Welcome!

Staffordshire 1960

In the United Kingdom during the 1960's, Midland Beat was a genre of its own. The central area of England is logically referred to as the Midlands and it seemed to have more than its fair share of musical aptitude. Many, like Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin, were born and bred there while others, like Cream, spent a lot of time learning their craft there.

This area would spawn one of the UK's biggest exports of the 70's, certainly in Europe. There is no doubt that the members of Slade grew up listening to the music of artists such as Buddy Holly, The Everly Brothers, Cliff Richard and The Shadows right through to the biggest icons of the 1960's. The Beatles influence would be prevalent throughout the group's career.

Welcome!

The most authentic and accurate history of the rock group, Slade, on the web.  In the world. even. This site is dedicated to the best facts research can find.  Jump to the first page here.
Then, click on the "next page" links to read the story in chronological order.

There are Pop bands, there are Rock bands and then there are musical institutions. All three of these descriptions apply to this four man, hit making machine from the West Midlands. With a string of misspelt chart toppers, an outlandish wardrobe and a killer, live act that was second to none. Slade's achievements during the 1970's were little short of phenomenal: their crunching rock 'n' roll and crazee antics would inspire acts such as Kiss, Kurt Cobain, Oasis, Twisted Sister, Alice Cooper, The Ramones, The Sex Pistols, The Darkness and even comedians Vic Reeves and Bob Mortimer, to pick up guitars. And what's more, the stunning re-birth from a career slump during the following decade revealed an enviable stubborn streak and tenacity worthy of only the rare few.

Slade were a top notch group that were dragged into the black hole of Glam Rock, a short lived fad that deflected from who they really were, one of the world's greatest Rock bands. Loud, gregarious and, above all, entertaining with an affable, rabble-rousing demagogue up front.

"Slade were down to earth and honest, and it's a real shame there's not more bands around like them, as you won't find this kind of honesty in the record business these days; mores the pity."
Dennis Munday: Ex Polydor Marketing October 2012

Here, we tell the story of one of the UK's most underrated groups. This is the story of Slade, told in a genealogical manner with the factual evidence to back it up where possible. The main source information comes from:

'Feel The Noize' by Chris Charlesworth

'Genesis Of Slade' sleevenotes by John Howells

'Who's Crazee Now?' by Noddy Holder

( Paperback Version. )

( Hardback Version. )

Most of the 'new' info comes from the Wolverhampton (and surrounding areas) newspaper archives scoured by Chris Selby, without whom, this site would not be possible. Please bear in mind that local newspapers, like all newspapers, use artistic licence when reporting. For the purposes of this project, we are interested, first and foremost, in the date. The posts run chronologically, the early years are listed under 1971 because that's the earliest date Blogger can handle.

THE STORY STARTS HERE.

(To follow the story chronologically, click on the "next page" links!)

Intro paragraph by Dave Ling. If any links do not work please let me know in the comments section.

Ray Kimpton re: The Phantoms 1963
Alan re: Dortmund Habenera 1965,
Allie Keith re: John Conlan at Sundown 1972,

Please get in touch. 

You can also find me on Facebook or several Slade forums. 

Mickey P. ;-)