Slade: 1970-жылдардың британдық рок сенсациясы

British rock band
the English rock band

Slade are an English rock band formed in Wolverhampton in 1966. They rose to prominence during the glam rock era in the early 1970s, achieving 17 consecutive top 20 hits and six number ones on the UK Singles Chart. The British Hit Singles & Albums names them the most successful British group of the 1970s based on sales of singles. They were the first act to have three singles enter the charts at number one; all six of the band's chart toppers were penned by Noddy Holder and Jim Lea. As of 2006, total UK sales stood at over 6,500,000. Their best selling single, "Merry Xmas Everybody", sold in excess of one million copies. According to the 1999 BBC documentary It's Slade, the band have sold more than 50 million records worldwide. Following an unsuccessful move to the U. S. in 1975, Slade's popularity in the UK waned, but was unexpectedly revived in 1980 when they were last minute replacements for Ozzy Osbourne at the Reading Rock Festival. The band later acknowledged this to have been one of the highlights of their career. The original line up split in 1992, but re formed later in the year as Slade II. The band have continued, with a number of line up changes, to the present day. They have also shortened the group name back to Slade. A number of artists from diverse genres have cited Slade as an influence. The Illustrated Encyclopaedia of Music tells of Holder's powerful vocals, guitarist Dave Hill's equally arresting dress sense and the deliberate misspelling of their song titles (such as "Cum On Feel the Noize" and "Mama Weer All Crazee Now") for which they became well known.

All the members of Slade grew up in the Black Country. Drummer Don Powell and bassist Jim Lea were born and brought up in Wolverhampton, lead vocalist Noddy Holder was born and brought up in nearby Caldmore in Walsall, and lead guitarist Dave Hill moved to Wolverhampton from Holbeton, Devon as a child. Slade have released over 30 albums, three of which reached No. 1 in the UK Albums Chart. Their releases have spent 315 weeks in the UK charts and they have earned 24 top 30 UK hits as of 2016. Slade dominated the UK singles charts during the early 1970s, often outperforming chart rivals such as Wizzard, Sweet, T. Rex, Suzi Quatro, Mud, Gary Glitter, Roxy Music, and David Bowie. Slade achieved twelve Top 5 hit singles in the UK between 1971 and 1974, three of which went straight to No. 1. Of the 17 Top 20 hits between 1971 and 1976, six made No. 1, three reached No. 2 and two peaked at No. 3. No other UK act of the period enjoyed such consistently high chart placings in the UK Top 40, and this feat was the closest any group had come to matching the Beatles' 22 Top 10 records in a single decade (1960s). Slade sold more singles in the UK than any other group of the 1970s. In 1973 alone, "Merry Xmas Everybody" sold over one million copies globally, obtaining gold disc status. They toured Europe in 1973 and the US in 1974. At the time, Noddy Holder was playing guitar and contributing to vocals in Steve Brett & the Mavericks. Signed to Columbia Records, the band released three singles in 1965. After listening to American blues artists such as Sonny Boy Williamson II, John Lee Hooker and Howlin' Wolf, the Vendors decided on a change of direction and name:

The Mavericks and the 'N Betweens were on their way to separate gigs in Germany when they met on a ferry in 1965. Powell and Hill asked Holder if he would be interested in joining The 'N Betweens, but Holder declined. Later, back in their home town of Wolverhampton, the musicians met again and this time Holder agreed to join the group. Jim Lea, whose musical background and strong bass guitar skills were considered an asset, had already been recruited. By 1966, this new version of the 'N Betweens had recorded a promo single of the Otis Redding track "Security" and a self penned song, "Evil Witchman", released on Highland Records. A further single, "You Better Run" was released on Columbia Records and produced by Kim Fowley. This last single was reported by Powell to have topped the regional Midland chart, although it failed to make any national impact. Between 1966 and 1967, the band's performance centred on the R&B and Tamla Motown styles, while Holder's flair for showmanship began to give the band a focus. During 1967, the band recorded the Honeybus track "Delighted to See You" which remained unreleased until 1994, where it featured on the various artists compilation Psychedelia at Abbey Road. Although the group did not record again for roughly two years, they built up a respectable reputation on the live circuit. Baverstock also found the group an agent, John Gunnel, who had previously worked with the entertainment entrepreneur Robert Stigwood. The band's debut album Beginnings, released in mid 1969, was a commercial failure, as was the instrumental single "Genesis" and the follow up single "Wild Winds Are Blowing". While the album was being recorded, the band were visited by Gunnel and his business partner, Animals' bassist Chas Chandler. Chandler was impressed with what he heard in the studio, and after seeing the band live the following day, offered to manage them. As Chandler had previous managerial experience with Jimi Hendrix, the band accepted. Chandler moved Slade to Polydor Records, believing a higher profile label would boost sales.

