I have slowly been working my way through the 1001 Albums… book and have recently listened to Slayed? by the Wolverhampton Quartet. Reading reviews by people who have already started this challenge, I find that they are often ridiculed, dismissed as stupid and compared to darts players etc. Yes, the ‘spelling’ is a gimmick that doesn’t work anymore, but is it really worth getting hung up about?
I was born a generation too late to appreciate the band at their peak, but my Dad loved them, and so did many, many people. They are, in terms of sales, the most successful singles band of the 70s and yet they are hardly ever mentioned these days, expect in reference to that Christmas hit.
By 1975 of course, they were past their peak. But perhaps their death knell was the explosion of punk, or was it the Reeves and Mortimer pisstake, or even the fact they were adored by Oasis.
These days, when discussing Glam Rock (of which they were surely one of the leading lights?) they appear to be dismissed as a footnote, purely for not being T-Rex or David Bowie (i.e. fashionable)