Slade

Slade biography

Slade are a rock band from Wolverhampton, who rose to prominence during the glam rock era of the early 1970s. With 17 consecutive Top 20 hits and six number ones, the British Hit Singles & Albums names them as the most successful British group of the 1970s based on sales of singles. They were the first act to have three singles enter at number one, and all six of the band's chart-toppers were penned by Noddy Holder and Jim Lea. Total UK sales stand at 6,520,171, and their best selling single, "Merry Xmas Everybody", has sold in excess of one million copies.

Following an unsuccessful move to the United States in 1975, the band's popularity waned but was unexpectedly revived in 1980 when they were last minute replacements for Ozzy Osbourne at the Reading Rock Festival. The band later acknowledged this to have been one of the highlights of their career. The original line up split in 1992 but the band reformed the following year as Slade II. The band has continued, in various guises, to the present day.

A number of diverse artists have cited Slade as an influence, including 90s icons Nirvana and Smashing Pumpkins, punk pioneers The Ramones, Sex Pistols, The Undertones, The Runaways and The Clash, glam followers Kiss, Mötley Crüe, Twisted Sister, Quiet Riot, Poison and Def Leppard and pop-rock stalwarts Cheap Trick and Oasis.

The Illustrated Encyclopaedia of Music tells of Holder's powerful vocals, guitarist Dave Hill's equally arresting dress sense and the deliberate misspelling of their song titles for which they became well known.

Overview

Slade come from the Black Country area of the West Midlands: both the drummer Don Powell, and bass guitarist Jim Lea were born and raised in Wolverhampton, lead vocalist Noddy Holder was born and raised in the nearby town of Walsall, and lead guitarist Dave Hill was born in Devon and moved to Wolverhampton while a child. Writings by and about Slade frequently mention The Trumpet public house in Bilston as a band meeting place, especially in their early days. Slade have released over thirty albums, three of which reached number 1 in the UK Albums Chart.

The group dominated the UK charts during the early 1970s, out-performing chart rivals, such as Wizzard, Sweet, T. Rex, Suzi Quatro, Mud, Smokie, Gary Glitter, Roxy Music and David Bowie. The band achieved twelve Top 5 hit singles in the UK between 1971 and 1974, three of which went straight to number one. Of the seventeen Top 20 hits between 1971 and 1976, six made number one, three reached number two and two peaked at number three. No other UK act of the period enjoyed such consistency in the UK Top 40 and this feat was the closest any group had come to matching The Beatles' twenty two Top 10 records in a single decade (1960s). Slade sold more singles in the UK than any other group of the 1970s. In 1973 alone, "Merry Xmas Everybody" sold over one million copies globally, obtaining gold disc status. They toured Europe in 1973 and the US in 1974.

Biography from , the free encyclopedia.
It may not have been reviewed by a professional editor, and recent changes may not show up straight away. See the latest version of this article. Used under licence. Subject to disclaimers.