Chandler had been managing the band for almost two years without success when he suggested releasing a version of the Bobby Marchan song "Get Down and Get With It", originally performed by Little Richard. Slade still enjoyed a good reputation as a live act and the song had been used in their performances for many years. Always popular, the song's lyrics demanded audience participation and it was hoped that the feeling of a live gig would be projected into the studio recording. Chandler now demanded the band write a follow up single themselves which led to Lea and Holder writing "Coz I Luv You". The song was written in half an hour and started a writing partnership which would continue throughout Slade's career. Upon hearing the track played to him acoustically, a pleased Chandler predicted the song would make number one. While recording, the band felt the song's sound to be too soft, and so clapping and bootstamping were added. The song's misspelled title also became a trademark for Slade while causing a furore among British school teachers. The attendant appearance on BBC Television's Top of the Pops brought Slade to a wider audience as well as pushing "Coz I Luv You" to number one in the UK Singles Chart. A second single entitled "Look Wot You Dun", was released at the start of 1972, peaking at number four and a live album was released in March. It also did well abroad, topping the Australian chart and giving the band their first chart entry in America. The album was recorded over three nights at a newly built studio in Piccadilly in front of 300 fan club members. Today the album is regarded as one of the finest live albums ever made. Slade achieved their third number one when "Mama Weer All Crazee Now" was released later that year. and reaching number 69 in America. The final single of 1972, "Gudbuy T' Jane", was released shortly after, peaking at number two in the UK. The band's future was left in the balance as Slade refused to continue without their drummer although Lea's brother, Frank, covered Powell's position at the Isle of Man Festival to avoid disappointing fans. Powell, who had suffered breaks to both ankles and five ribs, successfully recovered after surgery and was able to rejoin the band ten weeks later in New York, where they recorded "Merry Xmas Everybody" – in the middle of a heatwave. Whilst Powell was recovering, and in an attempt to keep up momentum, the band released a compilation album Sladest, which topped the UK and Australian charts in the first week of its release. A new single, "My Friend Stan", was also released. It marked a change from previous records, being more piano based and sounding more like a novelty song. During the recording sessions, Powell who was walking with the aid of a stick, had to be lifted up to his drum kit. The Christmas themed song "Merry Xmas Everybody" was Slade's last single of 1973 and became the band's last number one in the UK. Holder has cited the single as his favourite Slade song. The film, released in January 1975, received a somewhat mixed reception. Critics loved it, but it was thought that its bleak, noir atmosphere confused Slade fans who were used to Slade delivering a good time. The follow up in May "Thanks for the Memory (Wham Bam Thank You Mam)" fared slightly better, peaking at number seven in the UK and doing well in a number of other European countries. The single became Slade's last top 10 hit of the 1970s.

