ISSUE 3 MAY/JUNE 1979
EDITOR : Dave Kemp, 24 Ingham Road, West Hampstead, London, NW6 1DE.
HELPERS: Kevin Massey Alison Hillmen
Hello. Welcome to Slade News Three. As you will see we have changed the format of the fanzine slightly. More space is being devoted to the Slade interviews, we are printing more photos and pictures, and generally using a greater amount of your contributions.
The next issue should be ready in the second week of July. You can either apply for the mag directly at the beginning of July, and we will forward it on to you as soon as it is ready, or you can wait till you see" the usual music paper advertisements before you apply. Keep your eyes peeled if you are going to do the latter, as we won't be advertising quite so much in the future. At least one ad should appear in each of the major papers though",
Lots of people have been sending in for back issues of Slade News. We are afraid that the first issue is now totally out of print and no longer available. A few copies of issue 2 are still obtainable at the usual price,
25p
Sales of Slade News 2 were up 20% on issue l so we know we're doing things right. Thanks for this continued support.
SLADE BACK OF THE ROAD AGAIN
Slade start another British tour, their fourth one in l4 months, on May 24. The dates so far confirmed are printed below, more look like being added - if they are, we will inform you with additional piece of paper enclosed with this newsletter.
MAY
24 Coventry Centre Club
25 Cirencester Agricultural College
26 Manchester Polytechnic
29 Liverpool Oscar's Club
JUNE
1 Withernsea Pavilion
2 West Runton Pavilion
4 Stockton Theatre Club
8-9 Guernsey
Please check all dates with the concert halls concerned before going to any of the gigs.
“GINNY GlNNY" RELEASED
Slade's new single is to be “Ginny Ginny", that popular live number. The B side will be another Holder 8: Lea composition "Dizzy Mama.” The single' will be out on Barn Records, as usual. The release date will be May l8th, or around that time. We'd advise you to get your advance order in for "Ginny Ginny " soon, as then you might receive one of the initial copies pressed in YELLOW vinyl: Don't forget to send off requests to Radio One and your local stations, for the record, as they really do help get it played.
SLADE SNIPPETS
Swinn, Slade's Road Manager, got married on May 2nd to his long time girlfriend Debbie. All Slade members were in attendance at the service, which was in Wolverhampton. Noddy acted as best man. Congrats and good luck Swinn and Deb... Slade's European tour went well, but Dave Hill was complaining about the Yugoslavian dates, because the band had to spend 1 hours daily travelling by car to the gigs, as there were no internal air services:... Jim Lea had some trouble actually before Slade left for Europe - he lost his passport and didn't find it till just before the group had to leave... More wedding congratulations, this time to Mike & Linda from Morayshire who got married in April. Such devoted Slade fans are they that they actually got engaged on April 4th 1978, because it was Dave Hill s birthday!
-2-
SLADE PEN PALS
The pen pal section seems to be very popular. Last month we featured Sue O'Leary and Ossie Crabbe, both of them receiving lot’s of letters from Slade fans. Sue is very pleased with all the pen pals that she now has. She only regrets that it is impossible for her to keep in contact with everybody that wrote, because so many people did!
Anyway Alison sent down another batch of Slade fans that want to have pen pals, they are;
DON MOFFAT is 22 years old. His interests are listening to Slade records, and seeing the band live. Last year he travelled hundreds of miles to see Slade at the Wembley Arena. also he likes Boxing and Football (Glasgow Rangers 70Co). Don runs a mobile disco, and he can often be found plugging Slade 's releases. His address is: 82 High Street, Coldstream, Berwickshire, Scotland.
GERALDINE USHER has been a Slade fan for many years now and she tries to get to as many concerts as possible. In actual fact we remember meeting her at the Guildford University concert last autumn. Geraldine particularly likes Noddy Holder, so all Noddy fans write to her at : Banstead Place, Park Road, Banstead, Surrey.
WILLIE POWER of 21 Norglen Drive, Turf Lodge, Belfast 11, Northern Ireland, is aged 19. He wants to write to a Slade fan of either sex. His hobbies include Snooker, Football and listening to Slade!
If you want to be included in the Slade pen pal section write to Alison Hillmen at her new address: 35 Hudson Ave, Great Horton, Bradford, BD7 3ND, West Yorkshire. Give her the details of your name, age, address and hobbies. We try to include as many of you in the section as possible.
