Slade

Slade are a rock band from Wolverhampton, who rose to prominence during the glam rock era of the early 1970s. With 17 consecutive Top 20 hits and six number ones, the British Hit Singles & Albums names them as the most successful British group of the 1970s based on sales of singles. They were the first act to have three singles enter at number one, and all six of the band's chart-toppers were penned by Noddy Holder and Jim Lea. Total UK sales stand at 6,520,171, and their best selling single, "Merry Xmas Everybody", has sold in excess of one million copies.

Following an unsuccessful move to the United States in 1975, the band's popularity 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 the band reformed the following year as Slade II. The band has continued, in various guises, to the present day.

A number of artists have cited Slade as an influence, including: Kiss, Motley Crue, Quiet Riot, Poison, Def Leppard, Oasis, Cheap Trick, Twisted Sister, The Runaways and Girlschool. 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 for which they became well known.

Powered by Wikipedia