The Afterword

Musings on the byways of popular culture

Menu

Navigation

You are here: Home / Reads / Whatever Happened To Slade

Whatever Happened To Slade

by 29 Comments

Author:Daryl Easlea

Anyone who, like me, began listening to music in the early 1970s will have been very much aware of Slade, one of the biggest bands of that time and seemingly ever present in the charts and on Top of the Pops. The hit singles, three of which went into the charts at number one (when that was still an almost unheard of achievement), the big selling albums such as Slayed and Old New Borrowed and New and let’s not forget the Slade in Flame feature film – they really were everywhere. Then suddenly they weren’t. What happened? Well, this long and very comprehensive book will tell you all. It charts the band’s beginnings in the 1960s beat boom and the early years of struggle with a notable lack of success, through into their explosion in the glam heyday of the early 70s. There’s plenty of detail on those glory days, the hit singles including half a dozen number ones, the big selling albums and the sell out tours. Perhaps it was the hubris of the Slade in Flame film that began the decline, or maybe they spent too much time and energy trying unsuccessfully to crack the potentially huge US market. Either way the decline in popularity was rapid and it wasn’t until the following decade that they eventually re-emerged as much more of a good time hard rock outfit whose live shows always seemed to deliver the goods, perhaps riding high on a wave of collective audience nostalgia for their teenage years. The departure of Noddy Holder marked the end of the band as we knew it really; it just wasn’t the same without his distinctive vocals and stage presence, even though a version of the band still tours today. The book also takes a fascinating in depth look at the post Slade careers of all the four members, which makes for illuminating reading. This is a very long, meticulously researched and detailed book, the best I’ve read on the band, and hours of new interviews have been sifted and distilled to produce what is probably the definitive final word on the band’s four-decade career with all its attendant sky highs and rock bottom lows – a bittersweet tale of fame and fortune won and lost if ever there was one.

Length of Read:Long

Might appeal to people who enjoyed…

Remembering when the whole world went crazee!

One thing you’ve learned

The book features an introduction by Sir Bob Geldof and an afterword by Jim Moir.

7

Comments

  1. I’m sure I’ll buy it, but… does it feature any new interview content from Nod, Jim, Dave or Don? I’ve read the (lengthy) sample extract via Amazon and I don’t believe there was any new words from the chaps in that sample.

  3. Sold – I have a couple of Slade books, and the potted biography in the box set. There was a doc a while ago which went from early days to the splitting up, but this book suggests it goes further.
    Cum on feel the thud on my doormat

  4. This sounds interesting. I love(d) Slade as a lad and retain a huge fondness for them. They were always so much more than the cartoon image and had real musical and songwriting ability; I think perhaps this was partly the cause of their ‘decline’ in that the public didn’t or couldn’t perceive them in any way other than that strong caricature. It was a double-edged sword in that the glam image certainly got the attention and ‘sold’ them (Dave was always proud of this role) but undermined their supposed credibility when they wanted to be seen more seriously (Jim, in particular, became very frustrated at their lack of respect as musicians, as he perceived it).
    It will be interesting to read an account and analysis of their relationships, particularly in relation to the split. It seems that Noddy and Jim became very estranged on a personal and professional level, which I find really sad. I’ve read Nod’s autobiography, which I found surprisingly flat and one-dimensional, and Dave’s which was much more engaging and insightful. Haven’t read Don’s yet, so this book promises to be an intriguing read
    Incidentally, it’s so great to see that Jim and Don are both active again, both separately and apart. Jim is a regular and successful feature with his new material on The Heritage Chart Show.

    • Ironically, it was when Slade diversified that their career stalled. Him wanted to follow his muse. The movie, Slade In Flame, was too gritty and grim for the teeny audience and its soundtrack, including brass and ballads, too varied. They turned their gaze to America and adjusted their sound to suit, but leaving their UK fans behind. By the time they came back, Glam was over and their fans had moved on to Pink Floyd or Led Zeppelin. They remained in wilderness until stepping in for Ozzy.

    • My Oh My – Christmas No 2 in 1983

      Run Runaway – No 7 in 1984

      All Join Hands – No 15 in 1984

      Radio Wall Of Sound – No 25 in 1991

      …and a few other minor hits here and there.

    • Correct – last minute replacement for Ozzy Osbourne at Reading Festival in 1980, down the bill lat the 1981 Monsters Of Rock Festival, We’ll Bring The House Down cracking the Top 10. By 1983 it looked like they may get another Christmas number 1 (My Oh My stalled at number 2) and then they finally get a hit single in America with Run Runaway.
      A US tour was cancelled when Jim Lea got hepatitis and Nod decided to retire from touring.
      They kept going for a few more years before success was no longer there (even if the songs were nearly as good as before) and amidst much arguing and acrimony, Noddy quite and Jim Lea soon followed.

      • I was at Donnington ‘81. A wet, miserable day. Slade were announced and an audible groan went up from the crowd as if to say, “Go on then, entertain us if you can”. Slade came out throwing bog rolls into the crowd and after about half of the opening number, they’d pretty much won the crowd over. Great fun and the surprise hit of the day.

      • Alive! At Reading is available to buy (it previously came out in 2022 as part of a live box set) although it appears BMG used a dodgy tape of the BBC broadcast. Better sounding/complete bootlegs are allegedly available.

  6. I really enjoyed their 80s revival. My Oh My was a proper, massive hit and Run Run Away slotted in nicely with contemporaries like Big Country, The Alarm and other bands who did the rousing anthem thang.

    I thought We All Join Hands was their Margherita Time, though.

    • Possibly an RCA driven attempt to tap into the Christmas market (the B Side was “Here’s To The New Year”).
      Followed soon after by Crackers – The Slade Christmas Party Album.
      No wonder they were disillusioned as a band.
      Slade is for life, not just the December celebration period.

  8. Slade were my first favourite band and Slayed was the first LP I bought. Their run of singles up to 1974 was superb, but the albums were good rather than great. I think the fact that they were a singles band counted against them with rock (rather than pop) audiences in the long run.

    I was introduced to Jimmy Lea at a club in London in the early 80s. I knew the woman he was going out with. I said hi, but thought it was too uncool to tell him how much I loved Slade and what a great songwriter he was, so I didn’t. I regret it still.

  9. Tribalism meant I never really allowed myself to like Slade. It was Slade or Wizzard, and as already a Move man, it was no contest. I remember friends playing me Darlin’ Be Home Soon from Slayed Alive, in an effort to convince me of their worth, and failing. (I preferred the Joe Cocker version)
    Not dissing just commenting on the strictness of my musical apartheid even back then.

Leave a Reply