Date:

Author:
Category:

The story of the band Slade, or how to gain fame when the Beatles rule the world?

The story of a band that managed to work their way to the pinnacle of fame when the music world was taken over by the Beatles

Slade: all about the glam rock legend.

If we talk about colourful styles in music, glam rock should be among the first: something loud, artistic and glittery (literally, because the second name of the genre is glitter rock).

The heyday of glam rock was in the 70s of the last century, but even now it continues to interest music lovers, because among the stars of glam rock were David Bowie and the band T-Rex and our guest today Slade.

Slade is one of the most "brilliant" names of the genre, the band owns a lot of bright hits, so we want to familiarise ourselves with its history a little more.

Slade.
Slade.

How it all started

According to the law of the time "British Invasion", it all started in England. At a time when The Beatles, Beach Boys and Elvis Presley owned the world's stages, the music world was slowly starving for something "new".

It was during that period that Jim Lee, Don Powell and Dave Hill were performing in clubs and restaurants. They too felt the need for something bright and new. And during one gig they met The Vendors.

The band made a sensation, exciting both the audience and young musicians. It was not only the playing, but also the incredible show that The Vendors put on stage, but the moment when the band's lead singer, Noddy Holder, appeared... from a coffin, was fateful. Literally. It was his new way of appearing on stage.

Jim, Don and Dave realised that they had to get this guy by all means. And they did, they lured the redheaded lead singer to join them and formed a new band called N'Betweens.

They didn't get much attention at first. The band's first single "You Better Run" just passed by and disappeared into time. But that hardly stopped anyone, because new changes were ahead.

To begin with, it was decided to take over London. The capital of the reserved English, fed up with songs about beauty and love, was not averse to something more edgy and topical, like seeing the "antics" of four musicians who protest and play the role of bad guys on stage. Their songs contained slang and the theme of pressing social issues. And the audience liked it, although it was not yet a real success, it was waiting for the foursome ahead.

The band changed their name to Ambrose Slade, toured Spain and Germany and released their first album "Beginnings", which mostly contained covers, but the covers were very good, with interesting vocals and violin.

During one of the performances, the band was noticed by the show business guru, former member of The Animals Ches Chandler. He immediately recognised the talent and decided to take the patronage over this blob of irrepressible hooligan energy called Ambrose Slade. And from that moment the real story of their success begins.

Meet Slade!

To begin with, Ches slightly changed the image of the band members: he gave them leather jackets, high boots, hair down, the name of the band became shorter: just Slade... This style was suitable for the performance in the club "Rasputin", which had a scandalous reputation in the city.

The shows were a resounding success, but the thing was that the musicians themselves were very fond of their "clown" image: what about the checkered trousers, long hair and hats with mirrors! Chandler relented and the guys were allowed to return to their favourite image.

They went on to release their second album, Play It Loud. Although the album itself didn't attract much attention, it was the album where the band's famous songs such as "Wild Winds Are Blowing" and "The Shape Of Things To Come" appeared.

After that two more singles were released, and here the Slade style can be clearly heard: lyrics with deliberate violation of spelling rules and again Jim Lee's unique violin! The single "Coz I Luv You" reached the top of the charts, and Paul McCartney himself began to speak well of the band, calling Slade significant representatives of the world of rock music.

The early seventies were the period of Slade's real heyday. 17 singles in a row became hits. The record at that moment was held by The Beatles - 22 hits in a row. In 1972 two albums were released: "Slayed" and "Slade Alive", in '73 - "Sladest" and "Old New Borrowed and Blue" in '74. And the song from the last album "Everyday" is still considered the best rock ballad in history. In the same year a film with the band members dedicated to the history of Slade was released.

Ups and downs

But then things didn't go so smoothly. Firstly, the band went on a long tour in the USA, and returned to a completely different England: glam rock was no longer popular, now everyone listened to punk rock and heavy metal, and Slade was practically forgotten. The live shows were still a big success, but the albums were no longer popular.

Slade had to adapt to the changing world of music. And they've succeeded. Clowning and tomfoolery were a thing of the past. In their place came heavy metal, deep meaning of songs and hidden nostalgia for bygone times. All this is in their albums "The Amazing Kamikaze Syndrome", "Rogyes Gallery" and "The Boyz Make Big Noizt". The greatest success of that period is the album "Nobody's Fools", the title of which reflects perhaps the sentiments of the band members: "Nobody's Fools".

However, even after the band broke up, it was not forgotten. Slade's hits are popular today, and the band members are among the top stars of glam rock.

LEAVE ANSWER

Please enter your comment!
please enter your name here

71 - 65 =

"Frampton: Peter's journey to success before the release of the album Frampton comes to life"

Peter Frampton 'Frampton' album cover - Provided by: UMG /* TFP - udiscovermusic.com - Above */ (function() { var opts = { artist: "", song: "", adunit_id: 100006177, detect_artist: true, div_id: "cf_async_".....
Recommended

What's SHAMAN's Little Brother, or the PR stunt that worked: The Neverlove Story

Neverlove band: history, vocalist Yaroslav Stepanov, tracks and clips Perhaps you have already seen a video on YouTube (and by the way, it is far from one), which...

Deep Purple: The Band That Trials Accompanied

Grim little-known facts about Deep Purple Deep Purple is one of the most legendary, yet darkest bands in the history of classic rock. Even their...

Ace of Base: The Fate of the Happy Nation Performers

Members of Ace of Base today: photos and facts In 1992, the debut album of the band Ace of Base was released. The single of the same name from it was instantly...

"Did One Song Split the Beatles?" - A Fresh Look at the Affairs of Yesteryear

The song "Cold Turkey" and the breakup of The Beatles The Beatles are a band that definitely needs no introduction. Being one of the most colourful and influential pioneers of...

The band "Jeopardy" has a healing effect

How the band "Bardak" heals the public The band "Bardak", playing real rock with pronounced hard rock and blues tones, continues to gain momentum. The album "Russkiy...

A turning point within Pink Floyd that turned into success and the subsequent split of the band

The moment when Pink Floyd had a split in Pink Floyd Pink Floyd is one of the most original and unique bands of classic rock. The work of this band is difficult to characterise: it is...

"A shy rebel and a drummer who could bang balls": the Rolling Stones' life before fame - part two

Life of The Rolling Stones before fame: Ronnie Wood, Charlie Watts, Keith Richards - part two In today's article, we continue to cover the lives of the members of the iconic band....

"Gas sector" - continuators or brazen plagiarisers

We're talking about the Gas Sector... oh, no, about "Gas Sector". Our article is devoted to the history of Moscow musicians. They were young, ambitious and loved punk rock. They have their own songs...

"Drunkenness, road accidents and frostbite": The fate of the "Gaza Strip" participants

We tell you what happened to the members of Sektor Gaza "Sektor Gaza" is a band that went down in the history of Russian rock. Its songs, full of sarcasm, irony and provocation,...