THE EMPIRE POOL, Wembley, must be one of the most unsuitable places on earth to hold rock and roll concerts. Saturday was the fifth time I have been there to see bands, and although more enjoyable than others I still came away disappointed, the volume was loud enough to pin you to the wall in the entrance hall, with your ears bleeding, you tend to think more of your discomfort than what you are enjoying. There were an enormous number of Slade fans in the audience, and the crowd were with Slade before they even got on the stage.

Rightly so because not only are they renowned as master showmen and a very good band, but they lived up to their reputation. It was all there, the songs, the hard rhythm section. Noddy's ridiculously powerful voice, Dave Hill's guitar playing, the costumes, the glitter dust, the patter: Slade alive and Slade a - rocking, and it felt good to see the whole of the Empire Pool Wembley on their feet and stomping along.

They started with 'Hear me calling', followed on to 'In Like A Shot From My Gun", "Darling Be Home Soon", a rock and roll medley, "Coz I Luv You", the new single called "Gudbuy T' Jane", which follows well in the vein of "Take Me Bak 'Ome" which they did next, then, "Get Down & Get With It", and finally as an encore " Mama Weer All Crazee Now".

They were tight and brash, professional enough to weather anything, yet with enough of a rough edge to make them exciting musically as well as exciting as performers. And although the audience were going wild, stomping and clapping and pressing up against the barriers at the front of the stage, I didn't get that unsettling, unpleasant feeling I got from similar scenes at the same place when T Rex played. It all seemed much more straightforward and open.

My feeling of disappointment at the end of the evening had nothing to do with the way Slade played ------ It had to do with singing ears and a headache ------------ STEVE PEACOCK