Slade & Glam Rock...

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by siebrand, Feb 12, 2019.

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  1. Purple Jim

    Purple Jim Senior Member

    Location:
    Bretagne
    I was a serious hard rock/blues rock fan in the early 70s so I really looked down on all the glam-rock bands passing through Top Of The Pops as not being worth much musically.
    Slade however were fun and had great singalong songs, same with Mud . I only liked Sweet's Ballroom Blitz at the time. TRex came across as too airy-fairy (but I now like a lot of Bolan's work).
    I thought The New York Dolls looked like a poor Stones parody when they appeared on The Old Grey Whistle Test but I really got into their two albums once punk kicked in (I finally got it).
    Bowie was the exception. Through the glam it was obvious that he was a true great (and he had Rono on guitar!).
     
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  2. Randoms

    Randoms Aerie Faerie Nonsense

    Location:
    UK
    Some great interviews and history here.

     
  3. Randoms

    Randoms Aerie Faerie Nonsense

    Location:
    UK
    That's a great observation and probably true for many. In the early '70's many "serious rock fans" didn't take "pop" music seriously and there was a big divide between singles and album bands. However good, T. Rex, Slade, Sweet and ABBA were, in some quarters they were not seen as "proper" musicians and the music not "mature" enough. The Beatles were moptops for a similar length of time, if not longer than Glam, but treated differently.

    In the video above Perseverance: The Story of Slade, they were talking about the lack of recognition, despite at one stage being the third most successful band after The Beatles and Stones

    You mention Rono, a brilliant guitarist and arranger, but it is only recently that I have appreciated what a good guitarist Andy Scott of Sweet is. Despite hearing obviously good playing on albums, those Top Of The Pops images last a long time.....
     
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  4. siebrand

    siebrand music lover Thread Starter

    Location:
    Italy
    It seems you are Slade Fan.. ;)

    I am, too.....
     
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  5. Randoms

    Randoms Aerie Faerie Nonsense

    Location:
    UK
    As a youngster I loved the image and performances on TOTPs (Top Of The Pops) and bought a few singles, but seeing Slade live was even better.

    Slade Alive! is a great live album to listen to, but being in a crowd all having a fantastic time watching and listening to a band also looking like they are having a good time, playing great songs more than competently with a singer as good as Noddy was pure joy.

    People get so hung up on the image, but Slade were always a fantastic live band who also happened to record some great music. The reason I posted the videos of the singles, is that I'm sure many outside of the UK probably don't realise just how successful Slade were.

    Here is a link to their Official UK Chart positions.

    Slade | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company
     
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  6. Sear

    Sear Dad rocker

    Location:
    Tarragona (Spain)
    Slade is one of my favorite bands and Old new borrowed and blue their best LP IMHO ("Sladest" compilation aside)
     
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  7. siebrand

    siebrand music lover Thread Starter

    Location:
    Italy
    for me, too.
    Old, new, borrowed and blue is my favourite.
    But I must say... that great live album (Slade Alive") for many unknown, it is and remains one of their best albums...:righton:
     
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  8. Purple Jim

    Purple Jim Senior Member

    Location:
    Bretagne
    Abba anecdote: I was at the Reading Festival in 1977 to see Thin Lizzy, Aerosmith... John Peel was doing his spot as DJ, it was mid to late afternoon between acts and he put Abba's Fernando on (with that long intro). It went on for about 30 to 60 seconds then everyone realised - Abba??! WTF??? !!! - and started jeering and shouting. Peel simply replied "Just checking to see if you were all awake" :D
    That illustrates the divide between the rock audience and the pop audience. That has little to do with Glam but you would never hear Sweet, TRex or Gary Glitter either. That was another universe entirely.
    Also, a year earlier, it felt quite surprising that Top Of The Pops regulars 10cc were on the bill at Knebworth with The Stones, Lynyrd Skynyrd and Todd Rundgren. Imposters! It turned out that they were brilliant and they rocked the... field.
     
