Year Zero ~ 1977
The whole music scene in the UK that Slade had left behind them in 1975 while they failed in their attempt to crack and then conquer the US market had changed beyond recognition when they finally returned to Blighty late in 1976. Lead singer Noddy Holder became a father in December that year and the band prepared to take up where they had left off.
First of allkicking off the new year a single "Gypsy Roadhog" was released on their own Barn record lable as a taster from their forthcoming album, "Whatever Happened To Slade"
The single was universally slammed by the British music press who were by this time all tossing themselves off silly to the likes of the Sex Pistols as the Punk generation sneered and snotted their way through university. Slade were old hat and considered rock dinosaurs, the epitome of everything that the spiky haired youth of the day were 'rebelling' against.
Regardless of what the hacks in the music press thought, Slade announced an 11 date concert tour of the country, climaxing at London's premier venue the Rainbow Theatre. To get back into the swing of things the band invited the cream of the UK's music press over to Denmark where the band were due to play a series of warm up gigs to brush away any cobwebs that may have been hanging around.
Despite the band playing some 400 gigs in the preceding two years in North America, and having a couple of preliminary gigs in Norway, the Copenhagen gig in front of the invited press backfired as they gave a disappointing lack lustre performance in a half full Falkoner Theatre. The band quickly cancelled the remaining five dates and returned to the UK, no doubt to get their shit together away from the prying eyes of the press.
Instead, the band rush released their new LP "Whatever happened To Slade" for the press to review. The comments were mixed, with some reviewers raving about it, and others giving it a big thumbs down. It was however eagerly awaited by the bands dwindling fan base, as were their first concerts in the country for two years. It was time for Slade to reclaim some of their former glory and show everyone who came along to the shows just what they were all about, the tour got under way on the 1st May.
Kicking off in the West Country at Bristol's Colston Hall the band played and promoted both old and new material which was as expected greeted more than enthusiastically by those who turned out to see them.
It was generally accepted that the tour from a fans perspective was a resounding success, Slade were back, larger than life and twice as loud as they ever were. Dave Hill was sporting a bald pate having finally decided to do away with the sham he had been living for years with a classic bald patch being combed over. The band were tighter, their years on the road in the States had improved their playing no end and the fans were loving it. but it was not a financial success, no tours ever really are, but here it was clear to see that the band were having trouble attracting an audience large enough to sell out the venues, with many shows having seats available and empty throughout.
The press sharpened their quills and filled their inkwells with a unique poison to brand the band as boring, uninspiring and waaay past their sell by date. Earlier in the year their single 'Gypsy Roadhog' had barely troubled the lower reaches of the top 40 before sinking without trace, the new LP was to fare even worse and became the first new Slade LP to not make the charts since Play It Loud in 1969.
Following the completion of the May tour (apart from a gig at the Ipswich Gaumont which was cancelled and rearranged for the end of the month) Slade bizarrely took part in a two week long stint in Germany where they appeared at a series of mainly free concerts organised by German teen mag 'Musik Joker' where they were one of four acts appearing each night, German band 'Supermax', 'Pussycat' (yes that Pussycat) and the Rubettes made up the other three...what a night out that must have been...OK..I'm taking the piss!
The band continued to promote their single and album releases wherever and however they could, including pitching up on the BBC's afternoon flagship show 'Pebble Mill At One' . It was to prove a quiet and in many ways defining year for the band, a year which bassist Jim Lea would later describe as 'Year Zero...year dot...Pol Pot...start all over again"
Times were indeed a changing, the fan club suddenly folded after the April issue of the Fan Club news, no further tours were announced for the year, but there was talk of the band contemplating a university/club tour coupled with the release of a second live LP.
They did take the opportunity to spread their wings further and took themselves off to Eastern Germany to appear on German TV where they mimed a set of 'hits' at a TV studio in Erfurt, an unremarkable little town that had previously only been known as one of the towns where the gas chamber ovens were manufactured during Hitler's Reich. In addition they also released in October their 'tribute' to Elvis Presley who had rather foolishly fatted himself to death earlier in the year. 'My Baby Left Me/That's Alright' a track first tried out live in the US the previous year, and fully integrated into the stage show during the May 77' UK tour, managed to scrape it's way to a chart high of 32 before slipping away into obscurity with the band following rapidly behind....the dark years had arrived.
