Slade

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Slade
Slade in Oslo, 1977
Slade in Oslo, 1977
General information
origin Wolverhampton , England
Genre (s) Glam rock , hard rock
founding 1966 as N'Betweens, 1969 as (Ambrose) Slade, 1993 as Slade II
resolution 1992
Founding members
Noddy Holder (until 1992)
guitar
 Dave Hill
Bass , guitar, violin , piano
Jim Lea (until 1992)
Don Powell (until 2020)
Current occupation
Vocals, keyboard
Russell Keefe (since 2019)
guitar
 Dave Hill
bass
 John Berry (since 2003)
former members
Vocals, guitar
 Noddy Holder (until 1992)
Bass, guitar, violin, piano
 Jim Lea (until 1992)
Drums
 Don Powell (until 2020)
guitar
 Steve Makin (1993)
bass
 Craig Fenny (1993)
bass
 Trevor Holliday (1993-2000)
Vocals, guitar
 Steve Whalley (1993-2005)
bass
 Dave Glover (2000-2003)
Vocals, guitar
 Mal McNulty (2005-2019)

Slade is since 1966 existing four glam rock - and hard rock band from Wolverhampton , a then to the county Staffordshire belonging industrial city in the English Midlands . With 17 top twenty hits, six of them number 1, three number 2 and two number 3, they were one of the most successful British bands of the 1970s.

Band history

Founding phase (1964–1969)

In 1964 the guitarist Dave Hill (born April 4, 1946) and the drummer Don Powell (born September 10, 1946 as Donald George Powell) together with the guitarist Mickey Marston, the bassist Dave Jones and the singer John Howells formed the group The Vendors . A short time later, the first Dave Hill / John Howell's composition "Don't Leave Me Now" appeared in their own production. A year later the band was renamed the 'N Betweens and an EP was produced for the French market . In the spring of 1966, singer and guitarist Noddy Holder (born June 15, 1946 as Neville John Holder) from the band Steve Brett & The Mavericks, who had already founded his first band in 1959, the Rockin 'Phantoms, from which the Memphis Cut in 1963, joined them -Outs were. Shortly afterwards, the multi-instrumentalist (bass, violin, keyboard) Jim Lea (born June 14, 1949 as James Whild Lea) joined the 'N Betweens.

At that time, the band accompanied the singer Johnny Howells and played rock 'n' roll - mainly Chuck Berry - and Motown pieces. In April 1966 the group went their own way and Holder took over the vocals. The group gained local prominence within a few weeks. American producer Kim Fowley contacted them during a trip to the Tiles Club on Oxford Street in London . A little later, the single You Better Run (originally by the Young Rascals ) was released and rose to number 1 in the local Wolverhampton charts. Kim Fowley soon lost interest in the band, especially since an additionally produced promo single in the United States was ignored.

On May 18, 1968, the band left for an eight-week club engagement in the Bahamas. Their hotel bill was only paid by the club for two weeks, however, because the hotel owner had changed and they mainly played for the black part of the population, with which their host made no money. So after six weeks they were presented with a bill for US $ 35,000 that the band could not settle. Since the new hotel manager Dan Darrow was quite satisfied with her musical performance, he committed her for an indefinite period to allow her to pay off her debts. During this time the 'N Betweens expanded their repertoire considerably and the cohesion of the band was also strengthened. They could not leave the Bahamas until the end of August.

Promotion (1969–1971)

The 'N Betweens became Ambrose Slade in 1969 . Ex- Animals - electric bass player and Hendrix discoverer Chas Chandler became aware of the band, which had since found a following as a live band. He became the group's manager and producer . The band name was shortened to Slade , and on Chandler's instructions the musicians now wore stage clothes and hairstyles in the style of the then current skinhead fashion (including short-shaven hair, nailed shoes and studded jeans), which was to bring them into a scandal-ridden pioneering position in London. But appearances in the working youth scene in London's East End did not achieve the commercial success they had hoped for and club owners refused to let the band perform because they feared thugs in the audience at their concerts.

Then Slade, again on the advice of their manager Chas Chandler, based themselves on the good 60s look of the then quite popular singer and songwriter Gilbert O'Sullivan . Chandler persuaded them to concentrate on their own material, a task that Lea and Holder took care of after a few experiments with changing partnerships. Her second album Play It Loud (1970) under the new name Slade , in which drummer Don Powell still played an important role as co-writer, did not make it into the charts, so that some songs for the later hit album Sladest (1973) recycled. After increased touring efforts and radio appearances, Slade's first EP Get Down and Get With It finally hit the English charts in 1971 . Her next single Coz I Luv You reached number 1 on the UK charts.

