Noddy Holder (vocals/guitar+songwriter),
Jim Lea (bass/violin+songwriter), Dave Hill (guitar) and Don Powell (drums).
From Wolverhampton, England, Slade created some of the most raucous pop tunes
ever to storm the charts and after outliving the glam era have become
affectionately regarded as something of a national institution. In 1970 the
band, in particular Dave Hill, cultivated an even more outrageous glam-rock
image and released long-time live favourite "Get Down And Get With It" which
took them into the UK top 20 for the first time. On BBC TV's Top Of The Pops
they were now donning tartan, top hats, stack heels and in Holder's case
outrageous sideburns.
At Chas Chandler's insistence Holder
and Lea began to write all the band's material relying on crunching riffs,
stomping beats, simple yet memorable lyrics and deliberately mis-spelt song
titles. The result was the number-one follow-up single "Coz I Luv You" (1971)
which was the first of an incredible six chart-toppers over the next three
years.These included "Take Me Back 'Ome", "Mamma Weer All Crazee Now", the often
covered "Come On Feel The Noize" and the rather dubious "Skweeze Me Pleeze Me".
The band's finest album from this
era, Slayed (1972) is now regarded as a classic. During their glam phase Slade
also produced arguably the best Christmas pop tune ever, "Merry Xmas
Everybody" (1973), which has re-charted most Christmases since. Slade have
always enjoyed a reputation as legendary live performers able to whip their
audience up into a boot-stomping frenzy, and there is no better illustration of
this than the 1972 album Slade Alive on which Holder punctuates a quieter moment
with a loud belch!