MORE SLADE PHOTO SETS
Steve Flinders has some more sets of photographs for sale, all of which seem to be very good. His photos seem to get better all the time! This sets consist of:
"Leicester Baileys 1979" 10 colour 5" X 3" photos - £2:80
"Watford Baileys 1979” 10 colour 5" X 3" photos - £2:80
"Paris Olympia 16/12/74" 10 colour 5” X 3" photos - £2.80
All prices include a charge for postage and packing. Also Steve has a few of the old sets left. They are; 15 Hammersmith '78 photos £4.00, 20 U.K. Tour '78 photos £5.20, and 10 Cleethorpes '78 photos £2.80
A big thanks to Steve for supplying us with some photos that we have used in this issue of Slade News, and some others which we will use in the next few editions.
His address is : 5 Main St, Stanton-By-Dale, Ilkeston, Derbyshire.
Dave Hill's birthday was on April 4th. What a surprise it was to hear Dave Lee Travis wish him a happy birthday and play "How Does It Feel" just before 7.30 on Radio One.
Capital Radio, London's commercial station, likewise congratulated Dave and also played a Slade record on the Michael Aspel show, so we are told.
We are sure that these radio plays and birthday mentions were helped by nagging letters by the fans. In June 14th and 15th it is Jim and Nod's birthdays, so why not drop a line to Radio One, or your local station, and try to get them to play a Slade disc to honour the occasion!
-3-
SLADE LIVE AT THE WARTBURG MUSIC HALL, WIESBADEN, W. GERMANY 7th April ‘79
Concert Report by German Slade News reader Steff Decker
Before the concert my friends and I, who had travelled from Frankfurt, saw Slade go into the Stoerbaker restaurant for a drink. We wanted to get their autographs, but Swinn told us to return. after the concert, which we did, but unfortunately we waited 1½ hours in vain.
The concert though was great. Sadly it had been poorly publicised. There were no tour dates printed in the German music magazines and no advertising posters on the walls around town. In fact nobody knew Slade were touring!
I found out about the concert because I happened to be passing the hall and saw a small poster inside the door. Actually many people that I talked to at the gig said that they had come because they were attracted by the noise from the soundcheck, and then they found out that Slade were playing.
Slade appeared on stage at 8.30, after the crowd had been shouting, “We want Slade” for over 20 minutes. Many of the American soldiers at the gig joined in. The U.S. troops are based in Weisbaden, and they were the type of people who wanted to rock.
Although the Wartburg Music Hall is not very large (it holds only 1,000 - 1,100 people) the noise of the crowd was deafening.
Noddy was the first member to be seen. He was wearing a black jacket and a straw hat. He plugged his guitar in, and led into "Hear He Calling".
Slade played very loudly - louder than when I saw them in Frankfurt in 1977.
The group's second song was “My Baby Left Me", then "Take Me Bak Ome" which was the best number of the evening.
Next clouds of smoke poured onstage, and "Let Me Give You Love" was sung. This was the best new song played.
Then came "Everyday", and it seemed that everyone knew the chorus. People were signing along and having fun.
Next came another new song ("Ginny Ginny), followed by Jim and Don's solos.
We were standing right at the front of the stage and I tried to shake hands with Jim. Dave though blew the smoke - which was still around - into our faces!
At this point a drunken American got hold of Dave's guitar neck. Dave got free with difficulty. He stepped back a few paces, but then he returned to the front of the stage. Again the American stretched out his hand, but he got it kicked by Dave who laughed triumphantly;
Yet another new number was played. Jimmy drank some beer that a fan handed up to him during the break between songs. As for Nod, he just kept smiling! Sadly it was time for the last number, "Get Down And Get With It". Nod thanked the crowd for coming. Then unplugging their guitars, and throwing their leads onto Don's drum riser, Slade left the stage.
Of course they came back for an encore - "Mama Weer All Crazee". One of the roadies had to turn Dave's amp on, as he had forgotten and not noticed. We all laughed about that, even Dave!
Twice more Slade returned for encores, playing "Cum On Feel The Noize" and a medley of rock n roll oldies, and then "Born To Be Wild”. They left the stage for the last time.
Don was covered in sweat. His jeans were soaked down to the knees. In a way this sweat shows just how hard working Don and Slade are.
-4-
On this page we do our best to answer any questions that you might have concerning Slade.