The idiosyncratic title spelling of Coz I Luv You , which from now on was used for numerous Slade singles, goes back to the local patriotism of the band, which felt connected to the English Black Country and the special accent of this industrial region of the West Midlands , its inhabitants often differentiate themselves from people with the accent of neighboring Birmingham , where the so-called Brummies (nickname for the inhabitants of Birmingham) come from.

Fame (1971-1976)

Since October 1971, Slade were part of the glam rock scene because of their outfits . By 1976, all of her singles made it into the UK's top 20, six of them at number one - a hit series the likes of which hadn't been seen since the Beatles. In Germany, too, Slade had nine top 10 placements at the time. Their pounding sound, the partly roaring vocals of Noddy Holder and the background vocals, which were mixed in in a way, as if entire football stadiums were accompanying the song, made up the typical Slade sound. Slade's support act for live performances at the time was often status quo .

After the sampler Coz I Luv You (1971), they released a live excerpt as their third album, which documented their years of stage experience. Alive! - recorded in autumn 1971 - was played in front of specially invited members of the Slade fan club in a theater.

In 1972 Slade toured the US for the first time as the opening act for Humble Pie , impressing Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley , who were about to form Kiss . Kiss later openly admitted to having adopted many elements such as the crowd cheers, their album title Alive and the pounding rhythm of the songs from Slade. After all four Slade singles from 1972 reached number 1 or 2 in England, they made it to first place in the charts with Cum on Feel the Noize for the first time since the Beatles with a title from zero in 1973 . The titles Skweeze Me Pleeze Me and Merry Xmas Everybody also achieved this jump . This Christmas single was placed in the UK Top 100 almost every year until the 1990s .

The hit singles Far Far Away and Everyday from 1974 were catchy ballads in contrast to their earlier successes . The drummer Don Powell had particularly distinguished himself here. Powell, however, was drunk in a serious car accident on July 4, 1973 and completely lost his memory and sense of taste; his girlfriend Angela Morris was killed. It took a few years for Powell's health to fully stabilize. Jim Lea's brother Frank helped out with Slade for the tour that was already planned. Don Powell was back on the drums during the sessions for My Friend Stan , as his doctors supposedly had urgently advised him to do so.

From August to mid-October 1974, the four musicians shot their only musical film Slade in Flame, directed by Richard Loncraine . After the film had already shown in 30 British test cinemas in January 1975, on the evening of February 13, 1975 a. a. Elton John , Mott the Hoople , Suzi Quatro , Jane Birkin , Gary Glitter and Queen at a midnight reception in the "Metropole Theater" in London.

In the US , Slade were primarily known as an East Coast and Midwestern phenomenon. In 1975 they mostly played as the opening act for Black Sabbath , Ten Years After , ZZ Top , Aerosmith and Kiss and thus reached half a million concert-goers. Since 1976, her success has rapidly diminished due to her lack of stage presence in the UK. In the unsuccessful attempt to make a name for themselves in America, the group lost contact with their homeland with a series of American tours and the album Nobody's Fools recorded in New York , so that the British media began to speculate whether the musicians were about to be out would have made a change of residence for tax reasons. Your 1977 album Whatever Happened to Slade? then dealt with the time in the United States; however, the album flopped. From then on, none of their albums could achieve silver or gold status. Another film project was refrained from.

Period of Crisis (1976–1980)

When the Slade contracts with Polydor in England and Warner in the USA expired at the end of 1976, Chas Chandler quickly founded "Barn Records". Chandler was able to continue to use the distribution structures of these two major labels , but had difficulties with the emerging punk and new wave scene. In the early 1970s there were only four major producers in Britain who could practically divide the singles market among themselves: Robert Stigwood , Mickie Most , Tony Visconti and Chandler himself. Punk rock and new wave put an end to this cartel. The scene was short-lived and chaotic, so that the planning security that a large company depends on was lacking. "Barn Records" was becoming more and more obsolete. The turning point brought Jim Lea's brother Frank, who founded the Cheapskate label in 1980 and also tried guerrilla tactics: Together, the brothers started the session project “The Dummies”. Together they produced alternative versions of Slade hits in Chas Chandler's Portland studio. Frank Lea distinguished himself as a somewhat amateurish but capable promoter and was able to win Chas Chandler as a business partner. Together they indulged in the newly broken independent fever and brought a lot of obscure records onto the market, with Slade and Sue Wilkinson as the mainstay of sales.

