SLADE (LEFT TO RIGHT) DON POWELL, NODDY
HOLDER, DAVE HILL AND JIMMY LEA
Slade
living out
a Beatles fantasy
POLYDOR RECORDS were beside themselves with excitement; they hadn't had a rock group that had generated this much interest since… Well, even James Brown didn't cause this much of a stir in the rock Press.
And so, to properly introduce Slade to New York, Polydor set up a Press conference for the boys. A PRESS CONFERENCE??
Having met them in England last year, and knowing a bit about what the lads were like, I couldn't imagine it at all. I figured that would be a scream. It was.
A table was set on a sort of stage at one end of the room, with the names: Noddy, Dave, Don and Jimmy on cards in front of four microphones. Directly opposite their table was another long table set up with cheese and wine.
In order for the members of Slade to get to the wine - something they were gazing at with undisguised longing - they had to make their way, verbally that, through the members of the rock "Press" who were seated in between these two tables.
The formal questioning went on for about half an hour and it was nothing short of unbelievable. Every representative of every underground paper and every fanzine was there and seemed intent on asking the boys whether or not they had gotten laid since they came to America, what drugs they took, and what their sexual relationships with their family members were.
Being able to stand it no longer (what MUST they think, I wondered?) I suggested that they come around from behind the table and join us for drinks instead. Sighs of relief all round - from Polydor executives, to Noddy, Dave, Jimmy and Don who were quite thirsty by this time.
"Sex and drugs!! That's all they wanted to know about," Noddy told me later in the relative sanity of the Polydor offices. "I mean in England the Press doesn't ask you things Ilke: Do you ---- your sister?' I really enjoyed it though," he added. "It was a gas! Made for a pleasant change."
Other than, that, how had they found America SO far? "Were starting the same way we did in England," Noddy said, "You know people have got to learn to accept the act, same as they did in England. I dont think too many people here have heard of us. They don't seem to be aware that we're even on the bill sometimes!"
"The MC will say. "Here's the Number One Group from England... SLADE!!" added Dave, "and the audience will go... "WHO?""
"'Then there'll be some mediocre clapping, and we'll walk" out in our flash gear and. they say what's all THAT??" laughed Don.
But they all agreed that it's been good for them to start afresh here in the States. "We haven't got a hit record here like we do in England... know; and it's a great experience for us, ‘cause if we go down great it's not because of the strength of our records; it's really on the strength of the stage show alone." said Noddy.
Don added, "It's better with us being third-on-the-bill because it's making us work harder. We're fighting against complacency." "We did four dates in California," said Noddy, "and then we had to fly back to England to open the Sundown', and we realised when we got onstage there, how much better we were, than when we went away."
Slade is gaining a tremendous amount of respect from many people here for the way they`ve been handling this first US tour. Lots of groups in their position - after they have had all those hit records in Europe would have demanded to headline bills, they would be pulling the star trip, and would end up possibly losing a lot of moncy and not, helping to build an audience in this country.
Instead, they have been booked for 17 concerts less than three weeks, they are starting out third-on-the-bills with Humble Pie and J. Geils headlining, and they are building slowly, but steadily.
Part of the intelligence of the master plan must be credited to manager Chas Chandler, who certainly knows what it's all about. And part of it must also go to Slade's booking agent, Frank Barsalona, of Premier Talent, who is the best in the business. But Slade's attitude is terrific. It was a real pleasure to see them again.
"We've had to keep our act down to about 30 or 35 minutes,' Noddy said. "But we've tried to keep in all the stuff that gets the audience moving. Humble Pie has been really nice to give us this chance to come over and play on their tour."
"All we've seen of this country is aeroplanes and dressing rooms.' said Don. 'But we had a good party in Chicago." remembered Dave, smiling, "It's been fun, and the American kids have been good to us."
I asked the boys how their life was in England, and if they still lived at home. "Yes, they said. "Me mum polishes my Silver Disc," said Don, and Jimmy added: "The TV are coming to my house to film me and my family at dinner. It's for a pilot."
They all agreed that, they didn`t hang out together too much when they weren't working. '"See, after two nights off will say, "Gee, I wonder what the others are doing?"" said Don, "and we'll ring up and have a drink together, and maybe after two nights of that we'll get bored."
A lot of people at the, "Press Conference' wanted to ask Chas Chandler questions about his personal Rock-n-Roll. history. "See, he doesn't want that," said Noddy. "He doesn't push himself at all. Even in America where a lot of people know him - he doesn't care about anything that went on before. This a new thing for him. Anyway, we're completely different from anything he was in before; we're different from the Animals or Hendrix. He started out from scratch with us."
"Besides," joked Dave, "he can't play bass anymore!! But he's a great manager! He's a good bloke."
A good producer, too. How do you get that hand-clapping sound...? "OH NO! We won't tell you THAT!" they all scream. "Just because my hands are covered with blisters," laughed Jimmy, as the others shout him down. "AWHHHH. We're not saying!!!!"
When Slade get together they are rowdy, fun, bit rough, and a real band; they are every American's fantasy of what the Beatles must have been like in the beginning, you know, like in "Hard Day's Night"
Onstage at the Academy Of Music Saturday night they came on Ilke a bat-out-of-hell and completely won over the audience who also came to see Peter Frampton debut his new group, Camel, and J. Geils do their great high-energy thing.
Slade, opened with 'Hear Me Calling' and the sound was SO loud, it was almost, but not quite, painful.
Noddy was screaming, getting the audience to clap and sing along with his demands. He is So incredibly powerful onstage that no matter how many quaaludes the audience had taken that night they responded That audience are known to be RUDE - but Noddy wasn't taking any of it from them, and very soon, he had them just wanted them.
'Darling Be Home Soon' had gorgeous harmonies, and by the time Slade broke into 'Sweet Little Rock And Roller' the audience were singing along. Same with 'Get Down And Get With It'. I was disappointed, that they didn't perform 'Coz Luv You' - but they did do the new single. Dave was stalking down the ramp with those boots flashing, and the little ramp lights flashing on and off, Grinning. They left the stage to rousing cheers, and owner Howard Stein came on to announce a brief intermission before Peter Frampton.
But the audience wanted more Slade. And after about five minutes of prolonged cheering one of the roadies ran up to,the dressing room and dragged the group back down onstage for another. "Wow,' mumbled Howard Stein to one of, his staff; I guess he was surprised that an opening act had done so well.
No one who knew Slade was
surprised.
Article for Lisa Robinson's New York published in DISC music paper.
The Saturday Lisa is reviewing took place at the Academy of Music on East 14th Street in New York, on 9th September 1972. Thank you Simon Harvey for sharing this article. An important moment for Slade in 1972.
No comments:
Post a Comment