The history of the Slade group began in the 1960s of the last century. In the UK there is a small town of Wolverhampton, where The Vendors was founded in 1964, and was created by school friends Dave Hill and Don Powell under the guidance of Jim Lee (a very talented violinist).
How did it all begin?
Friends performed popular hits by Presley, Berry, Holly, performing on dance floors, as well as in small restaurants. The guys really wanted to change the repertoire and sing something of their own, but the public did not need it.
But one evening, the young musicians encountered another group in a similar institution, which made an unforgettable impression on the restaurant's visitors.
It was a real sensation! Members of an unusual group, dressed in "absurd" white scarves and top hats, "dressed" on stage as best they could, and the soloist even appeared in a coffin!
The repertoire of this group was very far from the usual, which shocked the regulars of the restaurant no less than the appearance of the performers.
And the expressive and sharp vocalist (a tall guy with fiery red hair) looked like a real punk, the fashion for which had not yet come into full force.
The restaurant "stood on the ears", and the group The Vendors wanted to lure the redhead to them. The guy's name was Noddy Holder. Still, the guys managed to get Holder into the line-up, and from that day on he became the "face" of the super-popular Slade group in the 1970s. But first, the team changed its name to In-Betweens and decided to try to conquer the London public.
The conquest of the London public by the Slade group
The guys themselves did not expect such a quick success, because Londoners are prim and demanding, and even The Beatles were first popular not in their homeland, but in Germany ... Most likely, the people missed just such an image of "the guys from next door".
In addition, the lyrics of their songs did not "sing" the traditional values of love or the beauty of nature, but had a sharp social meaning, were filled with protest and excellent knowledge of the problems of the youth of the urban outskirts.
The musicians inserted slang expressions into the songs, and each of their performances resembled a theatrical performance on the theme of "bad boys", with appropriate jokes, pranks, and clown disguises.
And of course, one cannot fail to note the excellent command of musical instruments and the high quality of the arrangements.
The appearance of the first creation of the group Slade
In 1968, after successful tours in Spain and Germany, the band again decided to change their name to Ambrose Slade. In the spring of 1969, the band released their first album, Beginnings.
More than half of the album's songs were non-original - the musicians made arrangements for other people's hits, the most successful of which was the Beatles' version of Martha My Dear.
The final formation of the team
Chas Chandler, a show business legend, came to one of the group's performances. He was a talented producer who felt that these funny, desperate guys were capable of something more ...
Chandler decided to change the image of the guys, make them cool - they dressed in leather jackets, high boots and shaved baldly. And the band's name was shortened to Slade. All these transformations were successful, intensified after the furore in the Rasputin club.
The institution had a scandalous reputation, the most inveterate audience gathered there. Chandler bet on scandal, and he was not mistaken.
However, the guys themselves quickly got tired of the “cool” images - they wanted to become “clowns” again. Therefore, the musicians soon returned to the old image - long "patles", plaid pants, hats decorated with mirrors ...
Top of the charts
The autumn of 1970 was marked for the group by the release of their second album, Play It Loud, which was based on blues compositions reminiscent of The Beatles. Despite the "Beatle" bias, the group's individuality was evident, which made it mega-popular with English music lovers, and then throughout the world.
Especially unusual was the vocal, which has no analogues. The Slade group was the first of the rock musicians who sounded the violin, which was virtuoso played by Jim Lee.
Even the most critical media noted that the group's performances are dominated by indescribable, clowning and expression. The Slade band just spouted ideas, such as handing out prizes to those viewers who managed to look like the band by changing their own appearance in their style. A holiday - that's what the guys were striving for in their performances.
The 1971 hit parade was topped by the group's song Coz I Luv You. Noddy Hodler and Jim Lee were highly regarded by Paul McCartney himself as the most significant representatives of modern rock, comparable to The Beatles.
The beginning of the 1970s is the time of the development of glam hard rock, combining melodiousness with deliberate pomposity and theatricality.
In 1972, the albums Slayed and Slade Alive were released, in which hard hard rock was already more pronounced, although, of course, melodiousness was not canceled either. A significant achievement of the group was the "live sound".
In 1973, the album Sladest was recorded, and a year later - Old New Borrowed and Blue. The hit Everyday is considered the best rock ballad even today. The second album was immediately re-released in the USA and broke all sales records in two weeks - 270 thousand copies were sold!
Such success led to the fact that in 1974 the group went on a tour of the United States. Despite the significant success, critics reacted to this tour very harshly. The musicians did not pay much attention to journalists.
Film featuring Slade
The "star disease" was not peculiar to them either, the guys remained simple and natural. According to their status, they could "star" much more, so their modesty was amazing.
Soon the musicians took part in the work on the feature film In Flame. The film was very curious, but still was unsuccessful. The new album Slade in Flame improved things, with the songs from the movie becoming very popular.
Difficult band years
But 1975-1997. did not add to the glory of the group almost nothing. The performances were as successful as before, but it was no longer possible to conquer the top of the charts. The biggest success of this period is the album Nobody's Fools.
In 1977, the songs on the Whatever Happened to Slade album sounded hard rock with punk elements (in accordance with the newfangled trends). However, this success could not be compared with anything.
In the 1980s, when heavy metal finally took over the minds of music lovers, the group re-entered the musical arena with the single We'll Bring The House Down, for the first time in a long time it hit the charts. Then came the self-titled album. His style is too hard, one might say, metal rock and roll. In the summer of 1981, there was significant success at the Monsters of Rock festival.
"Your guys" have matured
From 1983 to 1985 two powerful and deep albums were released - The Amazing Kamikaze Syndrome and Rogyes Gallery. And the album The Boyz Make Big Noizt (1987) is filled with farewell nostalgia. There was no more fun and clowning. The children grew up and perceived the world differently.
In 1994, Hill and Powell tried to resurrect the band by bringing together a few young musicians, but the only album proved to be their last. The group finally broke up.
Unlike many bands from the 1970s and 1980s, Slade has not been forgotten to this day. 20 albums and many great hits are appreciated by modern music lovers and rock lovers.
