Usually loud, brash, and even silly, UK's Slade once released a stunning, melodic rocker that would have fit nicely into another British foursome's canon.
Thanks, Punyhuman! Glad you liked! I'm doing what I can to scream "Slade!" into the American abyss against all the hero-worship to the yawn-inducing Bon Jovi's on the chart that always seems to drown me out! Slade had a small handful of poorly-promoted Warner Bros albums, but the UK also had acts that weren't even GIVEN U.S. deals (or, they were tossed a minor-label bone that led to nothing).....Showaddywaddy, Alvin Stardust, Arrows, and a couple others.
I feel like acts like Gary Glitter and David Essex had U.S. hits almost in spite of themselves, and "by accident" or one-off strokes of luck! They each had inconsequential follow-ups, and nothing that even approached something called a PR blitz by eithers' labels!
Been so slammed with projects I just was able to get to this, but I've been saving it for when I had time. Kudos to you for featuring Slade. I loved the band when they first showed up, and long assumed they were much bigger than they actually got--because they should have been huge! What a unique yet familiar sound. Saw you mentioned Suzi Q in your listing of glam-adjacent artists. For those who are interested, I wrote about her a year ago: https://medium.com/the-riff/kicking-the-doors-down-suzi-quatro-d3f74ffdeb14
Thanks for dropping your Quatro link......I hope our readers give it a look! Slade was never gonna be as huge as they were in the UK. Much like Showaddywaddy, The Wombles, Mud, Alvin Stardust, Slik, and so many other Brit-forward artists, it just became impossible for these artists to relate to the American audience. The ones I mentioned above didn't/couldn't even land a U.S. recording contract, and Warner Bros. promoted Slade as best they could....although when you look at Warners' '73 roster, Slade (it almost didn't matter what they sounded like) looked like so many circus folk!
Put Slade's songs in denim and short hair, brand 'em Bon Jovi, Springsteen, or Tom Petty, and they'd-a hit the stratosphere!
Sadly, you are probably right. Image drives way too much of how people "get" music. Though some artists can transcend it all--I went to see Bowie at the height of "Ziggy" and the arena was packed with 20,000 people in full glitter and gender-ambiguous get-ups. I actually miss the craziness!
Great piece on a great song by a great band. I produced two Slade comps for Shout! Factory about 20 years back, one greatest hits and on odds n sods, and I made damn sure to wedge this one onto the latter!
Well, and regardless of the task with which you were charged, you HAD to shoehorn it in somewhere (or, you'd-a hear from me)!!!😉
Dang, Dan! Color me impressed! THAT Shout! Factory assignment (among other things, I'm sure) explains the orange check mark! Always the self-professed Anglophile, I was on Slade back in the day, only because they were part of so much that was going on "over there," but gotta say, this was not only the thing that, for me, stuck out, but BOY did it stick out! Thanks for sharing that! What a cool gig!
It was very cool indeed - but really, the best part was dialing the phone number I’d been given for Noddy, so I could interview him for the Greatest Hits liners. A gruff and indistinguishable voice picked up and grunted a non-commital greeting. Me: “This is Dan Epstein from Shout Factory calling for Noddy Holder.” Voice on other end: “THIS IS HEEEEE!” I almost squealed like a little kid.
Good Lord, Dan....are you writing about any of this?! As Substack's self-imposed Rona Barrett ("we snoop to conquer"), these sound like perfect dirt-dishing stories our dedicated FR&B lounge-lizards-with-pencils are toiling at on a daily basis! There needs to be a place to air these stories....this space for rent, cheap, I guess is what I'm saying!😁👍
I've actually been meaning to post this story, but I'm waiting until I can find the transcription (or the actual tape) of my Noddy interview. I wasn't always as diligent about filing and organizing my interviews as I should have been — and moving eight times or so since then has probably contributed to its current MIA status. Keep hope alive, though — and in the immortal words of Nod, KEEP ONNNN ROCKINNNN!!!
I'm gonna take a shot and guess that we're talking smack dab in the middle of 1975. Slade and Wright could've been traveling as an opening duo, both being on Warner Bros.-owned labels (Reprise for Slade, Warner proper for Wright). As such, they could travel together, joining this headliner or that one as they crossed the country.
I've got a Wright story: Likely '75, also, Wright headlining on his "The Dreamweaver" hit and album. Opening? Roxy Music (likely off their "Siren" album, on Atco, an Atlantic subsidiary..as such, Wright and Roxy still could be corporately subsidized on the road, as WB and Atlantic were part of the WEA conglomerate...Warner/Elektra/Atlantic....Label Nerd, party of one!).🙋♂️
Anyway, me and my gaggle of hipster friends couldn't be bothered by the AM-ready Wright, so as soon as Roxy finished their set, we were history! High point? This was Houston (Sam Houston Coliseum, a huge venue), and at the time, Bryan was still dating Dallas native, Jerry Hall (just a couple years before she discovered Jagger). I had floor seats, and of course, Jerry would've been front and center, and at one point, I spotted her walking down the aisle toward, and right past me! A cool moment!
Great flyer! Yeah, with that bill configuration, you had to sit thru Wright! In September, Wright had released his album two months before, but the eventual hit single ("Dream Weaver") wouldn't be released from it til December '75.
That explains him as the opener for your show, and his headlining over Roxy in February '76...by that time, the single was already a hit! The road is littered with touring acts who start a tour as the opener of three, have a hit single, and several weeks later, they're leapfrogging over their headliner!
