"Oslo Sports Club organizes a concert in Ekeberghallen today, November 7. The headliner is the far from unknown group from Liverpool [sic], Slade. The four members are James Wild Lea on bass, Neville John Holder who sings and plays lead guitar, David John Hill also lead guitar and Donald George Powell on drums.
It is primarily Lea who is responsible for the music, while Hill must take a lot of credit for the group’s visual "image".
Powell has been away from the drums for a few months after a serious car accident. Because of amnesia, he had to learn all the tunes again.
The music they play is said to be a reflection of their style of life. Slade plays pure, raw, brutal rock, somewhat simple in the eyes of many, but certainly catchy.
Slade had had a comet-like career. From being a mediocre band, they have over the past year matured musically and has had a number of singles and LPs. It is enough to mention hits like Coz I Luv You, Gudby t'Jane, Look Wot You Dun, Cum On Feel the Noize, Skweeze Me Pleeze Me and My Friend Stan. So far, the LPs are "Play It Loud", "Slade Alive", "Slayer", "Sladest" and another is expected in the near future. "Sladest" is actually a collection of their best known songs to date.
The increasing interest in Slade can be partly attributed to audiences having grown tired of complicated pop music, and are more ready to accept the group’s uncomplicated music."Aftenposten: 7th November 1973
Germany, November, 1973
On The Road with SladeMonday 18.30 pm
A dark green Bus rolls through the rush hour stuffed streets of Frankfurt. Packed with over 20 Journalists and radio people from all parts of the West German Republic - their aim, the Jahrhunderthalle (Centennial Hall) in Höchst. They all came to witness the start to the third German Tour of the most successful British Singles Band for many years:
SLADE ! It`s Nov. 12 1973
Whether large or small,
The audience were raving.
I am sitting in the bus as well and next to me, photographer Gesine, we`re the official representatives of POP. Camera shutters are clicking, test film rolls are loaded and lenses added, then the press mob storms the bright lighted Jahrhunderthalle where already two and a half thousand kids are getting themselves in the mood vocally for the main attraction tonight.
Not every venue was as full as Frankfurt tonight – in Deutschland Halle, Berlin, (probably too big for Slade) only around 1500 turned up, Hanover`s Nidersachsenhalle it’s satisfactory but... not really full...
In Heidelberg Slade played to the smallest audience of the whole Tour – maybe
because Ike & Tina Turner are playing right next to them in another venue that same night.
But in Hamburg, Munich and Vienna the venues are bursting. Everywhere they’re up on the seats, stomping, raving singing along and clapping their hands and all that starts even before a single group member has hit the stage.
Lucky Roadies – there`s no other band around - where their work: laying cables, setting up amps and plugging in instruments is awarded with such applause as that of a Slade gig.
Anyway, the audience! The magic word at Slade Gigs is “crazy” or better ”crazee”! Being nuts is trump. Slade are crazee ( or they’re pretending to be) and their audience is crazee ( at least for one hour when the show is running).
SLADE ARE A KIDS CARNIVALThe Kids are going to a Slade show with the same attitude their parents would have going to the Carnival.
They’re putting on their crazy costumes and going wild, being Noddy or Dave, there were some real good Noddy look-a-likes, one of the best had his photo taken beside Noddy himself.
Anyone that doesn't want to be tarted up fully wears, at the very least, a Top hat, hooped socks, tartan trousers or some glitter on their face, or maybe a Slade scarf, badge or T-Shirt at least. I guess if Slade’s bass player had worn a false nose I would've seen them here as well.
To complete the Carnival party there’s even confetti as Dave Hill throws a handful of glitter over the audience.
What follows isn’t the hard bitten aggression like it was at the early Stones Gigs but rather a deafening party in a strictly positive way. Everybody has a hell of a lot of fun stomping and jumping and shouting but never going over the line, just like their parents when they having a ball singing along to their carnival songs except that the parents are quite drunk at that stage - the kids don’t need alcohol to loosen up. Lucky Kids!
NODDY STAGGERS TOTALLY BLADDEREDAfter the gig everybody’s taken for a after show party in the basement bar of Slade’s Hotel.