By mid 1975, the band had become disillusioned with their lack of success in America. Feeling that they were becoming stale and had achieved all they could in Europe, Slade decided to a make a permanent move to the States and try to build a solid reputation from live performances; just as they had previously done in the UK. According to the Slade Fan Club newsletter of August and September 1975, the band took twelve tons of equipment, worth approximately £45,000 at the time. Throughout the remainder of 1975 and 1976, Slade toured the US, often with other bands such as Aerosmith, ZZ Top and Black Sabbath, only returning to the UK for TV performances of new singles. Between tours, Holder and Lea began writing for a new album which was heavily influenced by the US and aimed at an American audience. The group booked themselves into New York's Record Plant Studios in mid 1975 to record the album Nobody's Fools. Featuring backing vocals from Tasha Thomas, it contained elements of soul, country and funk music. Chandler decided not to renew the band's contract with Polydor Records, instead signing them to his own record label, Barn Records. This in turn led to the single's stalling at number 48 in the UK chart. In October, the band released an amalgamation of two Arthur Crudup songs, entitled "My Baby Left Me/ That's All Right" as a tribute to the recent death of Elvis Presley. The single proved to be a moderate success, peaking at number 32 in the UK. As the band were still a respected live act, and because the 1972 album Slade Alive! had been so successful, the group decided to release another live album. Slade Alive, Vol. 2 consisted of performances recorded during the 1976 Autumn tour of America and the 1977 Spring tour of the UK. In 1979, the band released a further three singles: "Ginny, Ginny", "Sign of the Times" and a cover of the party track "Okey Cokey". All failed to chart. The Slade newsletter of the time announced that "Ginny, Ginny" had made the top 200 in the UK but not the official top 100. In October 1979, the band released a new studio album Return to Base, the first album not to have Chandler as producer. Disagreements between Lea and Chandler, centring on business problems and Lea's desire to produce Slade's material, had been brewing since the recording of Whatever Happened to Slade in 1977. Lea in particular disagreed with Chandler on production decisions. As a result, Chandler offered to sever his association with the band. Slade, not wishing to be rid of Chandler entirely, asked him to stay on for the time being as their manager, which Chandler agreed to do. The album was a failure in the UK but the following year it topped both the Telemoustique chart and the official album chart in Belgium. Released exclusively in Belgium, the album's version of Chuck Berry's "I'm a Rocker" also made number 1. Slade's failures and lack of airplay led Lea to wonder if their material would be better received if recorded by another band. In late 1979, Lea formed The Dummies as a side project, with his brother Frank. They released three singles, which received plenty of radio airplay but sales suffered from distribution problems. In mid 1980, Slade released their first extended play titled "Six of the Best" which featured three tracks from the Return to Base album and three brand new rock tracks. Even though it was being sold for a lower than usual price of £1.49, it still failed to sell enough to make a chart appearance. As a result, the band stopped working together and Hill started driving couples to their weddings in his own Rolls Royce, to earn money. The business never really took off, as Hill only drove one couple (a pair of fans).

Ozzy Osbourne was due to play the Reading Festival in August 1980, during his Blizzard of Ozz tour, but cancelled at short notice as his band was not ready, leaving the organisers searching for a last minute replacement. Slade were suggested, but Hill, still demoralised, had effectively left the band and initially refused to take part when asked by the other band members. Eventually, Chandler went to his home and convinced Hill to play what should have been a farewell performance in front of 65,000 rock fans, instead of Slade's disbanding and disappearing without a trace. To Hill's astonishment, the band stole the show and quickly became the darlings of the music press and radio. Highlights of their performance were broadcast on BBC Radio 1's Friday Rock Show Reading special. Afterwards, the band signed to Cheapskate Records, owned by Chandler, Lea and his brother Frank, which gave the band more control of their material and products. Polydor Records also saw an opportunity to capitalise on the band's new success and released the compilation Slade Smashes! at the beginning of November. The album was given plenty of promotion and spent 15 weeks in the UK chart, peaking at number 21. Keen to keep momentum with their new fans, the band set out to write a song with hit potential. The idea for the new track came after a performance in Amsterdam at the Paradiso Club. An enthusiastic audience who would not go home were overheard chanting by Lea, who was downstairs in the dressing room. Realising the potential of the chant, the song "We'll Bring the House Down" was written and released in January 1981. Aimed at the new audience which consisted of mainly heavy metal fans, it showed Slade's heavier rock sound. The single hit the number 10 spot in the UK, becoming Slade's first top ten hit since 1976. The new deal meant that Slade's records would get worldwide release except in the US and Canada. The next couple of UK singles were still released under the Cheapskate label but with RCA pressing and distributing the records, then a full RCA release could start. The band's first full release on the RCA label was the European hit single "Lock Up Your Daughters" in late 1981. The track continued to follow a more heavy metal sound and