ROCK...............................................................
Martin Cooper checks out the sound of Slade, who produced finely crafted glam-rock hits packed with catchy hooks and melodies.
Martin Cooper checks out the sound of Slade, who produced finely crafted glam-rock hits packed with catchy hooks and melodies.
Slade can lay claim to one of the greatest accomplishments any band can hope to achieve; with Merry Xmas Everybody they have a tune that a good proportion of the Earth’s population knows and can sing along to. Not to mention the ongoing royalties that accompany a tune that’s released every year and played almost constantly each Christmas. In fact, based on singles sales Slade is one of the most successful British bands of all time, and also the first group to achieve number one status with all three of their first self-penned singles - something even The Beatles didn’t manage.
Formed in Wolverhampton, UK in 1966
Slade went on to become one of the most important bands of the early 70s glam-rock era, and a big influence on many other acts such as Def Leppard, Mötley Crüe, Poison, Nirvana, The Clash and Oasis (who covered Slade’s Cum On Feel The Noize).
Their sound also features elements of other bands from the 60s and 70s, such as The Beatles, Queen and Little Richard, who had originally recorded Bobby Marchan’s Get Down And Get With It, which became Slade’s first real hit in 1971.
Slade’s songs were primarily written by lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Noddy
Holder, and bass player Jim Lea; the hit-making line-up also featured guitarist Dave Hill and drummer Don Powell. After their initial hit single with a cover version, the band’s manager Chas Chandler pushed them to write a follow-up of their own. Holder and Lea wrote Coz I Luv You in half an hour, and once the recording had been made more aggressive and universally appealing by adding hand claps and foot stamps, it became a chart-topping single. This also marked the beginning of Slade’s approach of deliberately mis-spelling words in their song titles, much to the annoyance of the UK’s schoolteachers.
Slade’s popularity waned in the late 70s, but they gained new success in the 80s which included picking up a strong following by heavy metal fans, after the band took a harder edged approach to their sound. The not uncommon merry go round of line-up changes has also happened to Slade over the years, but they remain on the touring circuit, led by Dave Hill, and their place in British Rock history has long been assured.
The track this month isn’t difficult to play, but even a short piece like this will take a certain amount of stamina to play, if you are to give it the requisite attack and verve. We’re in the key of A Major (A-B-C#-D-E-F#-G#), but the song also features a G Major chord, which points towards the A Mixolydian mode (A-B-C#-D-E-F#-G) and gives a more country rock or blues sound. The solo uses A Minor Pentatonic scale (A-C-D-E-G) for the first four bars and A Major Pentatonic (A-B-C#-E-F#) for the next four bars.
NEXT MONTH Martin checks out the sound of another Midlands rock band, Judas Priest
SLADE IS ONE OF THE MOST SUCCESSFUL BRITISH BANDS OF ALL TIME, THEIR FIRST THREE SELF-PENNED SINGLES ALL MAKING NUMBER ONE