Artist:Slade
Song:Cum On Feel the Noize
Album:Get Yer Boots On: The Best of Slade
Slade was probably the most popular band in England in the early 70s. The 1973 single Cum On Feel the Noize was one of six #1 hits in England. But they were so desperate to make it in the US that they even moved there in 1975. Not only did that not help them in the US but it hurt them in England and I don't think they ever recovered. A version of Slade is still around. Slade was formed in 1966 in what is known as The Black Country in England. Guitarist Dave Hill, bassist Jim Lea and drummer Don Powell are all from Wolverhampton and lead singer Noddy Holder is from nearby Caldmore. This is a working class area in the West Midlands. In 1964, Hill and Powell were in The Vendors. They self released an EP. Holder was in Steve Brett & the Mavericks and they released three 1966 singles on EMI's Columbia label. The Vendors changed their name to the 'N Betweens. The two bands met on a ferry to Germany and ultimately Holder joined the 'N Betweens. Lea was a classically trained musician who auditioned to get into the 'N Betweens. They released a few singles but none of them went anywhere. Then they signed with Fontana Records and the band name was changed to Ambrose Slade. While recording the 1969 album Beginnings, their agent John Gunnel brought in his business partner to listen to them. That turned out to be The Animals bassist Chas Chandler and he became their manager. Beginnings didn't sell and Chandler hated it anyway because it was mostly covers. He wanted them to write their own songs. He also got them to adopt a tough guy image. They looked like skinheads. And he changed the band name to Slade. Then Chandler moved them from Fontana to Polydor. Though the 1970 album Play It Loud didn't sell, Slade finally was getting somewhere when their cover of the 1964 Little Richard hit Get Down and Get with It reached # 16 on the British Singles chart. With the early 70s rise of Glam Rock, Chandler changed Slade's look again. He had them grow their hair long and wear elaborate costumes. This was influenced by T. Rex. Lea and Holder wrote the 1971 single Coz I Love You. After Slade appeared on BBC's Top Of The Pops, the song topped the British charts. Then the 1972 album Slade Alive! was a hit. This was followed by the singles Take Me Bak 'Ome, Mama Weer All Crazee Now, Cum On Feel the Noize and Skweeze Me, Please Me. All four topped the British charts and all four were written by Lea and Holder and produced by Chandler. So now Chandler wanted Slade to take over America. But it didn't happen. Mama Weer All Crazee Now reached #76 on the Billboard Hot 100 and they never got any higher. Then Powell was seriously injured in a 1973 car crash that killed his girlfriend. Lea's brother Frank Lea filled in and and Powell returned in time to record Slade's final British #1 single Merry Xmas Everybody. BTW, that song is a Christmas perennial in England. Slade's decline in England was signified by the failure of the 1974 film Slade in Flame. And that's when Slade decided to move to the US. Not only did they not get over in America but they alienated their British fans who accused them of selling out. And that was it for Slade. They never really recovered though they had a couple of chart singles after Quiet Riot scored a big hit with their 1983 cover of Cum On Feel the Noize. That's when they had their highest charting single in America. You can get all of Slade's 70s hits on this budget comp. Slade split up in 1992. But Dave Hill reformed them and is the only original member. Powell remained with Slade until 2019. He currently leads his own band. Jim Lea and Noddy Holder got into production. They produced the 80s band Girlschool. Holder was a regular on the ITV sitcom The Grimleys and has made other TV appearances. Here's Slade performing Cum On Feel the Noize on the Dutch TV show TopPop Mar. 5, 1973.
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