What an ace article about an ace band. The covers are all great.
Thanks, Punyhuman! Glad you liked! I'm doing what I can to scream "Slade!" into the American abyss against all the hero-worship to the yawn-inducing Bon Jovi's on the chart that always seems to drown me out! Slade had a small handful of poorly-promoted Warner Bros albums, but the UK also had acts that weren't even GIVEN U.S. deals (or, they were tossed a minor-label bone that led to nothing).....Showaddywaddy, Alvin Stardust, Arrows, and a couple others.
I feel like acts like Gary Glitter and David Essex had U.S. hits almost in spite of themselves, and "by accident" or one-off strokes of luck! They each had inconsequential follow-ups, and nothing that even approached something called a PR blitz by eithers' labels!
Been so slammed with projects I just was able to get to this, but I've been saving it for when I had time. Kudos to you for featuring Slade. I loved the band when they first showed up, and long assumed they were much bigger than they actually got--because they should have been huge! What a unique yet familiar sound. Saw you mentioned Suzi Q in your listing of glam-adjacent artists. For those who are interested, I wrote about her a year ago: https://medium.com/the-riff/kicking-the-doors-down-suzi-quatro-d3f74ffdeb14
Thanks for dropping your Quatro link......I hope our readers give it a look! Slade was never gonna be as huge as they were in the UK. Much like Showaddywaddy, The Wombles, Mud, Alvin Stardust, Slik, and so many other Brit-forward artists, it just became impossible for these artists to relate to the American audience. The ones I mentioned above didn't/couldn't even land a U.S. recording contract, and Warner Bros. promoted Slade as best they could....although when you look at Warners' '73 roster, Slade (it almost didn't matter what they sounded like) looked like so many circus folk!
Put Slade's songs in denim and short hair, brand 'em Bon Jovi, Springsteen, or Tom Petty, and they'd-a hit the stratosphere!
Sadly, you are probably right. Image drives way too much of how people "get" music. Though some artists can transcend it all--I went to see Bowie at the height of "Ziggy" and the arena was packed with 20,000 people in full glitter and gender-ambiguous get-ups. I actually miss the craziness!
Great piece on a great song by a great band. I produced two Slade comps for Shout! Factory about 20 years back, one greatest hits and on odds n sods, and I made damn sure to wedge this one onto the latter!
Well, and regardless of the task with which you were charged, you HAD to shoehorn it in somewhere (or, you'd-a hear from me)!!!😉
Dang, Dan! Color me impressed! THAT Shout! Factory assignment (among other things, I'm sure) explains the orange check mark! Always the self-professed Anglophile, I was on Slade back in the day, only because they were part of so much that was going on "over there," but gotta say, this was not only the thing that, for me, stuck out, but BOY did it stick out! Thanks for sharing that! What a cool gig!
It was very cool indeed - but really, the best part was dialing the phone number I’d been given for Noddy, so I could interview him for the Greatest Hits liners. A gruff and indistinguishable voice picked up and grunted a non-commital greeting. Me: “This is Dan Epstein from Shout Factory calling for Noddy Holder.” Voice on other end: “THIS IS HEEEEE!” I almost squealed like a little kid.
Good Lord, Dan....are you writing about any of this?! As Substack's self-imposed Rona Barrett ("we snoop to conquer"), these sound like perfect dirt-dishing stories our dedicated FR&B lounge-lizards-with-pencils are toiling at on a daily basis! There needs to be a place to air these stories....this space for rent, cheap, I guess is what I'm saying!😁👍
I've actually been meaning to post this story, but I'm waiting until I can find the transcription (or the actual tape) of my Noddy interview. I wasn't always as diligent about filing and organizing my interviews as I should have been — and moving eight times or so since then has probably contributed to its current MIA status. Keep hope alive, though — and in the immortal words of Nod, KEEP ONNNN ROCKINNNN!!!
I'm gonna take a shot and guess that we're talking smack dab in the middle of 1975. Slade and Wright could've been traveling as an opening duo, both being on Warner Bros.-owned labels (Reprise for Slade, Warner proper for Wright). As such, they could travel together, joining this headliner or that one as they crossed the country.
I've got a Wright story: Likely '75, also, Wright headlining on his "The Dreamweaver" hit and album. Opening? Roxy Music (likely off their "Siren" album, on Atco, an Atlantic subsidiary..as such, Wright and Roxy still could be corporately subsidized on the road, as WB and Atlantic were part of the WEA conglomerate...Warner/Elektra/Atlantic....Label Nerd, party of one!).🙋♂️
Anyway, me and my gaggle of hipster friends couldn't be bothered by the AM-ready Wright, so as soon as Roxy finished their set, we were history! High point? This was Houston (Sam Houston Coliseum, a huge venue), and at the time, Bryan was still dating Dallas native, Jerry Hall (just a couple years before she discovered Jagger). I had floor seats, and of course, Jerry would've been front and center, and at one point, I spotted her walking down the aisle toward, and right past me! A cool moment!
Great flyer! Yeah, with that bill configuration, you had to sit thru Wright! In September, Wright had released his album two months before, but the eventual hit single ("Dream Weaver") wouldn't be released from it til December '75.
That explains him as the opener for your show, and his headlining over Roxy in February '76...by that time, the single was already a hit! The road is littered with touring acts who start a tour as the opener of three, have a hit single, and several weeks later, they're leapfrogging over their headliner!