From Roots To Boots!: The Slade Story: May 1971

Polydor Records - 2058 112

German Picture Cover of "Get Down And Get With It".

The German 7" was just an ordinary Single, with just the one track, "Gospel According To Rasputin" on the B-Side.

Similarly, the American 7" was just an ordinary Single, with just the one track, "Do You Want Me" on the B-Side, too.

When Slade performaned Do You Want Me on "Top Of The Pops" it was announced as a contender for their next single, (plus a track on their next album!), neither of which turned out to be the case! (Listen to the audio, below!):-

As the N'Betweens, the band had built up a following on the live circuit playing their own versions of obscure U.S. R&B records. In 1969, when they were signed up by Chas Chandler, they changed their name and image to that of "Britain’s first skinhead band,” but it wasn't until 1971, when they released their version of an obscure Bobby Marchan track entitled Get Down With It. , that the band got their first taste of success. This song propelled the band into the UK Top 20 chart with a #16 hit.

Bradford Telegraph: 18th May 1971

New Musical Express: 29th May 1971

"SLADE (Get Down And Get With It): A gentleman with the voice of a cut-throat razor urging the people to join in his fun. Pier-end entertainment brought up to date. (Polydor)"

The U.K. 7" Single Release, however, was a three track Maxi-Single:-

Originally released on 21st May 1971 with the A-side labeled Get Down And Get With It written by Holder, Lee, Hill, Powell & Penniman ('Little' Richard Penniman). The story is that the group always knew the song as a Little Richard song called Get Down and Get With It, so when it was first released it was given that title and credited to Slade & Little Richard to reflect Slade's arrangement of the song. The German 7" single below (Polydor Records 2058 123 released in 1971) shows the incorrect labelling and credit.

It was their first Top Twenty placing and it stayed on the charts for four months. The success of 'Get Down And Get With It' enabled Slade to appear on Top Of The Pops, the principal weekly TV chart show. It was recorded at Olympic Studios, a converted cinema, and the clapping that accompanies 'Get Down And Get With It' was recorded in what used to be the cinema's stairwell. This would become a trademark of Slade's hits and, together with the echo on Noddy's voice, it established an important musical identity for the band. This song remained a barnstorming climax to their live shows throughout their touring days

The B-side featured two tracks written by Dave Hill & Noddy Holder, both dark and moody tracks focusing on sex and black magic respectively. Do You Want Me is blatant reference to sexual encounters while Gospel According To Rasputin appears to allude to devil worship. Either way, these songs show a strong style that could have been explored further.

The main title, of course, turned out to be incorrect and, as the song became a hit, the publishers quickly got involved. The correct title is Get Down With It written by Bobby Marchan. Labels had to be changed and no doubt money exchanged hands. Polydor were not exactly a small label and their legal department should have picked up on the mistake before its release. There is enough argument to support the claim that it may have been a publicity stunt.

There is currently little information as to when the promotional film was made or by whom. According to Raiders Of The Lost Archive TV show, it turned up in France in somebody's collection. Oddly enough, it has been seen on YouTube since 'at least' October 2007, albeit in a rather low res quality. Here's hoping somebody makes the good quality video available in full, sometime soon?

It was reissued on 08th June 1971 as Get Down With It written by Bobby Marchan with the same B-side and still Polydor Records 2058-112 which may have given it a little more life in the charts.