Q. Don Powell has always said that his favourite artist is Harry Nilsson. Does this still hold true? (Jill Hart, Leeds)
A. Yes, Don still likes Harry Nilsson the best. He says though that he also likes Barry White, ELO, Elton John and The Eagles.
Q. I have a picture of Slade from one of the old fan club newsletters, where they are posing with a mass of Gold and Silver discs. How many discs were there in the picture? (Mark Craven, Thornton Heath)
A. I don’t know how many were featured in that picture and I’m not going to try to count them all! But I can tell you that in February 1975 the count of Gold and Silver discs went as follows; 25 Gold albums and 30 Silver albums 3 Platinum singles, 15 Gold singles and 70 Silver singles.
Q. Do all the Slade members still live in Wolverhampton? I have an article in which they say they will never leave the area. (John Price, Leeds)
A. Jim and Dave have stuck to their words, they still live in the Wolverhampton district. But as time passes attitudes change - Noddy and Don now live in London. We understand that when the band were filming “Flame” they had to spend a lot of time in London, and from then onwards Nod and Don started liking the place, and eventually they moved here.
A.. No! Noddy never managed to get his guitar back. The guitar was very precious to him though, so he had a replica of his cherry red Gibson made. Luckily enough it was completed in time for him to use it on the group's recent European tour.
Q. I remember reading some years ago about Dave Hill having a pet dog~ I think that it was a Great Dane, called Windsor. Whatever happened to the dog, as Dave couldn't have kept him what with the group being in America for so long. (Steve Jenkins, Stourbridge.)
A. Dave didn't keep the dog - he gave Windsor to his dad, who still looks after him.
Q. (To Slade News writers) My favourite Slade gig was at Newcastle City Hall in 1974, what are your most memorable concerts? (L. Mann, Gateshead.)
A. Alison: "Leicester Baileys 1979". Kevin: "Salford Willows Club, 1978. This is because the gig was on my birthday, and I got a card signed by the group. Also the atmosphere was fantastic at Willows - even the bouncers were singing along!" Dave: "Wemb1ey Empire Pool 1973 - this was my first Slade concert, and when they were presented with the NME trophy for being the top group in the world the crowd reacted as if they'd won the FA Cup! Also 'Cum On. Feel The Noize' was No.1 in the charts at the time, and this added to the occasion.”
-5-
After concluding our interview with Jim Lea, which we printed in our last issue, Dave Hill entered the Watford Baileys dressing room. Jim had to go and tune his guitar, so Dave sat down with us and let us quiz him.
SN: Dave, could you give us a run-down for your daily routine for when you play concerts like this one at Baileys tonight?
Dave: Well actually with these gigs it's been a bit like a night-shift, which has completely thrown me. I reckon that I shall be getting up at about 2 O'clock, then working here till about 2 O'clock in the morning - that's the time that I'll leave after the gig - getting home at about five, going to bed that sort of time, then as I said waking up again at about 2 O'clock.
I always have eight hours sleep you see, certainly no less than that, maybe a bit more! It tends to throw you a bit when you do the night-shift bit because you feel strange during the day.
SN: Do you still like playing clubs like this though, where you have got to cone on stage late at night?
Dave: That's the only thing that I don't like about the nightclubs. I mean, if you're doing a normal gig you're finished by 11 or 12 O'clock, and you'll get home by about 2 O'clock, and thus have a normal sort of routine.
I don't like having to be in bed during the day, I’d rather be up in the morning - I'm more of a day person than a night person. I feel that it's more natural to be up during the day, whereas Nod will have a kip during the day, and it doesn't bother him. He can groove every night of the week, but I'd feel as if I was hemmed in, as if all I was ever seeing was darkness. I like the "day" routine more, and I probably prefer the routine of concert gigs rather than playing clubs. But they have to be done, so I do them.
SN: At concerts though, have you ever noticed the audience, and has the way that they have reacted ever effected you, good or bad?
Dave : Say we have an awkward audience, like those in these clubs, where you get girls wearing pretty dresses, and women in hen parties - who have never seen a rock group, or certainly never seen a group like us - so they just there, well a lot of gigs we've done have been like that, and we've had to work hard to get them off their seats. They don't instantly react. They're probably really liking it, but they haven't got a c2ue as to what they are supposed to be doing whereas fans, like yourselves, know the sort of thing that we are after every night.
