NODDY HOLDER | JAMES WHILD LEA | DON POWELL | DAVE HILL Ah, yes..... Slade... We remember them.... Hundreds of sweaty nights with huge legions of fans having their eardrums pummelled into submission in a seemingly never-ending series of concert halls all over the world, from Wolverhampton to Wyoming. Nights of cheering at the TV as they took the number one spot on Top Of The Pops and cheerfully kept it for the next few weeks.. Neville John Holder - now a Radio DJ and occasional actor. "Walking on water, running on alcohol" Born : June 15th 1946 in Walsall Apparently known as Noddy because a 'Noddy Holder' is a condom. Or because he used to fall asleep in class. Depends which story you read for which version you get. Noddy was the one who effectively pulled the rug from under the band, by announcing his intention to leave, having done his 20 odd years, although he did offer the rest of the group the option of getting another singer in. What probably winds most people up about all of this is that fans were kept hanging on in the dark, probably because the others hoped he'd change his mind. Nod had the perfect right - as do we all - to change his job - and that's just what he did. Noddy is these days as everyone knows, a Radio DJ and part - time TV personality. He has been the target of criticism from Slade fans . Noddy has upset lots of fans by doing adverts for Adsa and Young's Fish and Chips. He has been immortalised as a puppet on the TV show 'Bob The builder'. He has also appeared in Viz comic. Noddy wrote his autobiography . . . something I'm really surprised Dave Hill hasn't done first. It was sadly, a rather thin affair. A further book of reminiscences is rumoured to be in the pipeline. Noddy was the one who was publicly mortified at the cancellation of The Grimleys. Not all the fans were. It was on the whole, possibly a mistake to go past the excellent first series, though Nod can't be faulted for his acting ability in the show. The inclusion of an acoustic version of 'Coz I luv you' on the soundtrack CD possibly gave fans a little hope that he would start to record again, the general opinion being that it's not worth holding your breath . . . One thing's for sure; whatever he does in the future will not be with the rest of Slade. Nod and Jim own all of Slade's music in their respective companies, Noddy Holder Music and Jim Lea Music. 'Merry Xmas Everybody' probably cushions him against the need to do anything musical ever again. Perhaps the most recognisable face of Slade, he has become an institution of sorts - even a 70's icon, perhaps. James Whild Lea : Former bass guitarist, guitarist, violinist and pianist with Slade. Effectively retired for a long time, but now has recorded again. "I go all Amadeus, like" Born 14th June 1949 (1952 in some biogs!) at The Melbourne Arms pub in Wolverhampton. First group : Nick and The Axemen. (based on the sound of The Shadows and The Ventures). Joined local band The N'Betweens after turning up for a nerve - wracking audition with his bass guitar in a plastic bag! Principal song writer (along with Nod) in Slade. Responsible for most of the hits and jointly owns Slade's music with Nod. Married his first girlfriend, Louise Ganner on March 19th 1973. Their first home was a 5 bedroom mock - Tudor house, 'Redroofs' on Warstones Road in Wolverhampton. Played all the instruments except drums on the single 'Everyday', as Dave was on holiday when recording took place. Produced the vast majority of the later Slade recordings after they parted company with the great Chas Chandler. Frowned upon Dave Hill's stage gear. Was very often horrified by it! Had a great desire to be taken seriously for the music, rather than the 'glam' image that would later discredit them. Played on Top of The Pops with Status Quo, performing 'Margueita time', when their bassist Alan Lancaster refused to promote it as he thought it was 'sh**e'. Jim is the member of the band that you can truly believe when he says that he listens to classical music. Referred to getting ideas for songs as 'going all Amadeus'. Pretentious bugger. Used to read fairly deep and meaningful books in the back of the car on the way to gigs. Jim says he actually enjoyed Slade's 'lean period', saying "success is empty, fighting is what I like". Jim will have not, however, been disappointed by the revenue gained from Quiet Riot's decimation of 'Cum on feel the noize', which went top three in America's singles charts. When Noddy gave his notice in and showed no sign of changing his mind, Jim elected not to take up the offer to perform with what is now known again as Slade. According to Noddy's book, Jim did not like the idea of the Slade name being used at all after Noddy had gone. A view that is shared by a fair number of hardcore fans. Released solo records before any other member of Slade thought of it and it appears they were mainly released at first to see just how the songs would sell under another name! Has only ever released one record under his own name. Has actually seriously studied psychotherapy, but has not (yet) taken it up as a full - time career since his qualifying as a psychotherapist. 'Looks after properties'. Has lots of stuff recorded (apparently) apart from recent sessions, which may never be released, such as his version of 'I'll never get over you' - the Johnny Kidd and The Pirates song. Lives in a beautiful thatched cottage in rural Staffordshire, deliberately far far away from prying eyes and the public gaze. Not quite a hermit, but does value his privacy greatly. Doesn't get hassled at home by fans dropping in all the time (and he has earned some peace and quiet after all). Jim is apparently a Grandfather via the efforts of his daughter Bonny. Rumours . . Grecian 2000 and wig rumours abound. Returned to the live fray for one local road protest gig and one charity show (which was open to the public) at the Robin 2 in Bilston in 2002, but a long silence is expected to follow on the live front. His new album THERAPY is excellent and isn't really what you'd call an attempt to simply recreate Slade music, for which we should all really be grateful.
