Slade were the biggest glam rock band of the 70s and graced more kids' bedroom walls than the Bay City Rollers. Sadly the quartet refused to take off the spangly hats and platform shoes, even as they entered the 80s, and subsequently lost the general public's attention. But while they were big they delivered some memorable moments. Noddy Holder and bass player Jim Lea are responsible for Slade's remarkable run of hits, making them one of the most successful song writing partnerships in the history of British popular music. Jim is as shy and retiring as Noddy is outgoing, but the combination of Jim's melodies with Noddy's lyrics – sung in his unmistakable rock‘n’roll voice – has produced memorably catchy songs that transcend any era or fashion. Part of the secret is that they were written and recorded quickly and instinctively, catching the essence of what a pop song should be, together with big sounding guitars and Don Powell's powerful drumming. The band's extraordinary career, which spanned 25 years and included a total of 38 UK hit singles, amongst which were seven Number 1's, is now celebrated with The Very Best of Slade album, presenting all their hits together for the first time ever. All the tracks are newly remastered.
First part of the disc focuses on the 70s and includes all their glam-rocking, foot-stomping anthems of the era, starting with Get Down And Get With It. The song titles, with their unique “phonetic” spellings, pre-dated the current text-message spelling revolution by 30 years, incurring the wrath of eminent academics and linguists as a result. But Slade had the last laugh. Coz I Luv You (1971), Look Wot You Dun (1972), Take Me Bak 'Ome (1972), Mama Weer All Crazee Now (1972), Gudbuy T' Jane (1972), Cum On Feel The Noize (1973) and Skweeze Me Pleeze Me (1973) are now part of the 21st Century's rock and roll lexicon. The album also includes three of Slade's biggest hits in the 80s - We'll Bring The House Down (1981), My Oh My (1983) and Run Runaway (1984). Even though it has made no fewer than eight separate chart entries over the years, the million-selling seminal Christmas tune Merry Xmas Everybody makes just one appearance on The Very Best of Slade! Even the band has been astonished by the song's annual resurgence, making it as much a part of the Yuletide festivities as roast turkey and the Queen’s speech. When the song was originally released in 1973 it shot straight to Number 1 and stayed there for five weeks – two of them after Christmas! The second part of the album completes Slade's collection of UK hits through the 70s and 80s including Lock Up Your Daughters (1981) and All Join Hands (1984) through to their last hit, Radio Wall Of Sound (1991) and the last song they recorded together in 1991, Universe.
With a string of pop anthems to their credit, these four boys from the Black Country dominated the UK charts between October 1971 and May 1975, making them the biggest selling UK singles band of the 70s. Three of Slade’s singles – Cum On Feel The Noize, Skweeze Me Pleeze Me and Merry Xmas Everybody entered the charts at No 1 – the first artists to achieve this. Slade were once described as the missing link between The Beatles and Oasis, the latter paying their own tribute by recording a version of Cum On Feel The Noize. In the USA artists as diverse as Kiss and Kurt Cobain have credited Slade as a big musical influence, with metal band Quiet Riot taking Cum On Feel The Noize to the top of the American charts in 1983. Although Slade have not recorded or performed together since 1991, guitarist Dave Hill and drummer Don Powell still perform live, Jim Lea has kept a low profile while studying for a degree in psychology and Noddy Holder has enjoyed a varied career post-Slade, becoming a presenter on many UK radio stations. He’s made a variety of TV appearances. He also found time to write his autobiography, Who’s Crazee Now.