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  9. R. Cat Conrad

    R. Cat Conrad Almost Famous

    Location:
    D/FW Metroplex
    It's amusing that Slade has almost been relegated to second tier status or worse over time. The only reason I can think of for this occurance is that the group never quite connected on this side of the pond, ...not that they didn't try. In the U.K. Slade took the poll position as the pop hit successors to the Beatles for years. All the other categorizations, such as glam rock, hard rock, etc., fall short of describing what they accomplished in a fairly short period of time. Originally, they were a "skinhead" group, not to be confused with what that term means in the U.S.. The late 60's UK skinhead movement was part of the mod vs. rocker clash, which is almost forgotten now.

    Slade's image makeover coincided with their development as a songwriting team. Their approach should be seen as filling the void left by the Beatles break-up, with an additional twist, Slade wanted to be the working class equivalent of the Beatles. Their music poked fun at the dignified efforts to legitimize rock through posh culture. D'ese geezers mizspelt evything intenshnally, proud yobs fer shure. And their appeal, style-wise visually and Street-wise musically, was directed to younger music fans who'd grown up with little attachment or interest in their predecessors and other mainstream 60's rock.

    Remember, the Beatles quit performing live in '66. Slade was all about performing live and energizing the crowd and there are some excellent live videos demonstrating this..

    The amazing thing about Slade's music is that it has immediate charm in it's simplicity while creating anthems for a new generation of teen music fans (circa '70 - '75). While on the topic of anthems, they churned out music later covered and made hits by metal bands who lacked the ability to create anything nearly as compelling outside of solos by technically stronger shred guitarists. Cum On Feel the Noize and Mama, We're All Crazy Now are both powerful songs little changed from the originals when reissued to hit singles status in the U.S. by Quiet Riot.

    The thing to remember about Slade is the seductive quality of their music, not their overall musicianship. Noddy's distinctive raspiness can be fairly compared to Bon Scott, Rod Stewart, Steve Marriott and one or two others, but his delivery was distinctly his own and he was certainly capable of reining-in his vocals on ballads. His stage presence reminds me a bit of Bon Scott, as Noddy was always cognoscent of where the camera was and how to take full advantage of it. Of coarse, Noddy also played rhythm guitar, but you tend to forget that watching him strut around while firing up the audience.

    As a frontman, Noddy was generous at sharing the stage with his band-mates. Slade was sorta like a Fab Four for the seventies, each musician had a following. Slade's one film effort, "In Flame", is an excellent flick, with a script that grappled with the controversial topics of pirate radio stations and record company abuse. Good direction with above average acting from the principles, Slade is depicted as a fictional band trying to achieve creative success in a business less interested in music than profit.

    If I were rating this film, I'd place Slade's film In Flame above The Beatle's Help. Both films have their share of zany moments, but In Flame has a much more cohesive plot that's distinctly British ...as the whole pirate radio station thing lacks context for a U.S. audience today..., but it's definitely worth the time as a very good movie about rock and as a snapshot of the times.

    Flame (1975) - IMDb

    :cheers:
    Cat
     
    Last edited: Feb 20, 2019
  10. Randoms

    Randoms Aerie Faerie Nonsense

    Location:
    UK
    I don't know if you went in 1980, but that was my first Reading Festival and whilst I wanted to see Ozzy, I'd heard the rumour that it was Slade who were replacing them and wanted to get a place near the front. Unlike most of the other big bands people didn't seem in a hurry to get to the front of the stage and my girlfriend, a couple of friends and me easily got a great spot.

    After the first couple of minutes Slade were really rocking the place and the fields were rapidly filling up. The vast majority, despite their initial misgivings had a great time and were shouting for more long after Slade had left the stage.

    Very happy memories of this, Reading Festival 1980:

     
    Last edited: Feb 20, 2019
  11. Man at C&A

    Man at C&A Senior Member

    Location:
    England
    Didn't this revive their career in the UK? I have the 7 inch EP. Rockin' stuff.
     
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  12. Randoms

    Randoms Aerie Faerie Nonsense

    Location:
    UK
    From being on the verge on breaking up pre-Reading, it wasn't until 1992 that Noddy followed by Jim left Slade, so Reading literally changed their lives.