Born in Devon on April 4th 1946 (sometimes quoted as 1952). An odd thing (among many) about Dave is that he is a left handed guitarist who plays right handed. Fashion mistake? The silly one? Dave on TV sticks in the memory which was the whole point. Nod and Jim wrote 'em and Dave sold 'em. Mind you, Jim cringed at most of Dave's oufits. Dave is the member of Slade most frequently remembered along with Noddy Holder - the other fashion guru. Has worn various hats for years, getting sillier as time goes by. When Slade hit the clubs, but not the charts, at the end of the 70's, Dave went into the wedding car business. Dave hired out his Rolls Royce with the registration YOB 1 to drive couples to their fate. Times were tough for the band and Dave had to be talked into playing a final gig at the 1980 Reading Festival by Chas Chandler (after refusing to agree to it). It brought Slade back from the dead. Main guitar has always been the Gibson neck / Sam Lee body guitar that his Dad helped him buy right at the beginning, although he did go over to similar looking John Birch J1's and J2's with treble boosters built in to try to get the "Dad's Gibson" sound. A run of gigging with Gibson Les Paul guitars resulted in bringing the Dad's Gibson back out of retirement, as they were feeble by comparison. All he needs now is to ditch those awful Marshalls and get his Hi-Watt amps working. Dave's best known and most distinctive guitar was probably the John Birch SUPERYOB, that was built in 1973. This was used live a number of times and went through a couple of paint colours, but was awkward to play and was eventually pronounced surplus. It ended up being part exchanged against a Gibson Firebird! Another version of the Yob was built by Framus, which now resides in the Paul Day collection. Many years later, Dave has realised that the Superyob was as vital part of his image as the daft clothes, etc. Dave has had a new one made by one of John Birch's employees, using the John Birch name. Of course we all know that Dave is in the current line-up of Slade, but he also has mentioned plans a number of times over the years to release a solo album. We have, however, been waiting for a new 'Slade' album for about 10 years now.
Born 10th Sept 1946 (or 1950 according to some biog's!!) Educated at Villiers Rd primary school, Etheridge Secondary Modern for Boys and Wednesbury Technical College. Walked home from primary school at morning break time on the first day, thinking that was it. School nickname : 'Poweller' Joined with Johnny Howells, Mick Marson, Cass Jones in Johnny Travall & The Vendors. Dave Hill later joined this band. Don was the only member of the band to still own a copy of their only recordings on a small-run acetate. The Vendors later changed their name to The N'Betweens. They recorded a 4 track EP that was only released in France for some reason! Don was the one of the band who spied Noddy Holder playing with Steve Brett & The Mavericks. With Dave, Don nicked Nod to join The N'Betweens (with Jim Lea, who had just got in the band at an audition). Don co-wrote a number of Slade's earlier songs, mainly with Jim Lea or Dave Hill. When Ambrose Slade went for the skinhead look, it actually suited Don, who looked 'particularly vicious'. Rumour has it that the band sent Don to pick up their fee after gigs, as that would make the owners pay up! In 1978, Don took the rough with the smooth and cheerfully got on with the hard work of rebuilding Slade's career. The hard work also just about kept Don afloat, as there were no royalties or monies from record sales to rely on. In 1978, Don also got a driving ban - after being caught driving while over the legal limit. Don appeared on 'Top of The Pops' when Slade couldn't get thru the BBC's door, playing drums on Sue Wilkinson's hit 'You've got to be a hustler if you want to get on'. He didn't play on the track itself though, even though it came out on Frank and Jim's Cheapskate label. At the time of Reading, Don was reportedly doing sessions - anybody know who for?? Don has used Ludwig, Olympic, Premier and Pearl drum kits. Is especially fond of Pearl kits. His 'first ever drum kit' has been sold at auction (more than once). Don uses Shaw's sticks - made at Shaw, near Oldham. Part time actor in 'Lorna Doone' Today, Don plays the drums in the current line-up of Slade. His is putting his biography together.
After the average "Look Wot You Dun" (which still hit number 4), they served up a veritable beer barrel of frothy UK chart-toppers including "Take Me Bak 'Ome", "Mama Weer All Crazee Now", "Cum On Feel The Noize" and "Skweeze Me Pleeze Me". Their finest moment was 1973's "Merry Xmas Everybody", one of the great festive rock songs and a perennial favourite. Unpretentious and proudly working-class, the band appealed to teenage audiences who cheered their larynx-wrenching singles and gloried in their garish yet peculiarly masculine forays into glam rock. Holder, clearly no sex symbol, offered a solid, cheery image, with Dickensian side whiskers and a hat covered in mirrors, while Hill took tasteless dressing to marvelous new extremes. Slade returned to the UK Top 10 in January 1981 with "We'll Bring The House Down", and in 1983 shot to number 2 with "My Oh My". The following year's "Run Runaway" also reached the Top 10, and became their first US Top 20 hit. The hits subsequently dried up and in the late 80s the original quartet, while never officially splitting up, began working on other projects. They last appeared together in February 1992. Slade are one of the few bands to have survived the heady days of glitter and glam with their reputation intact and are regarded with endearing affection by a wide spectrum of age groups. |
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