made number 29 in the UK. An article in NME shortly after release claimed Slade were in trouble over the album cover, which featured an 'offensive' picture of a nail piercing an ear drum, and that many dealers were refusing to stock it. The cover was later changed on the CD reissue to a picture of the band in flames. In December, RCA released "Merry Xmas Everybody" for the first time since its initial outing. This time, however, it only managed to get to number 32. The first Slade single to have a 12" single version, it peaked at number 49. The song also became Slade's new show opener. In November, the band released a new single, "(And Now the Waltz) C'est La Vie", which was aimed directly at the Christmas market. It only made number 50 in the UK but was a hit in Poland where it reached number two. The band's version of the party track "Okey Cokey" was also re released that year but failed to make an impact, much like the original release in 1979. Lastly, "Merry Xmas Everybody" was again re released, this time only managing to get to number 67. which peaked at number 58 in the UK but received a positive response from critics. The power ballad "My Oh My" was released in November 1983, where it slowly climbed the charts and by December, Slade found themselves competing for the Christmas number 1 spot. The single peaked at number 2 behind a cappella group The Flying Pickets with their cover of Yazoo's "Only You". "Merry Xmas Everybody", again re released, made number 20 that year. The single peaked at number seven in the UK and was also successful in a number of other European countries. The tactic of releasing a second single appeared to work and The Amazing Kamikaze Syndrome eventually reached number 49 in the UK. By the end of 1983, the band had finished what would prove to be their final UK tour. In late 1983, Holder joined Lea in record production producing, among other things, Girlschool's cover of the T Rex song "20th Century Boy" and the album Play Dirty which featured two Slade tracks, "Burning in the Heat of Love" and "High and Dry". Toward the end of the year, American glam metal band Quiet Riot released a cover version of "Cum on Feel the Noize" on Pasha Records and distributed by Columbia Records. It became a hit, peaking at number five in the Billboard 100, and helping their debut album Metal Health to the top, selling seven million copies on the way. It was Slade's first and only top 20 hit in the States. Its success, it has been suggested, was partly due to the accompanying music video which was filmed at Eastnor Castle in Ledbury, Herefordshire, England and was heavily shown on the MTV music channel. The album was a success, getting to number 33 in the US and number 26 in Canada. The final single from the album was "Slam the Hammer Down" which peaked at number 92. In late 1984, a new single, similar in style to "My Oh My" was released in the UK. Entitled "All Join Hands", the song made number 15 in the chart. The single did make number 39 in the German chart. Rogues Gallery, an album heavily reliant on Lea playing on synthesizer and the majority of instruments, was released in the UK during March, and in America during May. Reported to be one of the band's most polished productions, the band aimed to produce an album where all tracks were potential hit singles. In November, the band released a party album called Crackers – The Christmas Party Album which peaked at number 34 and was certified UK gold sales later that month. That same year, the rock band The Redbeards From Texas released a cover of the 1972 Slade hit, "Gudbuy T'Jane" and in late 1986; "Okey Cokey" was re released for the second time but failed to chart, whilst "Merry Xmas Everybody" was once again re released, peaking at number 71. To avoid becoming a 'Christmas' hit band, Slade did not release the single "Still the Same" in December 1986 but left it until February 1987. Released in April, "That's What Friends Are For" suffered a similar fate, peaking at number 95. The album was poorly promoted with no accompanying tour or music videos and spent just one week in the UK chart, peaking at number 98. Following the album's failure, RCA agreed to let Slade return to their own Cheapskate Records label, although RCA still continued distributing. A new single, also called "You Boyz Make Big Noize" was released in August. Influenced by the Beastie Boys' musical style, it lacked the synthesiser sound of the album. In late 1987, "We Won't Give In" was released as a single in the UK, where it peaked at No. 121. The band's 1987 official fan convention was held at The Royal Standard Convention, Walthamstow, London. The band held their third official fan club convention at Drummonds Convention, King's Cross, London. 1989 saw "Merry Xmas Everybody" make another new chart appearance, this time reaching number 99 the week after "Let's Party" by Jive Bunny and the Mastermixers, which sampled the song, topped the chart. During 1990, Lea released his own version of Slade's "We'll Bring the House Down" under the name The Clout. At the end of the year, "Merry Xmas Everybody" was again re released and peaked at number 93. The single peaked at number 55 in the UK and both Holder and Lea appeared in the song's music video, whilst Holder provided lead vocals on one of the single's b sides, another Slade cover, "Gudbuy T'Jane". All artist royalties from the sale of the single were donated to Childline. In that same year, Lea produced the single "Where Have All the Good Girls Gone" for the Crybabys, which was not a success. The first single, "Radio Wall of Sound", written by Lea and originally intended for a solo project, was released in October. Lea briefly considered Slade continuing with a new singer and thought about approaching Ian Hunter, but ultimately chose to retire from the band as well. Powell filled the gap by helping out in a hotel his partner managed, but would soon re join Hill to form