    By 1981 they had a few more fans!

     
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  13. LilacTeardrop

    LilacTeardrop "Roll It Over My Soul...and Leave Me Here"

    Location:
    U.S.
    This is for members who have open minds for 21st Century artists. :righton: You're on this thread, you should like this band!!
    This is one who has that retro-glam rock thing going on. Keifer Sutherland signed 'em to his Ironworks Label. They put out one release & disappeared (although lead singer, Davis LeDuke, emerged several years later in band, Bad Things...different sound)

    Hope some members will discover new/new-to-them music they enjoy. For anyone who enjoys glam-rock, particularly, New York Dolls (who I think of as being first punk band, but they cross-dressed & were also glam...think that's a talent, too - merging different genres.)

    Billy Boy On Poison - Drama Junkie Queen (lp: 2009)
    :edthumbs::edthumbs::edthumbs:
     
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  14. bob60

    bob60 Forum Resident

    Location:
    London UK
    [​IMG]
     
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  15. Randoms

    Randoms Aerie Faerie Nonsense

    Location:
    UK
    Not bad, as you say more New York Dolls, rather than Slade, who in my opinion had a great ear for melody.
     
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  16. Randoms

    Randoms Aerie Faerie Nonsense

    Location:
    UK
    Non-glam rock?
     
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  17. siebrand

    siebrand music lover Thread Starter

    Location:
    Italy
    I, as I was saying, the Slade them again, occasionally.
    But I limit myself to the first records. I have not followed everything they have done since the mid-eighties ...
    One of my brothers went to hear the current Slade last year...
    he says they were "funny" ... (which means ... precisely, nice music but without spirit as they had it years ago ... which, of course, is logical ... we too have grown old!) ...
    But if Dave and Don still play, and try to go on with Slade .. . of Noddy what we know? What about Jim Lea? do they still play? Where? What? with whom?
     
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  18. Randoms

    Randoms Aerie Faerie Nonsense

    Location:
    UK
     
  19. Bobby Morrow

    Bobby Morrow Senior Member

    Slade had 3 great albums to my ears. Slayed?, Old New Borrowed & Blue (my favourite) and Slade In Flame. I’d also add the compilation Sladest to this list. All great records that still I play today.
     
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  20. Randoms

    Randoms Aerie Faerie Nonsense

    Location:
    UK
    I would definitely add Slade Alive! to those.
     
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  21. Randoms

    Randoms Aerie Faerie Nonsense

    Location:
    UK
  22. Randoms

    Randoms Aerie Faerie Nonsense

    Location:
    UK
    Noddy in 2012, sadly Lynsey died two years later.

     
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  23. I think the whole 'Glam Rock' term is over thought. A lot of bands jumped on the bandwagon....Marc Bolan has long been thought of as the instigator of it.
    It really only lasted a few years...and bands like Slade and Sweet didn't take the whole image that seriously. They enjoyed overdressing and trying to outdo each other. Slade's Dave Hill was their main focus of image...often not showing the rest of the band what he was wearing till they went onstage. Sweet were taking the **** most of the time. I can recall Steve Priest saying Bowie tried to give them advice on applying make up during a appearance on Top Of The Pops. They just laughed because all they were doing was trying to get into Pan's People's (the female dancers on the show) dressing room.
    By 1974....Both bands were moving away from the so called 'Glam' image and moving towards a more album oriented Rock.
    The whole 'Glam' image which helped both bands would later hold them back...and neither were taken seriously as genuine Rock bands....which in my opinion... that's what they were.
    I love both....and truth be told, I'd take some of their albums over many of the so called big Rock bands of that 70's era.
     
  24. Randoms

    Randoms Aerie Faerie Nonsense

    Location:
    UK
    :righton:
     
  25. katieinthecoconut

    katieinthecoconut Forum Resident

    Location:
    United Kingdom
    I don't know much about glam rock and glam metal besides passively liking a handful of the biggest singles, but I did like this obvious pastiche of it when I was little...

     
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