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The impact of their
success, says Noddy, hasn't fully hit the group yet.
"It's
just us playing the way we always have and we're doing what the kids
want so we'll keep it that way. The characters you see on stage are
extensions of ourselves, but exaggerated. It's us though, and we don't
want to change."
SLADE have been
considered a 'singles' band and the success of the last two albums "
Slade Alive" and " Slayed" is another fact Noddy shrugs off with
amiable incredulity. We always wanted prove that we could come
over as strong on album we could on singles. 'Slade Alive' has been in
the chart for almost a year now" and 'Slayed' sold more in three
weeks than Slade Alive has done and it's number one or two every
week.
We made 'Slayed'
deliberately far removed from second album and expected it to do
well. We made it an album basically full of potential single
records, but never expected it to sell so quickly. There was an
incredible advance order on it"
Slade fans
demonstrate their loyalty in curious ways, One is to manufacture
silver paper hats similar to those worn by the group - another is to
hurl underwear onto the stage.
This happened all
the last tour. They
make these beautiful top hats with silver mirrors on them and just
throw them on stage. It must take hours to make them. Bras and
knickers come on stage with our names and messages written inside them
I've got them all in a box back home because I seem to collect most of
them. I read through all the messages and there are some real kinky
ones. Some of them are ridiculous."
Different
Turning to the music,
Noddy refutes charges that Slade's singles are alike. "If you sat down
and put each of our singles on the record player, there are only two
that we think would be anywhere near one another and that's 'Mama Weer
All Crazee Now' and 'Take Me Bak 'Ome.' The others have all different
things in them.
The new single is
different again.It's very much an audience participation thing but
it's not such a simple thing to play. It's still on simple lines but
it's an extension of simplicity. Keeping things pretty
simple has always
been the aim with us, and we won't change that too much."
The hard work that
Slade have gone through
during the past 12
months has improved the group immensely, says Noddy "If we keep on
improving at the rate we are doing I don't see any reason why we
shouldn't last for as long as whatever lasting power is.
To us we've improved
incredibly and we're learning much more about how to make records. The
stage show is much better than it's ever been. We've got a lot more
confidence and we feel better when we walk on stage. When we have our
first number one with 'Coz I luv you' we never had any confidence in
our song writing and it could have been a fluke, but we've written
every one since ourselves and everything on the new album so we
know now they are not flukes and we have something to offer.
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We've only had a year
of song writing experience behind us, and a year is nothing."
Constant comparisons
with bands like the Rolling Stones and the Who annoy Slade who'd
prefer to be known on their own merit.
Parallels
"I think a lot of
people mean it as a compliment most of the time, but we don't want to
be a comparison of a sixties band. We want to be a seventies band.
There's parallels with the sixties bands but we're not similar.
Everybody has learned a lot of lessons from the sixties which was a
testing period for groups. The Beatles, the Stones and the Who came
out of it all but it was all fresh then. Today groups are accepted and
so you have to have something more than just being a group. You have
to have an aura, whatever it may be. It could be sit down and
listen to musically note perfect bands, but with a band like us, we're
the ravers type group. People's minds are much more open to groups,
because there are more fields to follow.
We're playing to
an audience that weren't around during the Beatles era. We are playing
to the next generation, or maybe even two generations later.
They are not
interested in the sixties groups. They've probably heard the records,
but they weren't there. Their older brothers and sisters were probably
that generation, but that's their only connection.
I think all groups
now would love to have a single in the charts and expose themselves to
the masses. We've always tried to appeal to the masses and now we've
got a big following which helps when we release a record.
Standard
That probably puts
our record in the charts, but I don't think for a minute we could put
out a crap record and it would be a hit. We'd just sink' like a stone
if we did that.
People say the public
haven't got taste but I think they have. They like what they like and
they'll only go out and spend their bread on stuff they think is good.
You've got to keep the standard up all the time, We can't become
complacent."
IF SLADE are at one
end of the current teen spectrum, the Osmonds are at the other. Their
respective images are poles apart.
"I
met the Osmonds at the Rainbow, three of them anyway," said Noddy They
seemed quite nice. ordinary blokes . I don't take any interest in
their records because they're not the type I like listening to. I
think they have a much younger audience than we get. The production of
their records is good and they're getting hits so good luck to them. I
can't say I like Donny Osmond's singles, but Crazy Horses' was
good. Our image is as different as chalk and cheese to them, but
everybody has their own little niche nowadays. There's the Osmonds,
the Jackson 5. Cassidy, us, Bolan, Bowie, Alice Cooper, Yes, the
Moodies, the Strawbs, Gary Glitter and everybody has their own little
thing. The business is so competitive you have got to be good to
survive. Unless you're good in your own little field, you won't
survive any more. The competition is so intense.
The voice of Noddy
Holder, powerful and shattering, is an essential ingredient to Slade's
sound. But Noddy is modest about his vocal |
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powers.
I think it's a
part of the group's sound and something you can identify us by, but so
are lots of things. Dave's lead guitar sound is just as important to
us even though it doesn't stick out to other people. People
underestimate Don on the drums, too. Jim is the musical one in the
band and we bounce our ideas off each other. You can't pick any one
thing out because it all moulds together. We've deliberately gone out
to get group unity, but certain things get overlooked.
Limelight
I get embarrassed
because I seem to get more of the limelight and more of the
interviews. It used to be all me at one time, but now Dave gets some
more of the limelight. Jim and Don tend to be overlooked and they
shouldn't be because we all put out heart and soul into it,"
Like Rod Stewart, and
probably other lead singers. Noddy is an Al Jolson fan.
He knocks me out. He
always had a catwalk into the audience, and have the lights up on the
people in the audience which is something I'd like to do. When he was
singing to them he could see their faces and their reactions and
that's what I like to see. I love to see a feedback to the music
and how they are reacting to it. When he did 'Mammy' the people were
almost crying in the audience; then he'd do a light-hearted number and
make them laugh. I love to see our audience the same, laughing at the
jokes and clapping their hands and stamping their feet and singing
along with ''Mama Weer All Crazee Now' and chanting, It's a
great buzz when they all get into 'You'll Never Walk Alone' with all
their scarves in the air like the football matches. With the lights on
them it's incredible to watch .
"The football thing
just started accidentally at one gig when they started singing on
their own. We've always done this football thing, asking them what
team they support and asking for the local chant. •• One night they
just started singing" You'll Never Walk Alone.' We stood there and the
audience took over. It was tremendous. We've kept it in ever since. It
was the audience's idea not ours." DESPITE the identification with
football, none of the group are particular football fans.
"I
watch it on the TV but don't go to matches. I used to watch
Walsall and
Wolverhampton
when I was a kid, but I don't have time now.
The whole aura of it
fascinates me. I saw a clip of some
Liverpool supporters at Wembley singing 'You'll Never Walk Alone' with all their
scarves up, and it knocked me out. Just like one of our gigs.
Appeal
I'm sure that we
appeal to the kids that go to football matches. They support us and
they support Slade. I'm sure at least 75 per cent of our fans are
football fans.
"We get letters from,
say Liverpool, which say All we live for is Slade and Liverpool
Football Club. Or it might be Slade and Sheffield United, or Slade and
Birmingham, or Slade and Spurs.
"We never meet a
fraction of the ,people that write to us but you feel you know them.
"They feel they know us too, because our tastes must coincide with
their tastes." |