So the attitude of the group is sort of: "You WILL enjoy yourselves!” We aim for having a hectic night. It's almost like playing sport. If you play squash say, you're going to hit the ball and sweat like crazy - that's your aim on stage, to physically move yourself.
Well, when I go on stage I like to move around and I like to play, and I get off on it. If I see an audience getting off on it too, then that magnetism comes back. But also if we go on stage and the audience is "instant" from the start, then that doesn't hold us down any, it only means that we will push to do the normal show, and push to sustain the reaction.
SN: Do you prefer the concerts nowadays where you have to win the crowd over, rather than those from a few years back where you had them with you from the start?
Dave: We do feel the reaction that we get nowadays is a lot more genuine, because it simply is a lot harder to get. Obviously when you are a huge success you are getting a lot of people in at the gigs who are just buying the odd single or two, and they’ve just come down to see what it’s all about. Also they’ve probably heard “we shall scream at the gig” or “We shall jump around at the gig” or something. Also the crowd seems to be a lot younger at the concert gigs, so they are likely to be more clowny and loon about.
At these club dates some of the people that come in each night are fans,
-6-
old fans that have grown up and are coming to see what we are about now.
They probably still consider us to be something from the past, they don't know quite what they are going to get. What we do notice now is if we do get claps that it is more genuine than the hysteria. This is one thing that will keep us together, if we are still going down well without hit records at the present time, then we know that we are winning.
SN: Talking about you personally on stage, you seem to have lost a bit of your stamina, because Jim seems to have taken over. Now though you are creeping back to the way that you were before. Is this intentional, or is it just me imagining it?
Dave: You seem to be noticing it more than most people would. I don't know, maybe it's the clubs that are making the situation like it is. Also maybe Jim has stepped up and taken the spotlight away from me a bit, as opposed to me lowering myself. I'm probably not that much different, it's only you noticing Jim doing it more so, you know moving around and that.
I would say though that at one point I did quieten off, but not consciously. The reason for me stepping up is because it's like "aggro" at these places. You see the audience sitting there, and you've got to project to them some sort of image to get them going. If you're not jumping around, moving about and enjoying yourself, then they aren't going to either.
SN: But obviously you are the real entertainer of the group.
Dave: I've never thought of myself as that. I've always thought of me as being just another member of the group that does what he does. Nod talks to the crowd, and I muck around.
Image-wise, I suppose that me and Nod are the strongest, only because we come across as being the strongest on stage.
SN: When I started liking the group you are Nod were the only ones that I knew of?
Dave: Right. It was my clothes that got me known!
SN: Why did you spell your song titles wrongly?
Dave: We didn't do it to be consciously gimmicky. We did it because that was the way that we talked, and that was the way that we would write the words by how they sounded. This was opposed to us speaking straight English: “Because I Love You”, obviously we would say “Cuz I Luv You”. This worked in our favour, so we kept on doing it. We dropped it eventually though because it was turning into a gimmicky thing. Y'know you do it once, then you do it twice, then somebody says : "Oh no! Not again!” You have to call a halt to something before people get fed up with it.
SN: Talking about yourself, you're the sort of gimmick member of the group, first you had the glitter and the platform boots, then it was the bald head and leather jacket, what's next?
Dave: I can't really tell you can I? I will probably just appear with something. I don't know. I don't actually plan to do anything as such. I think that somehow through the clubs, and through the gigs we are doing, that I get an inspiration, and I do something. I'm not specifically planning to do anything at the present time.
The last thing that I would want to do though would be to walk on stage with glitter on, or anything of that description. I don't want anyone to look upon me as being a figure of the past, I want to be NOW.
-7-
SN: Were you ever pressed into wearing any of the old clothes by management at all?
Dave: Oh No! You must be joking. Our management could never think of anything like that! Everything that I do is always "me".
SN: You're more way out than the other members though aren't you?
Dave: Yeah, but I was like that at school, before I met this lot! I suppose though that there is something in me that the others haven't got, but that applies to each of us. Take Don, he's a quieter sort of bloke, or Jim who's really musical… each of us is totally different and it means that we're all blended together. I don't sit here thinking that I project more than Don does, but someone will come up to me and say that I am the idiot of the group because that' s how they see me.
SN: Some people have said that you are a bit of a big head.
Dave: Obviously. To be aggressive, or to be a performer, you have to have a certain ego attitude. You can't ever walk onto a stage looking a bit timid because the audience will walk all over you - they really do in America.
