Slade hails from the Black Country area of the British West Midlands, and simply dominated the UK charts during the early 1970s. During the height of their success, no other act enjoyed such consistency in the UK Top 40 and Slade actually came the closest of any band to matching The Beatles' twenty two Top 10 records in a single decade (1960s).
Slade has released over thirty albums, and known for the deliberate misspelling of their song titles (as stolen by every rapper from NWA-on). While Slade's attempts at cracking the US market were largely unsuccessful, they certainly left their mark on several Stateside bands who cite Slade as a major influence. Kiss bassist Gene Simmons admitted that his band's early songwriting ethos and stage performance style was inspired by Slade: "the one we kept returning to was Slade," and "we liked the way they connected with the crowd, and the way they wrote anthems... we wanted that same energy, that same irresistible simplicity. but we wanted it American-style". Looking at old pics of Slade, it's pretty obvious where Kiss guitarist Ace Frehley got the idea for the spaceman outfit...
Tom Petersson of Cheap Trick said that his band went to see Slade live, and that they used "every cheap trick in the book", thus inadvertently coining his group's name. Eighties metal band Quiet Riot had US hits with their covers of Cum On Feel the Noize and Mama Weer All Crazee Now. The origins of Slade's influence on American chart-toppers Quiet Riot dated back to the early 1970s, when Kevin DuBrow photographed Slade during their first LA appearance at the famed Whisky a Go Go.When you see this trailblazing band's look, sound (esp. vocals), and attitude... it's hard not to think the entire Anglo-American 80s metal/hair band scene took it all from Slade's act ten years prior... right down to the inspiration for Slash's top-hat. And although I'm not too enthusiastic about 80s metal myself... I love these guys. In an era when many bands took themselves too seriously, Slade had refreshing sense of humor, too- just a fun party band.
Today Noddy Holder is a widely known British TV host and celebrity in the UK. And a (knighted) man of character: in November 1971, NME reported that Slade had turned down a multi-million dollar campaign, including a television series and a heavily promoted tour of the US. "But", commented Holder, "Acceptance would have meant the cancellation of many commitments here - and the last thing we want to do is to mess around the people who have put us where we are"....
