckle Sandwich Nancy" |
- |
1981 |
- |
| "Lock Up Your Daughters" |
#21 |
1981 |
- |
| "Merry Xmas Everybody" (2nd
reissue) |
#32 |
1981 |
- |
| "Ruby Red" |
#51 |
1982 |
- |
| "(And Now The Waltz) C'est La Vie" |
#50 |
1982 |
- |
| "Merry Xmas Everybody" (3rd
reissue) |
#67 |
1982 |
- |
| "My Oh My" |
#2 |
1983 |
#37 |
| "Merry Xmas Everybody" (4th
reissue) |
#20 |
1983 |
- |
| "Run Runaway" |
#7 |
1984 |
#20 |
| "All Join Hands" |
#15 |
1984 |
- |
| "Merry Xmas Everybody" (5th
reissue) |
#47 |
1984 |
- |
| "7 Year Bitch" |
#60 |
1985 |
- |
| "Myzterious Mizter Jones" |
#50 |
1985 |
- |
| "Do You Believe In Miracles?" |
#54 |
1985 |
- |
| "Merry Xmas Everybody" (6th
reissue) |
#48 |
1986 |
- |
| "Still The Same" |
#73 |
1987 |
- |
| "That's What Friends Are For" |
#95 |
1987 |
- |
| "You Boyz Make Big Noize" |
- |
1987 |
- |
| "We Won't Give In" |
- |
1988 |
- |
| "Let's Dance '88" |
- |
1988 |
- |
| "Radio Wall of Sound" |
#21 |
1991 |
- |
| "Universe" |
- |
1991 |
- |
| "Merry Xmas Everybody" (7th
reissue) |
#30 |
1998 |
- |
| "Merry Xmas Everybody" (8th
reissue) |
#21 |
2006 |
- |
External links
Preceded by
Little Jimmy Osmond
Long Haired Lover From Liverpool
|
UK Christmas Number One
single
Merry Christmas Everybody
1973
|
Succeeded by
Mud
Lonely This Christmas
|