SN: Dave, are you setting your intentions on getting to the top again?
Dave : I'd be a liar to say that we didn't want another hit record, or several. Meaning the "top" to be a No.1 group, well I think that's always in the offing as far as we are concerned, there's always a big chance that we'll do that again.
SN: When you were very big, did the pressures ever get you down?
Dave: Sometimes. The pressures that we've got now are enough, we still get recognised, still get bothered. We put up with it better now though.
SN: Would you prefer' not to have instant No.1s, and thus have more of a quiet, relaxed life.
Dave: I wouldn't ignore instant No.ls, no. I wouldn't say that I wouldn't strive for something like that again. Understanding more about the music industry now, it's just that the situation with the marketing of records now means that it's impossible to have any more straight to No.1 records. We've done it, and that's the end of it as far as we're concerned. Even John Travolta, who's top of the teen-mania at the moment can't achieve it.
SN: Would you like to re-live those old times?
Dave: I don't want to re-live anything. I want to have a new experience, to go though the old experience again, would be boring. I want to go through success again, having more album success, and perhaps single records that are more respected. This doesn't mean that our old stuff isn't great, singles like "Mama Weer All Crazee Now" will always be classics in their own right.
S0 HERE'S TO MORE SLADE SUCCESS IN THE FUTURE, LET’S HOPE 1979 WILL BE THE TURNING POINT ONCE AGAIN. CAN “GINNY GINNY” MAKE IT?
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A COMPLETE DISCOGRAPHY OF SLADE SINGLES
N BETWEENS
| |
1966 You Better Run
|
Fontana
|
AMBROSE SLADE
| |
1969 Genesis
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Fontana
|
SLADE
| |
1969 Wild Winds Are Blowing
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Fontana TF 1056
|
1970 Shape Of Things To Come
|
Fontana TF 1079
|
Know Who You Are
|
Polydor 2058 054
|
1971 Get Down And Get With It
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Polydor 2058 112
|
Coz I Luv You
|
Polydor 2058 155
|
1972 Look Wot You Dun
|
Polydor 2058 195
|
Take Me Bak ‘Ome
|
Polydor 2058 231
|
Mama Weer All Crazee Now
|
Polydor 2058 274
|
Gudbuy T'Jane
|
Polydor 2058 312
|
1973 Cum On Feel The Noize
|
Polydor 2058 339
|
Skweeze Me Pleeze Me
|
Polydor 2058 377
|
My Friend Stan
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Polydor 2058 407
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Merry Xmas Everybody
|
Polydor 2058 422
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1974 Everyday
|
Polydor 2058 453
|
The Bangin' Man
|
Polydor 2058 492
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Far Far Away
|
Polydor 2058 522
|
1975 How Does It Feel
|
Polydor 2058 547
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Thanks For The Memory
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Polydor 2058 585
|
In For A Penny
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Polydor 2058 663
|
1976 Let's Call It Quits
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Polydor 2058 690
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Nobody's Fool
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Polydor 2058 716
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1977 Gypsy Roadhog
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Barn 2014 105
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Burning In The Heat Of Love
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Barn 2014 106
|
My Baby Left Me
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Barn 2014 114
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1978 Give Us A Goal
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Barn 2014 121
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Rock n Roll Bolero
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Barn 2014 127
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ALBUMS
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AMBROSE SLADE
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1969 Beginings
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Fontana
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SLADE
| |
1970 Play It Loud
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Polydor 2382 026
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1972 Slade Alive
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Polydor 2383 101
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Slayed
|
Polydor 2383 163
|
1973 Sladest
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Polydor 3802 088
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1974 Old New Borrowed And Blue
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Polydor 2383 261
|
Slade In Flame
|
Polydor 2442 126
|
1976 Nobody's Fools
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Polydor 2383 377
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1977 Whatever Happened To Slade
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Barn 2314 103
|
1978 Slade Alive Vol 2
|
Barn 2314 106
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SLADE FACTS
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6 No. 1 singles
| |
3 No. 2 singles
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2 No. 3 singles
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1 No. 4 single
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1 No. 7 single
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2 No. 11 singles
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2 No. 15 singles
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1 No. 32 single
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1 No. 48 single
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3 No. 1 albums
| |
1 No. 2 album
| |
1 No. 6 album
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1 No. 14 album
|
