Slade, 18 December 2024

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 stand at 6,520,171, and their best-selling single, "Merry Xmas Everybody", has sold in excess of one million copies. According to the 1999 BBC documentary It's Slade, the band have sold over 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 reformed 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, including Nirvana, Smashing Pumpkins, Ramones, Sex Pistols, The Undertones, The Runaways, The Clash, Kiss, Mötley Crüe, Poison, Def Leppard, Twisted Sister, The Replacements, Cheap Trick, Oasis, Quiet Riot (who covered Slade songs for two of their three biggest hits) and Britny Fox. 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.