Slade II later in the year. The album was not successful, nor were the singles "Hot Luv" and "Black and White World". The band have seen many line ups (including Dave Glover on bass, plus present incumbents Mal McNulty on guitar and vocals and John Berry on bass and vocals) but Hill and Powell have remained constant throughout. Also in 1996, a compilation entitled The Genesis of Slade was released, which contained rare and some previously unreleased material from The Vendors, Steve Brett & The Mavericks and The 'N Betweens. During 1997, a new Slade compilation, Feel the Noize – Greatest Hits, reached number 19 in the UK, while in the following year, a remix of "Merry Xmas Everybody", released under the name Slade Vs. Flush, made number 30. In 2000, Holder was appointed as a Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire for his services to music and his voice was famously recorded for lift announcements at the Walsall New Art Gallery. In 2002, Slade II shortened their name to Slade and re released their album Keep on Rockin' with a handful of new tracks included, retitled Cum on Let's Party. The band also released two new singles, titled "Some Exercise" and "Take Me Home". Both singles were released in Belgium through Virgin Records. In 2003, incarcerated serial killer Rosemary West announced her supposed engagement to bassist Dave Glover. The supposed engagement was called off shortly afterwards and Glover was summarily fired from Slade by Dave Hill. Glover admitted having written to her about the case, but denied any romantic involvement. An American compilation was released by Shout! Factory in 2004, titled Get Yer Boots On: The Best of Slade. In 2005, Steve Whalley, original singer for Slade II, left the band and was replaced by Mal McNulty, who has sung for the band since. In November 2005, Polydor released a new Slade compilation, The Very Best of Slade, which peaked at number 39 in the UK. A DVD was also released for the first time, featuring a collection of Slade videos and promos. From 2006 to 2007, music label Salvo remastered and released all of Slade's catalogue, including a four disc anthology set entitled The Slade Box (Anthology 1969–1991) and a package of all live albums in one Slade Alive! The Live Anthology. The remastered series also included the release of a new compilation called simply B Sides, which featured all of the band's B sides. Shout! Factory also released the compilation In for a Penny: Raves & Faves in 2007. In late 2006, UK chart rules changed to allow downloads of old singles eligible to chart, which allowed "Merry Xmas Everybody" to return to the chart. It has re entered the UK Top 75 every Christmas since then, most successfully in 2007 when it peaked at number 20. In November 2009, Universal Music released a new compilation entitled Merry Xmas Everybody: Party Hits, which peaked at number 151 in the UK. Holder said in 2015: “It really saddens me that the four guys who were in Slade can’t get together and sit round the dinner table. Five years ago I got the four of us together so we could air our grievances face to face, but it was so painful I’d never want to repeat it. I was shocked.”

In 2011, Salvo released a remastered version of Sladest which included a previously unreleased studio version of the live track "Hear Me Calling". On the evening of 21 December 2012, BBC Four held Slade Night, which consisted of a showing of the 1999 documentary It's Slade, Slade at the BBC, and the band's 1975 film Slade in Flame respectively. Slade at the BBC is a compilation of the band's performances from the BBC archives throughout their career from 1969 to 1991, introduced by Noddy Holder. According to BARB, the viewing figure for It's Slade was 608,000 whilst Slade at the BBC had a total of 477,000 viewers. After years of working with Lise Lyng Falkenberg, since 2006, Powell's biography Look Wot I Dun – My Life in Slade was released on 14 October 2013, by Omnibus Press (Music Sales Ltd). The book is based on more than 50 hours of interviews with Powell as well as his own 20 years of diaries and notebooks he kept due to his problems with short term memory following his 1973 accident. Additionally the book featured contributions and quotes from interviews of 28 of Powell's friends, colleagues and family members. It looks in detail at Slade's long career and Powell's life, which included booze ups with Ozzy Osbourne. To promote the book, Powell appeared at a number of Waterstones book signings, as well as a charity "Tea with Don Powell" event, a question and answer session, where Powell discussed his life with Clive Eakin of BBC Coventry & Warwick. It was in support of the National Autistic Society. On 3 February 2020, Powell announced on his official website that Hill had sent him a "cold email" informing him that his services were no longer required. Hill disputes this version of events, stating that Don Powell's version of the circumstances of the break up were inaccurate. Powell also announced that he would be forming "Don Powell's Slade" with former Slade II bassist Craig Fenney. Powell was replaced by Alex Bines. Don Powell's statement was removed from his website shortly afterwards. During 2020 and 2021, Powell, Holder and Lea conducted an extensive series of Zoom video interviews for the www. slayed. co. uk website and its forum at www. sladeforum. co. uk comments from which were mined for the expanded second edition of the book on their unauthorised discography, THE NOIZE. In late 2022, Lea and Powell reunited in the recording studio (with Johnny Howells and Mick Marson of the pre Slade group The 'N Betweens) to record a number of songs for a Jim Lea project. The only track that has been released so far was the very limited edition CD single of Train Kept A Rollin' on the Noize Recordings label. A video was made for the song The Train Kept A Rollin' reached a height of #3 on The Heritage Chart on 14 May 2023.