At the end of the 1970s, the band was at a financially low point and then found themselves in an interpersonal crisis - Slade was about to split. Hardly any of the band members believed in Slade's survival due to the resulting crisis of meaning, especially since the mass taste seemed to have migrated from classic rock to punk and new wave. One orientated further; Dave Hill, for example, got into the car rental business and barely had time for the band.

Comeback (1980–1987)

Slade returned to the stage in August 1980 when they were persuaded to headline the Reading Festival for Ozzy Osbourne at the last moment before the final breakup, despite the band's disaffection. At the beginning, the organizers feared a mass uprising. After the shrill whistles at the first songs, Slade delighted the audience so much, to their own surprise, that by the end of the concert they had already played all the big hits and for their last encore only the Christmas number one hit Merry, which the audience demanded Xmas Everybody stayed to play. Since Slade wasn't on the bill, they played on a tip basis. Chas Chandler was very stingy, just like with the movie "Flame". The basis for further cooperation was no longer given despite the new success. The following open-air performance by Castle Donington in front of 200,000 rock fans ensured a further consolidation of record sales. A few years later the band processed their crisis and the unexpected resurrection in the song "Do You Believe in Miracles?"

With a new record deal and renewed enthusiasm, they released their cheerful heavy rock album Til Deaf Do Us Part in 1981 , which brought them incomparable comparisons with Iron Maiden . In the same year, Quiet Riot covered Cum on Feel the Noize , and suddenly the US audience first noticed them. In 1983 the Slade singles My Oh My and Run Runaway appeared in the European charts. My Oh My even reached number 2 in England. These two singles were also successful on the other side of the Atlantic, as was the accompanying album The Amazing Kamikaze Syndrome (Europe) / Keep Your Hands off My Power Supply (USA). Despite staying in the rock genre, Slade now sounded more modern, often moving close to heavy metal until 1982 (e.g. with the song We'll Bring the House Down ), thus ensuring a rejuvenation and renewed interest in rock music in the first half of the 80s. The move to Queen producer John Punter also brought about a change in the recording technology: While the band used to record everything in a live situation in the studio, there were now recording dates with an individual schedule for each individual.

Although they released two more studio albums in 1985 with Rogue's Gallery and 1987 with You Boyz Make Big Noize , and in 1985 with Crackers - The Christmas Party Album (with only one new song (“Do You Believe in Miracles?”)) They placed themselves in again the English charts, but were only occasionally able to convince creatively, for example with the rock rap You Boyz Make Big Noize , which, however, could not rank and was not included on the album of the same name.

Dissolution (1987–1992)

Slade has not given concerts since 1984 because Jim Lea, who was severely infected with liver disease, and Noddy Holder, who had to cope with a serious marital crisis and subsequent divorce, persistently refused to perform. A love-hate relationship with the common repertoire that has grown over the years may also have played a role. Noddy Holder once revealed to Slade biographer George Tremlett: “I always thought our titles were a little too stupid. The worst was with Mama Weer All Crazee Now . We didn't like the title at all and only got used to it after we had played it often enough. ”As early as 1987, after the unfortunate recording sessions for the album You Boyz Make Big Noize , which, like the 1985 LP Rogues Gallery, was a Jim- Lea solo album with Noddy Holder as a guest singer and Hill and Powell as extras, Noddy announced his departure within the band in order to embark on a career as a radio DJ, television comedian (The Grimleys) and advertising model (Nobby). In 1989 Dave Hill and Noddy Holder tried a short-lived project called "Blessing in Disguise" and released a barely noticed single. The main band got together sporadically - one of the last highlights for their most loyal fans was the 1991 convention, at which Slade appeared again for a short song.

In 1991 the band released a CD album called Wall of Hits , a hit collection that also included two new songs. Slade said goodbye with the songs Radio Wall of Sound (GB # 21) and Universe , after which Noddy Holder and Jim Lea got out. The group had their last appearance in the original cast with a playback appearance for Universe in Thomas Gottschalk's ["RTL Nightshow"] broadcast in 1991.

Thanks to the singles that have been re-released over and over again - in particular the hit Merry Xmas Everybody , which is regularly reissued at Christmas time - the Slade songwriters Holder and Lea continue to have ample royalty income. In May 1993, Far Far Away was re-released in Germany and ranked 19th. The occasion was a commercial of the clothing company C&A with this song. The band's first number 1 hit, Coz I Luv You (1971), was featured in several Ford commercials in 2005 for the 40th anniversary of the Ford Transit .

