Author:Dave Hill
If you were growing up in the 70’s it was hard not to notice the glam and glitter of Dave Hill and Slade. Slade had 17 consecutive top 20 hits and 6 number 1’s, 3 of which entered straight into the top spot. Lifetime record sales are thought to exceed 50 million, making them one of the UK’s most successful bands ever. Even more remarkable is that Hill – now 71 – has been gigging for over 50 years with drummer Don Powell, and that the rebooted Slade with them at it’s core has been going as long as the “classic” Holder / Hill / Lea / Powell line up.
Hill is the 3rd of the originals to tell their story, some 18 years after Holder first told his. Hill has published his via book crowdfunding site Unbound which must have given Dave a lot more control over what’s in the book – which turns out to be mixed blessing.
The positives are that Hill gets to tell the story his way, and in his own voice (he was helped by Dave Bowler, a Midlands based writer). There’s no sensationalism and an agreeable matter of fact approach which most of the time makes it an engaging and enjoyable read. He loves playing and performing and is remarkably unpretentious about his “art”, coming across as a down to earth bloke who has put what life has thrown at him into perspective.
The downside is the lack of editorial discipline. Writing the book obviously put Hill in a frame of mind to take stock of his life, and whilst factors like your mother’s mental illness would play an important part in anyone’s life story, he keeps returning to the issue and stories like his mother’s attendance at the premier of “In Flame” are repeated. Although intended as a summary of Hill’s thoughts on his life, the final chapter rehashes a lot of was said in the early parts of the book and would have benefited from a bit more red pen. Being invited to play a gig in the Falklands is related in more length than making “In Flame” or indeed any aspect of the post classic band line up era. The lack of insight to things like the breakup of the original band, or the comings and goings from the “new” Slade line-ups, left me feeling that the book lacked depth. Not much dirt is dished, so if anything happened on the road it’s stayed there.
On stage Slade were a highly effective quartet. Off stage things were less balanced, heavily reliant on the songwriting of Holder and Lea and Holder’s distinctive voice. Hill, always interested in how he looked and what he wore, describes his contribution as the “entertainer”. Whatever Jim and Nod served up he took out and sold it, a full on showman in the metal nun outfit. There’s a slight sense that Hill thinks his overall contribution hasn’t always been properly valued. Having explained how he got married in secret to avoid upsetting the band’s fans it’s hard not to be sympathetic.
The differences in earnings that songwriting generates have done for many bands once that initial rush of success is supplanted by flash cars and house, wives and children. The imbalance within Slade isn’t directly discussed – there’s one passing reference to Hill and Powell getting a bollocking from management for “not pulling their weight” when the hits dry up. The pressure on Holder and Lea must have been considerable, as well as the financial returns so much greater. Hill argues that alongside not really wanting to write, he didn’t see the point given just how successful at it Holder and Lea were (or had been). A subsequent brief mention of getting a fairer deal once Chas Chandler steps down as manager suggests it may well have been a source of discontent but – perhaps a little disappointingly for the casual reader – Hill is letting bygones be bygones. Holder’s foreword provides clues acknowledging that Hill “is incredibly loyal, and protects the privacy of the Slade background and behavior fiercely” although they’ve “not always seen eye to eye” since Noddy left the band in 1991.
Hill relates how Slade were knocked hard by illness and plain bad timing with both Powell and Lea laid low when the band were on the cusp of breakthroughs. He also describes how he overcame an onstage stroke – and I think he sells himself short here in terms of the challenge he overcame to return to playing live again. Add to that getting knocked down in the street and a sustained period of depression, it’s’ a testimony to his drive and determination that he’s still gigging, playing the hits and entertaining. Long may it continue.
Length of Read:Short
Might appeal to people who enjoyed…
Udd speelingz
One thing you’ve learned
Dave was once used in a recording session instead of Jimmy Page,
dai says
Am sure it is a good read, but it seems to be the default these days to claim “50 million record sales” for anyone who has been around for a while. They were very big for about 3 years, I would probably divide that by at least 5.
Rigid Digit says
Enjoyed Noddys book – he too was somewhat light on detail about the band split.
Apparently (I’ve not read it), Don Powell’s book is closer to the truth, but still doesn’t break the wall of silence (wall of sound?)
I’ll get this to see Dave’s side of the story – any mention of Cup-a-Sop or using a saucer to create the perfect fringe?
Doubt there will be a Jim Lea take on the story – he seems to have distanced himself from all things Slade (or so I believe, I may be wrong …)
metal mickey says
There was a short (2-page) interview with Jim Lea in Mojo a few months back, so he’s not entirely turned his back on “The Biz”, though IIRC I think it was to promote a solo record of some kind…?
And regarding record sales, 50 million does sound a tad optimistic – Wikipedia has a scarily precise 6,520,171 sales in the UK, which must have been their biggest market, even doubling that across the rest of the world would be a big ask, though they’re allegedly “massive in Russia”, so who knows…
Junior Wells says
Thanks for that. Length described as shorter but you suggest it has a lot of rehashing and needs a hard edit. Be pretty short after that then.
fortuneight says
@dai – your comment about the 50 million prompted me to dig a bit further, but I’ve not found much. It’s from Wikipedia so it must be true …..
@Rigid-Digit – there’s a sensationalist piece from the online Mail where Holder is quoted as saying he hosted a dinner back in 1999 with a view to seeing if he could get the original band back together. It seems it didn’t go well. I might give Powell’s book a go.
@metal-mickey – I think this is the Mojo piece here – https://goo.gl/Yp5sBU . There does seem to be an album in the works. Maybe I haven’t had enough coffee but he comes across as a bit pleased with himself – underlined by me listening to this interview on Mixcloud – https://goo.gl/bcx4cM
metal mickey says
Yes, that’s the article, can’t believe it was over a year ago, I’d have put money on it being less than 6 months old… I don’t think he comes across too badly, though he’s not especially “engaged”… mind you, if I had one song that generated £500k every year (http://www.nme.com/blogs/nme-blogs/seasonably-rich-how-much-are-musicians-making-from-our-favourite-christmas-songs-12727), maybe I wouldn’t be that bothered either…
dai says
Song earns 500K. If that is true which is questionable, I wonder how that is divided up, writers may end up with 10% between them which reduces it to 25K each. That assume he hasn’t sold his publishing rights somewhere down the line.
Abergavenny Thursday says
I think Dave Hill, if not a born-again Christian, is quite religious, isn’t he? That on its own might explain him pulling his punches in the book. Not for him the sort of unhygienic German caper described in Noddy’s book.
fortuneight says
He talks about spending time searching for the meaning of life, and considering religions but it doesn’t seem to be something that is important to him now
davebigpicture says
I read that he was interested in the Jehovah’s Witnesses. Imagine him knocking on your door, trying to sell you a Watchtower. There’s a Reeves and Mortimer sketch right there.
Black Type says
Couldn’t be any more bizarre than Brother Michael or Brother Prince doing the same.
davebigpicture says
Yebbut, the glitter, the hat, the platform boots, not to mention the Superyob guitar!
Moose the Mooche says
JW’s always do their visiting two abreast.
fortuneight says
It would be a great use for the metal nun outfit
Lando Cakes says
Does it deal with his role as Elrond in the Lord of the Rings films?
Black Type says
Genuine LOL 🙂 ‘Take Me Bak ‘Ome (To Rivendell)’.
Lando Cakes says
Cum On Feel the Nazgûl
Gatz says
Mordor Weer all Crazee Now