JANUARY / FEBRUARY
Date |
Venue |
Notes |
|---|---|---|
13/1 |
UK Single Released | Gypsy Roadhog |
17/1 |
UK Single Charts - Gypsy Roadhog | Enters chart at No 58 |
19/1 |
Blue Peter BBC TV | Gypsy Roadhog |
24/1 |
UK Single Charts - Gypsy Roadhog |
Up 10 places to No 48 |
|
MARCH / APRIL
Date |
Venue |
Notes |
|---|---|---|
7/3 |
UK Single Released | Burning In The Heat Of Love |
|
||
18/4 |
Chateau neuf, Oslo | |
20/4 |
Falkoner Teatret - Copenhagen | Press gig (Links 1 2 3 ) |
21/4 |
UK Album Released | Whatever Happened To Slade |
21/4 |
Holstebrohallen - Holstebro, Denmark | Cancelled |
22/4 |
Dyrskuehallen, Hjørring, Denmark | Cancelled |
23/4 |
Tvedhallen - Tved, Denmark | Cancelled |
24/4
|
Aalborghallen - Aalborg, Denmark | Cancelled |
25/4
|
Nykøbing F Hallen - Nykøbing Denmark | Cancelled |
30/4
|
Dave Hill shaves head | Grasshopper is born. |
|
MAY / JUNE
Date |
Venue |
Notes |
|---|---|---|
1/5 |
Colston Hall, Bristol | Liar-Slade |
2/5 |
Winter Gardens, Bournemouth | Liar-Slade (Review) |
3/5 |
City Hall, Sheffield | Liar-Slade |
4/5 |
Empire Theatre, Liverpool | Liar-Slade |
5/5 |
Hippodrome, Birmingham | Liar-Slade |
6/5 |
Civic Hall, Wolverhampton | Liar-Slade |
7/5 |
Free Trade Hall, Manchester | Liar-Slade (Review) |
8/5 |
City Hall, Newcastle | Liar-Slade (Review) |
9/5 |
Apollo Theatre, Glasgow |
Liar-Slade |
11/5 |
Gaumont Theatre, Ipswich |
Cancelled (Holder loses voice) |
12/5 |
Rainbow Theatre, London |
Liar-Slade (Review) |
14/5 |
Ernst-Merck Halle, Hamburg | Slade, Rubettes, Supermax, Pussycat |
15/5 |
Festhalle, Frankfurt
|
Slade, Rubettes, Pussycat |
17/5 |
Neidersachsenhalle, Hannover |
Slade, Rubettes, Supermax, Pussycat |
18/5 |
Philipshalle, Dusseldorf |
Slade, Rubettes, Supermax, Pussycat |
19/5 |
Westfalenhalle, Dortmund |
Slade, Rubettes, Supermax, Pussycat |
20/5 |
Sporthalle, Koln |
Slade, Rubettes, Supermax, Pussycat |
21/5 |
Deutschlandhalle, Berlin |
Slade, Rubettes, Supermax, Pussycat |
22/5 |
Sporthalle, Augsberg |
Slade, Rubettes, Supermax, Pussycat |
22/5 |
Circus Krone, Munchen |
Slade, Rubettes, Supermax, Pussycat |
23/5 |
Sporthalle, Boblingen b Stuttgart |
Slade, Rubettes, Supermax, Pussycat |
28/5 |
Gaumont Theatre, Ipswich |
Cocksparrer - Slade (Review)
|
|
SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER
Date |
Venue |
Notes |
|---|---|---|
14/10 |
UK Single Released | My Baby Left Me/That's Alright |
20/10 |
TOTP Appearance | My Baby Left Me/That's Alright |
25/10 |
UK Single Charts - My Baby Left Me/That's Alright |
Number 32 |