Many Slade songs were written specifically for audience participation, such as "Get Down and Get With It", "Mama Weer All Crazee Now", "Cum on Feel the Noize", "Give Us a Goal", "We'll Bring The House Down", "Rock and Roll Preacher" and "My Oh My". In the days before Slade, Holder, Lea, Hill and Powell were influenced by American blues artists such as Sonny Boy Williamson II, John Lee Hooker and Howlin' Wolf but then became interested in the work of Little Richard. Later they were to draw artistic influence from contemporary rock acts including the Beatles, Chuck Berry, Joe Brown, Cream, the Kinks, Wilson Pickett, Otis Redding, the Rolling Stones, Rufus Thomas, the Who, the Pretty Things, and Screaming Lord Sutch. Chas Chandler's connections with The Animals and Jimi Hendrix also had an influence. The 1969 album Beginnings, released under the name Ambrose Slade, featured many songs that basically comprised their live act with covers of psychedelic rock and classic 1960s rocksongs by Steppenwolf, Ted Nugent, Frank Zappa, The Moody Blues, The Beatles and Marvin Gaye. Play It Loud (1970), the first album that was released as Slade, showed more of a progressive rock sound. Their 1972 live album, Slade Alive!, featured cover versions of songs by Ten Years After, The Lovin' Spoonful, Bobby Marchan and Steppenwolf and is considered a strong classic rock effort. Their sound was toughening up and they would soon find their classic sound and commence the tremendously successful Holder / Lea songwriting partnership. The 1971 single "Coz I Luv You", and the 1973 B side Kill 'Em At The Hot Club Tonite were inspired by the gypsy swing of the Quintette du Hot Club de France, especially the guitar and violin styles of Django Reinhardt and Stéphane Grappelli. Slayed? (1972) merged glam rock with classic rock, and whilst the 1974 album, Old New Borrowed and Blue, continued in this vein, it also featured pop rock, rock ballads and novelty tracks. The next album was the 1974 soundtrack Slade in Flame which saw a return to 1960s classic rock, to fit with the theme of the film. The single from the album, "Far Far Away" had an acoustic rock sound, whereas the following single "How Does It Feel?" featured the use of brass and woodwind instruments. After the band returned to the UK in 1977, they began to merge their American influences with a classic, hard rock. Return to Base (1979) featured elements of classic rock, acoustic rock, rock ballads, ambient rock and rock and roll. Two albums, released in 1981; We'll Bring the House Down and Till Deaf Do Us Part adopted a hard rock and heavy metal sound, as a result of the band's revival amongst heavy metal fans, following their success at the Reading Festival. Other artists include Hanoi Rocks, Queen, Kirka, Hot Leg, Candlebox, Cock Sparrer and Girlschool. Their anarchic attitude was adopted by the Damned, the Wonder Stuff, and Oasis, the latter of whom covered "Cum on Feel the Noize". Comedians Vic Reeves, Bob Mortimer, Paul Whitehouse and Mark Williams affectionately parodied the band in a number of what the band called 'hysterically accurate' "Slade in Residence" and "Slade on Holiday" sketches, in their The Smell of Reeves and Mortimer television programme in the early 1990s. In 1981, Adam and the Ants' lead guitarist and co songwriter Marco Pirroni, who now owns Dave Hill's original trademark 'Superyob' guitar, stated that he was greatly influenced by the first gig he ever attended which was Slade at Wembley Pool in 1973. TV presenter Gareth Jones, also known as Gaz Top, is a known Slade fan who hosted the 1986 Slade documentary "Slade Perseverance". Jones also appeared at the 1986 and 1987 official Slade fan club conventions. and Welsh football player Nigel Vaughan, whom Lea and Hill visited on Boxing Day 1989 at the football ground of Wolverhampton Wanderers. Ozzy Osbourne commented during a Slade documentary, "Noddy Holder's got one of greatest voices in rock ever." On his show, 'Breakfast With Alice' on Planet Rock, Alice Cooper stated "I love Slade. One of the oddest looking bands of all time Twisted Sister lived on Slade, and so did Quiet Riot pretty much. They wrote the catchiest songs around." In 2008, Nikki Sixx of Mötley Crüe said, '" like with Alice Cooper and Bowie and Slade – those fucking bands gave 150 percent. It was about fashion, it was about music, it was about pushing the envelope". Status Quo bassist John "Rhino" Edwards