Slade II (1993-present)

Mal McNulty with Slade at Sofia Rocks Fest 2011, Bulgaria

In 1993 the name "Slade II" first appeared on concert posters. The band with lead guitarist Hill and drummer Powell toured mainly Europe and Australia for two months . In the second half of the 1990s , however, they appropriated the old name again. With two albums ( Keep on Rockin ! , 1996 and Cum on Let's Party ! , 2002), but especially with live performances accompanied by Steve Whalley (vocals) and Dave Glover (bass), they regularly kept their old fans in German-speaking countries Oldie nights in a good mood.

In 2000, Don Powell made a small appearance in the period film "Lorna Doone".

On September 9, 2002, the original band members were awarded an honorary doctorate for their services to British pop music by the University of Wolverhampton , but Noddy Holder ruled out a reunion.

Slade had numerous appearances in places that sound exotic for a well-known western rock band: Volgograd , Krasnoyarsk , Novosibirsk (Russia) or Płock (Poland). Also noteworthy is an appearance in the Moscow Olympic Stadium, which was partially subsidized by the Russian government , if you consider that in the early 1970s Don Powell was literally thrown out of an East Berlin television studio for chewing gum.

In June 2005 the singer Steve Whalley left the group to devote himself to a little more gentle rock music. On the recommendation of Andy Scott , Mal McNulty came to Slade for him, who has a voice pitch similar to that of Noddy Holder. On the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the rival band The Sweet , the two groups concluded a tour alliance for the first time and announced that the rivalries of the past were only fought among fans, but never between the individual band members. After all, there has been a good collegial relationship with Andy Scott since the time in the Bahamas , who kept the 'N Betweens company from time to time with his "Elastic Band". In early 2019, Mal McNulty left the band and was replaced by Russell Keefe.

On February 3, 2020, Don Powell announced on his website that he is no longer a member of the band.

Jimmy Lea released his album Therapy on February 15, 2007 under the name James Whild Lea . It contains 13 own songs that are not Slade-typical.

Awards

RSH gold

  • 1994: in the category "Promotional Song of the Year"

Discography

Studio albums

year title Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements
(Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes) 		Remarks
DE DE AT AT CH CH UK UK US USTemplate: chart table / maintenance / charts non-existent
1969 Beginnings - - - - -
First published: May 9, 1969
1970 Play It Loud - - - - -
First published: November 28, 1970
1972 Slayed? DE10 (40 weeks)
DE 		AT3 (12 weeks)
AT 		- UK1 (34 weeks)
UK 		US69 (26 weeks)
US
First published: November 1, 1972
Sales: + 20,000
1974 Old New Borrowed and Blue DE20 (20 weeks)
DE 		- - UK1
gold
gold

(16 weeks)UK 		-
First published: February 15, 1974
Sales: + 100,000
Slade in Flame DE41 (8 weeks)
DE 		- - UK6th
gold
gold

(18 weeks)UK 		US93 (14 weeks)
US
First published: November 29, 1974
Sales: + 100,000
1976 Nobody's Fools - - - UK14 (4 weeks)
UK 		-
First published: March 5, 1976
1977 Whatever Happened to Slade - - - - -
First published: March 21, 1977
1979 Return to Base ... - - - - -
First published: October 1, 1979
1981 We'll bring the house down - - - UK25 (4 weeks)
UK 		-
First published: March 13, 1981
Till Deaf Do Us Part - - - UK68 (2 weeks)
UK 		-
First published: November 13, 1981
1983 The Amazing Kamikaze Syndrome
( aka : Keep Your Hands Off My Power Supply ) 		DE9 (20 weeks)
DE 		AT17 (2 weeks)
AT 		CH5 (16 weeks)
CH 		UK49 (13 weeks)
UK 		US33 (23 weeks)
US
First published: December 3, 1983
Sales: + 50,000
1985 Rogues Gallery DE38 (8 weeks)
DE 		- CH13 (3 weeks)
CH 		UK60 (2 weeks)
UK 		US132 (6 weeks)
US
First published: March 29, 1985
Crackers - The Christmas Party Album - - - UK34
gold
gold

(7 weeks)UK 		-
First published: November 18, 1985
Sales: + 100,000
1987 You Boyz Make Big Noize - - - UK98 (1 week)
UK 		-
First published: April 27, 1987

gray hatching : no chart data available for this year

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ allmusic.com:
  2. ↑ https://www.rollingstone.de/slade-drummer-don-powell-via-mail-gefeuert-worden-1902335/
  3. ↑ RSH Gold Award 1994
  4. ↑ Chart sources: DE AT CH UK1 UK2 US