The Sleaz Band

From Dundee - the Sleaz Band. Visually, you couldn't forget them (ZZ Top must have caught their act) and the music was hard rock at its finest.

In 1971 there were 163 gigs or more - supporting Medicine Head, Poets, Joyce Bond Revue, String Driven Thing, Slade, Groundhogs, Man, Chris McClure, Equals, Ashton Gardner & Dyke, Argent, Mungo Jerry, Merlin, Chicken Shack, Northwind, Nickelson, Heads Hands and Feet, Salvation, Thin Lizzy, Fairweather, Paladin, Assegai, Johnny Johnson and the Bandwagon, Warm Dust, and playing alongside good friends Bubbles and Tear Gas. They also played alongside Dusty Hutt, Poorhouse and Kaywana Stock and did the original Cavern, Liverpool before it was demolished.

There were 156 gigs in 1972 between Jan 2nd and Oct 28th.  Once again supporting various names such as Alex Harvey (Pre Sensational), Nazareth, Slade (the Scottish leg of their nationwide tour  - Status Quo did the English dates), Walrus, Country Joe Macdonald, Wishbone Ash, Edgar Broughton Band, Man, and Tear Gas again. The Sleaz Band were also at Lincoln for the Great Western Festival  playing the 'Giants Of Tomorrow' stage.

Phil Robertson left this version of the band in late August during a bust up in Wrexham of all places and they did the outstanding gigs with a roadie on bass until breaking up in October. Robertson still resides in Dundee and still does the odd gig.

This info was plundered from the superb Rocking Scots site where you can find more on the Sleaz Band and many other less obvious Scottish rock bands. www.rockingscots.co.uk

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Isle Of Arran 1971

Whiting Bay, July 29th, 1971

Slade spent a lot of time in Scotland in general, collecting a loyal following over the years. They visited the Isle of Arran during their 1971 tour. Situated in south-western Scotland, in the Firth of Clyde near Glasgow. It's the seventh largest island in Scotland but, being the southernmost of the Scottish islands, isn't part of the Hebrides. Located close to Glasgow and Scotland's Ayrshire coast, Arran is a popular and an easily accessible tourist destination.

Arran had no local paper until 1974, entertainment details were passed out on flyers. Slade played Whiting Bay on the Isle of Arran, on Thursday 29th July 1971 with a Scottish band called Sleaz Band, from Dundee, as support. The lucky audience got entertained from 9:30 - 1 for a 45p entrance fee. 

They also returned to play again in September that same year. This time they were accompanied by Nazareth and a new Irish band called "Thin Lizzie".

"The three bands did not actually line up together but played one or two nights approx each weekend through that summer along with alex harvey band and dundee rockers The Sleaz Band, I saw Slade on three consecutive nites with Sleaz band the support act at Whiting bay Lamlash and Brodick hall friday saturday and sunday. That was entertainment at its best,"

musicman 2008-10-14

Not wishing to embarrass you there Musicman but you're wrong. "Mini Festival at Lamlash: Slade,  Nazareth & Thin Lizzy compered by the incomparable Tom Ferrie". Although it isn't dated, I suspect it was a Bank Holiday weekend, probably 26th September 1971. Tom Ferrie remembers little but the hangover from the after party.

Stumble, who were popular chart band at the time, are supported by a disco on the Saturday, Sleaz are still on the bill supporting Thin Lizzie (sic) and compere Tom Ferrie rides again. The Corries were a Scottish folk group that emerged from the Scottish folk revival of the early 1960s. They were promoting their 1970 album 'Strings and Things' and approaching the peak of their success. Arran must have had a great weekend?

I'm indebted, as always, to Chris Selby for turning up this incredible memorabilia. Our man in the Black Country has contacts in remote Scotland. There is apparently no limit to his resources. 

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4 Skins: Live In Holland

The Netherlands 1st July 1971

"This is a pretty much 'must have' bootleg for any real fan of the band. 1971, and SLADE were trotting around Europe promoting themselves, the Skinhead hairstyle had been replaced by smoother locks and the wardrobe had started to evolve from the boots and braces to the primary colours. At this point in their careers have only had the one hit, the breakthrough 'Get Down With It'

July 1st 1971 saw SLADE play a set at a university campus, broadcast by VPRO (The Vrijzinnig Protestantse Radio Omroep or Liberal Protestant Radio Broadcast). The standout track from the short set is without doubt Sweet Box, as this is the only known live recording of the track, the version here lasts over six minutes."
(Dave Graham, Slade In England)

In fact, as an homage to that very track, David Graham of Slade In England has painstakingly made a composite video of what that actual recording may very well have actually looked like? Those eagle - eyed amongst you may very well recognise where the clips came from? My thanks to David for his very kind permission to share this video with readers on this Blog! ;-)

https://youtu.be/ScAYPQk89YA

Well, it's not often that SIE is wrong but, in this case, there was no university campus. The performance was at Dijkgatbos in Wieringerwerf in the Wieringermeer area. It's a rural area on the edge of a forest.

"It was recorded at VPRO's "Piknik" on the 1st of July in 1971 at the Dijkgatbos (Wieringermeer, The Netherlands). As a child, I was there and it was my first acquaintance with Slade long before they got famous. 

There were other groups, too, like the Dutch group Brainbox, and Slade was rehearsing on some sort of round platform with a yellow floor, 30 cm high (1ft). The floor was flat and the stage had a roof that was placed on six beautifully painted sticks that were placed in equal distances from each other around the stage. It looked somewhat like a small merry-go-round without any the animals. This is purely from memory, maybe I'm wrong on some details. 

The rehearsals were in the afternoon. The actual live TV show was in the evening. It was my mother's birthday and hadn't it been for a fire alarm, my father also would have attended the evening show. The show was broadcast on TV and it is said that I have been on TV for a few moments."
Adri Verhoef: July 2011

The VPRO was established in the Netherlands in 1926 as a religious broadcasting organization. It represented the Liberal Protestant listener but during the 50's and 60's it became more "liberal" than protestant, and although the acronym was kept, its meaning was dropped.

VPRO broadcast the first nude woman on Dutch television in 1967. It is still considered the most 'culturally radical' group on Dutch television.

VPRO often collaborates with other broadcasting organisations such as the WDR, the BBC, and Arte. Like all Dutch public broadcasters the VPRO does not have its own channel.

Nieuwsblad van het Noorden: 20th June 1971

"Like last year (PIK-NIK) sends the VPRO this summer a number of programs from an outside location somewhere in the Netherlands. VPRO Campus tomorrow night live from North Holland. Besides some pop groups, lots of entertainment, Betty Boop and a new film series, also the northern Dutch the word about the function of the water for their region. The English rock band Slade is one of the groups that occur. The four gentlemen of Slade playing together for five years, but especially recently started only good name for themselves in England."

In the photo: the English band Slade.

In 1991, rock band Nirvana played a famous VPRO session that has been released on various bootlegs. As we can see here, they were preceded by Slade many years before. If only somebody had the original footage for a Slade DVD release. Well, at least we have the audio.

• Hear Me Calling
• Keep On Rockin'
• Know Who You Are
• Sweetbox
• Get Down With It
• Born To Be Wild

The Download Link is here: Download
Filename: Slade Archive 03.rar Filesize: 24.17 MB

Many thanks to Chris Selby for his assistance and advice.

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