Cheapskate Records - CHEAP-21
Wheels Ain't Comin' Down was released as a 7" single in 1981 from the album We'll Bring The House Down although it was originally featured as an album track on Return To Base..... The track, highly thought of by many of the fans, was considerably lighter than the previous hit single, We'll Bring The House Down.
It was written by lead singer Noddy Holder and bassist Jim Lea. The lyrics were based on a flight that they took in America, the line "Me and Midlands Misery" referring to Lea's nickname within the group. The landing gear failed and the plane looked as though it would need to crash land..
"Probably one of the worst flights we had was, flying from Los Angeles to San Francisco, as we were coming in to land at San Francisco the wheels wouldn't come down on the plane. So we had to go back to Los Angeles, we had another hours flight and we knew we were going to crash at the end of it. They had to land on a runway that went out to sea, the idea being that, if they had to crash, the planes didn't break up so easily?"
Noddy Holder: Does The Team Think 2009
Holder's memory is probably sketchy here, the lyrics suggest San Francisco is the divert. It's a shame that the group didn't listen to Chas Chandler on this release. Having parted company as manager and producer, the band were producing themselves and making their own decisions. Chas was still advising and looking after their affairs (financial, I suspect?) and most of what they'd done, prior to Reading, was of no great import but now, they had another chance. With no margin for error, Chas tried his best to dissuade the band from releasing this single but they were adamant.
Slade's comeback at the Reading Festival in 1980 attracted many Heavy Metal fans and the group adopted the style. Having decided upon the heavy rock stance, it was undoubtedly an error in judgement to release this song, recorded 18 months earlier for an album of contemporary pop, to represent the Slade of 1981. The track's failure was inevitable, it's sound and style in no way reflecting the renewed interest in the band. The single peaked at #60 in April, spending 3 weeks on the chart before disappearing into oblivion.
Ironically, the song on the B-side, also an original 1979 release (the flip-side to Sign Of The Times), would probably have fared better with the Heavy Metal fans. Not Tonight Josephine is basically a re-write of Something Else. Musically, it reminds me of the Sex Pistols doing C'mon Everybody, and it certainly does not represent the awesome rock band of the past decade.
- Wheels Ain't Comin' Down
- Not Tonight Josephine
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Wheels Ain't Coming Down
(Neville Holder & James Whild Lea)
We were leaving L.A. airport
Me and Midland's misery
On an early morning plane flight out
To some radio XYZ
Was a 1950's prob job
That had seen much better days
When we came on into the last appoach
Saw the runway through a haze
And the wheels ain't coming down
All in mind our lives passed before my eyes
And the wheels ain't coming down
And you realize you wanna stay alive
You wanna stay alive
Women weeping, children playing
As we roared into a climb
Men was praying, we was drinking lots
And it never cost a dime
Altered course for San Francisco
Standing by on a red alert
Gonna chance a landing on the sea
Hoping nobody gets hurt
And the wheels ain't coming down
All in mind our lives passed before my eyes
And the wheels ain't coming down
And you realize you wanna stay alive
You wanna stay alive
Wanna stay alive
Stay alive
We aborted joked the captain
When our feet had touched the ground
And I won't forget the moment he said
"It's OK folks the wheels are coming down"
And the wheels they're coming down
Did you realize it's good to be alive
And the wheels they're coming down
Did you realize you're gonna just survive
It's good to be alive
It's good to be alive
They're coming down
They're coming on down
They're coming on down
They're coming on down
Not Tonight Josephine
(Neville Holder & James Whild Lea)
Not tonight Josephine
Don't be so mean
I like the way you look
But now I've got a date with the Duke
Not tonight Josephine
Don't be so mean
I'll stand on my heels for you
But now I've got a date at Waterloo
I wanna welcome home, a welcome home
I wanna welcome home, a welcome home
I wanna welcome home when I come home again
I wanna welcome home, a welcome home
A welcome home, a welcome home
A welcome home when I come home again
Not tonight Cleopatra
You know what I'm after
But wait until I get back home
And now I got a date in Rome
Not tonight Guinevere
You whisper in my ear
Be ready willing and able
But now I got a date at the table
I wanna welcome home, a welcome home
I wanna welcome home, a welcome home
I wanna welcome home when I come home again
I wanna welcome home, a welcome home
A welcome home, a welcome home
A welcome home when I come home again
Go a-little queenie
Oh you're gonna get it tonight
You're gonna get it tonight
You're gonna get it tonight
You're gonna get it tonight
Your all gonna be the Queens of the ball
Tonights the night for Josephine, Cleopatra, Guinevere
They're all gonna be the Queens of the ball
So keep it safe and keep it warm don't you let it stray
A little bit of loving goes a long long way
Cool, calm, collected, erected and injected
Have no fear my pretty one you'll get what is expected
I wanna welcome home, a welcome home
A welcome home, a welcome home
A welcome home when I come home again
I wanna welcome, I wanna welcome, I wanna welcome
I gonna get you pretty one, I'm gonna get you all alone
I wanna welcome, I wanna welcome
I wanna welcome home when I come home again