Slade had a lot of parties during the tour, in every City they easily find a reason for feasting and collective boozing. In Hanover, Ike and Tina Turner were placed in the same hotel like Slade, everybody let it all hang out all night long and at the end they swapped groupies.
In Frankfurt, Noddy staggers - totally bladdered but wearing a big grin over his face - over to Gesine, the photographer, to take her for a Twist (he means the dance) which he lays down perfectly despite his advanced condition.
Next day at 12 noon everybodys meeting at the airport and - surprise ,surprise - Slade have fully recovered but the journalists are all suffering from a giant hang-over.
FOWARD IN THE SLADE-EXPRESSThere`s 30 Seater Chartered Jet “The Slade Express” waiting for us, in which Slade are going to travel to and from all the places they´re going to play.
Slade are in the check in area looking to see if they will be spotted by anybody. But this time around, there`s nobody and so we make our way through the photographers, escorted by TV Cameras, to the plane. Somehow I feel like a Slade extra, but it`s a silly and pompous idea: At the front the photographers, flanked by the TV staff with a happy looking Slade in the centre and followed by a horde of Journalists.
Once on the plane, a Stewardess puts a cardboard ”Noddy” tophat (with little silver stars stuck on it) on our heads and a drum (the label inside says it costs 2 marks 65), after that we`re given a SLADE Matchbox and Slade Fist patch plus champagne and a meal. (The Stewardess earned two immoral offers.)
In the meantime we've set off and are up in the air. (Outside: galeforce 12!) A few hours later Coastal Towns reporting storm surge and the “Halligen” (A group of Islands in the northern sea) are flooded. While we`re moving forward, jerky but steady.
That`s quite funny because all the photographers who took place upfront, to take shots of the band are taking a flying leap every now and then!
All the latest Slade Hits are roaring out of the on-board stereo system, and everybody is wearing a cardboard Slade Top Hat and in their hands a vomit bag but thirst has been reactivated by the champagne, (see: “Happy Kids”) and, just for a change, party-time breaks loose at 29,527 feet.
The group, placed up front are pretending to sing along for the TV crew. Everybody`s happy, cardboard hats and photographers are thrown all across the plane.... and then we`re already in Hamburg.HAPPY SLADE!
POP presents:
Slade On tour
Pay attention. It's happening all over again. POP present Slade on tour in Germany. Noddy Holder, Dave Hill, Jimmy Lea and, back after that serious car accident, Don Powell shred through six German cities:
12.11.1973 FRANKFURT, JAHRHUNDERTHALLE13.11.1973 HAMBURG, MUSIKHALLE
14.11.1973 BERLIN, DEUTSCHLANDHALLE
17.11.1973 MANNHEIM, ROSENGARTEN
19.11.1973 WIEN, GROSSES KONZERTHAUS
20.11.1973 MUNCHEN ZIRKUS KRONE
(Ed:- Bear in mind that these dates are incorrest, the actual dates have been recorded below, to the best of our knowledge and are still subject to change, as and when we get confirmation?)
Attention
Slade dates changed
The concert dates for Slade have been shifted:
Contrary to our message in this edition, Slade will play on the 14:11 in Hanover and on the 15:11 in Berlin.
European Tour: Autumn 1973 (known dates)
25/10/1973 Forest National, Bruxelles
26/10/1973 Courtray, Belgium
27/10/1973 Zofligen, Switzerland
29/10/1973 Paris, France
30/10/1973 Poitiers, France
31/10/1973 Bordeaux, France
05/11/1973 Oslo, Norway
06/11/1973 Bergen, Norway
08/11/1973 Gothenburg, Sweden
09/11/1973 K B Hallen, Copenhagen
10/11/1973 Vejlby Risskov Hallen, Aarhus, Denmark
12/11/1973 Frankfurt/Hochst Jahrhunderthalle
13/11/1973 Hamburg Musikhalle
14/11/1973 Hannover Niedersachsenhalle
15/11/1973 Berlin Deutschlandhalle
17/11/1973 Mannheim/Heidelberg Rosengarten
19/11/1973 Wien Austria Grosses Konzerthaus
19/11/1973 Heidelberg/Eppelheim - Rhein-Neckar Halle
20/11/1973 Munchen Zirkus Krone
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