stated in a 2010 interview, "I thought the best violin player was Jimmy Lea out of Slade. Oh, he's just brilliant. He's a brilliant musician, that guy. He's a serious bass player. That band (Slade) are so underrated as players. So original." Deep Purple guitarist Ritchie Blackmore said of them, "They are a good group because they don't care about the notes and there is a public wanting that. Another group might be too inhibited to do what they do." Twisted Sister vocalist Dee Snider once described Twisted Sister as Slade meets the Sex Pistols. Twisted Sister's guitarist Jay Jay French stated "I would say our direct lineage these days is a bit of Slade and Alice Cooper." On the 2011 final Mark Radcliffe & Stuart Maconie BBC Radio Two show, Manic Street Preachers bassist Nicky Wire stated that he believed Slade's post Reading material was very underrated. Kiss bassist Gene Simmons stated that his band's early songwriting ethos and stage performance was influenced by Slade. In his book Kiss and Make Up, Simmons wrote " we liked the way they (Slade) connected with the crowd and the way they wrote anthems we wanted that same energy, that same irresistible simplicity". Tom Petersson of Cheap Trick said that his band went to see Slade perform, and that they (Slade) used "every cheap trick in the book", thus inadvertently coining his group's name. Cheap Trick covered the song "When the Lights Are Out" on their 2009 release, The Latest. Quiet Riot had US hits with covers of "Cum on Feel the Noize" and "Mama Weer All Crazee Now". The origins of Slade's influence on Quiet Riot date back to the early 1970s, when Kevin DuBrow photographed Slade during their first Los Angeles appearance at the Whisky a Go Go. However, Quiet Riot drummer Frankie Banali claims that DuBrow was not a fan of Slade, favouring fellow British rock bands Queen and Humble Pie. In 1971, Record Mirror magazine voted Slade number 10 in the top UK groups based on singles for the year. During 1972, the then popular teen magazine, Fab 208, voted the band "Group of the Year" whilst in the Record Mirror magazine that same year; Slade were voted number two in the most promising British groups list, number five in the top 18 groups list and number 17 in the male groups category. Also in 1972, Slade were voted number one top band and leading recording act in the NME magazine chart points survey, and number one top live band. Radio Luxembourg presented Slade with the award for "Britain's act/group of the year" in 1973. In February 1973, Slade were voted Best Live Band by the Disc Music Awards. The same year, the band were again voted the world's top group in the NME Poll and top group in the BBC World Service Poll. In April 1973, Record Mirror magazine ranked Slade at number three of top 10 in both the album and singles band chart. Record Mirror's exclusive chart survey was based on a point system allocated according to position and length of time in UK charts for the first three months of the year. In July 1973, Record Mirror magazine ranked Slade at number six of 10 in the UK group singles chart and number 3 in the UK group albums chart. In 1973 and 1974, the band received the Carl Alan award for Top Group. In early 1974, the band were voted the number one foreign group by Spain's biggest music magazine of the time and were voted best overseas group in Finland, Belgium and Ireland. The Disc Music Awards rated Slade as the best live group and top British group. Slade made number four in the "top groups in the world" category. Individual members were also acknowledged; Noddy Holder was number five in the best British male singers whilst Jim Lea made number nine in the top songwriter list. In the Record and Radio Mirror poll results of 1974, Slade were voted top British group, with Holder number two in the top British male singer list. Dave Hill and Jim Lea made the top British guitarist list at number one and seven respectively. Lea also appeared at number nine in the top British keyboardist list and number two in the miscellaneous instruments list. Don Powell was voted top British percussionist. The band collected the 1974 Belgian award for Best World Group. In February 1976, Record Mirror magazine voted Slade the third best UK group with Noddy Holder number eight in the best male singer and number six in the best songwriter categories. In 1980, Record Mirror voted the band number one for the most inspired comeback of the year.