MISSING No.1's
How Slade missed out on having four extra No.1's
Have you realised that Slade missed out on having four extra No.1s? The band had four of their songs stick at No.2. If they hadn't Slade would have had a total of ten No.1s in the UK.
What tunes beat the boys to No.1? Were they classic songs such as "Relax" or "Bohemian Rhapsody"?
No. Not even close. They were poor, gimmicky songs.
"Gudbuy T'Jane" missed out on going No.1 to "My Ding-A-Ling" by Chuck Berry.
"My Friend Stan" missed out on No.1 to "Eye Level" by the Simon Park Orchestra (the Van Der Valk TV theme).
"Far Far Away" missed out on the top slot to "Everything I Own" by Ken Boothe.
And finally, "My Oh My" was pipped by "Only You" by the novelty Xmas act, the Flying Pickets!
There is no justice in this world is there!
What tunes beat the boys to No.1? Were they classic songs such as "Relax" or "Bohemian Rhapsody"?
No. Not even close. They were poor, gimmicky songs.
"Gudbuy T'Jane" missed out on going No.1 to "My Ding-A-Ling" by Chuck Berry.
"My Friend Stan" missed out on No.1 to "Eye Level" by the Simon Park Orchestra (the Van Der Valk TV theme).
"Far Far Away" missed out on the top slot to "Everything I Own" by Ken Boothe.
And finally, "My Oh My" was pipped by "Only You" by the novelty Xmas act, the Flying Pickets!
There is no justice in this world is there!
Why Slade failed
Jim - Folkestone Leas Cliff Hall - 5 April 1978
I once had an in depth discussion with Jim as to the reasons why Slade failed in the mid-Seventies.
Most fans thought that the reason was because the band emigrated to the States and concentrated their efforts on the US market - rather than keeping the home fires burning.
My thoughts were that Slade had been sold too cheaply - Chas had not kept the band "exclusive" and that they were already into decline by the time they went to the States anyway.
By the mid-Seventies artists such as Bowie, Rod Stewart and Queen refused to appear on the all and sundry TV shows such as "Lift Off" and "Tiswas". They limited their TV appearances to exclusive shows - and did not over-promote themselves to an extent that the public became sick of them.
With Slade they still continued doing every TV show possible. Jim told me that Chas had the opinion that every TV performance that they did would help sales.
I think that this was Slade's downfall. The public had seen too much of the band - and became bored with them. Jim was in agreement.
Slade had covered the width and bredth of the UK promoting the Flame movie in 1975. They appeared on numerous TV shows and local radio stations. The single released at the time, "How Does It Feel", reached the lowly chart position of 15. The band's lowest chart hit for years. The decline in interest in the band had started.....
Finally, when Slade finally made it back big-time in 1983, and at last cracked America (with "Run Runaway"), Jim fell ill with hepatitis. Their support slot on the Ozzy Osbourne tour was cancelled and they flew home. Nod decided not to tour again. He blamed constant touring for the break-up of his marriage to Leandra. I think the band's record sales suffered as a result - the band's recordings never sounded the same without hearing them live.......
Most fans thought that the reason was because the band emigrated to the States and concentrated their efforts on the US market - rather than keeping the home fires burning.
My thoughts were that Slade had been sold too cheaply - Chas had not kept the band "exclusive" and that they were already into decline by the time they went to the States anyway.
By the mid-Seventies artists such as Bowie, Rod Stewart and Queen refused to appear on the all and sundry TV shows such as "Lift Off" and "Tiswas". They limited their TV appearances to exclusive shows - and did not over-promote themselves to an extent that the public became sick of them.
With Slade they still continued doing every TV show possible. Jim told me that Chas had the opinion that every TV performance that they did would help sales.
I think that this was Slade's downfall. The public had seen too much of the band - and became bored with them. Jim was in agreement.
Slade had covered the width and bredth of the UK promoting the Flame movie in 1975. They appeared on numerous TV shows and local radio stations. The single released at the time, "How Does It Feel", reached the lowly chart position of 15. The band's lowest chart hit for years. The decline in interest in the band had started.....
Finally, when Slade finally made it back big-time in 1983, and at last cracked America (with "Run Runaway"), Jim fell ill with hepatitis. Their support slot on the Ozzy Osbourne tour was cancelled and they flew home. Nod decided not to tour again. He blamed constant touring for the break-up of his marriage to Leandra. I think the band's record sales suffered as a result - the band's recordings never sounded the same without hearing them live.......
Slade fabric stickers
Slade fabric stickers
Who remembers the fabric stickers that Chas used to get printed to promote the band's latest release?
The first that I remember was the "I've Been Slayed" sticker.
This was followed by ones for "Cum On Feel The Noize", "Skweeze Me Pleeze Me", "Merry Xmas Everybody", "My Friend Stan", "The Bangin' Man", "Slade In Flame", "In For A Penny" and "Let's Call It Quits".
Chas used to have thousands printed. They were sent out to all Fan Club members with their newsletters.
Also, Swinn would hand them out. He used to drive the band to their Top Of The Pops performance and would always take a box of stickers in the car with him. The band would use them on their guitars and Swinn would hand the rest out to the crowd during the warm up, before the show started. Sometimes he would hand out Slade T-shirts too. That's why you always used to see the audience covered in Slade gear whenever the band appeared.
I still have loads of these stickers that are unused. I remember that I went to one of the first Capital Radio Roadshows in 1975 - which was at Hampstead School. The DJ's were giving out gifts to all the punters - when they knew I was a Slade fan, I was given a whole box of "Slade In Flame" stickers for myself.
This was a wrong move - as on the way home virtually every lamppost on my journey had a Slade sticker attached…
The first that I remember was the "I've Been Slayed" sticker.
This was followed by ones for "Cum On Feel The Noize", "Skweeze Me Pleeze Me", "Merry Xmas Everybody", "My Friend Stan", "The Bangin' Man", "Slade In Flame", "In For A Penny" and "Let's Call It Quits".
Chas used to have thousands printed. They were sent out to all Fan Club members with their newsletters.
Also, Swinn would hand them out. He used to drive the band to their Top Of The Pops performance and would always take a box of stickers in the car with him. The band would use them on their guitars and Swinn would hand the rest out to the crowd during the warm up, before the show started. Sometimes he would hand out Slade T-shirts too. That's why you always used to see the audience covered in Slade gear whenever the band appeared.
I still have loads of these stickers that are unused. I remember that I went to one of the first Capital Radio Roadshows in 1975 - which was at Hampstead School. The DJ's were giving out gifts to all the punters - when they knew I was a Slade fan, I was given a whole box of "Slade In Flame" stickers for myself.
This was a wrong move - as on the way home virtually every lamppost on my journey had a Slade sticker attached…