FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Slade | Kerbcrawlers | Bad Habits | Website | The forum
Q
Where are Noddy Holder and Jim Lea these days? I have seen Slade recently and it wasn't at all what I expected without them there.
A
Nod gave Slade a year's notice in 1991 after the chart failure of the 'Universe' single meant that Polydor didn't give Slade a deal for
a new album. He has gone on to do an amount of acting work on TV, with varying degrees of critical success. Nod's studio work
since Slade has consisted of an acoustic version of 'Coz I luv you' on the 'Grimleys' TV show soundtrack album. Nod does odd things
on TV, including making adverts and spends a lot of his time being a devoted father to his young son, Django.
Audio clip from Noddy Holder Radio interview
Jim has apparently trained as a psychotherapist, but has shown no signs of taking this up as a career. He has invested in a number
of properties, but details of this are also very sketchy. Jim has written a number of songs for Mamas Jasje, a European group.
These have been released on the continent. There are no English language versions available of these songs.
Jim spent a lot of time in the recording studio recently prior to releasing a new album called Therapy.
Q
Is the original line-up of Slade ever going to get back together?
A
No.
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Q
I have heard that it is possible to buy a replica Superyob guitar. Where can I get one from and how much do they cost?
A
John Birch guitars are being run by John Carling since John Birch sadly died. He is in charge of the official reissue project.
He can be contacted via the John Birch guitars website. The guitars apparently vary in price from around £1500 upwards,
dependent on what custom features are added. A certificate of authenticity, signed by Dave Hill, accompanied each of the
guitars in the limited edition run. Serious money - serious enquiries only....
Q
Can I put my Slade live photos up on your website?
A
I am loath to put lots of other people's photos onto the site. I have done it before now, but prefer not to do so in future.
I have to conserve webspace.
Ask on the Slade message boards - someone else may be happy to show them.
Q
How can I contact the members of Slade?
A
The best way to contact them is via their management companies. They don't generally answer fan mail, however, and it is
probable that these would not even be forwarded. I do not divulge their addresses or personal contact details myself, so please
don't ask me!
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Q
Where can I obtain rare Slade recordings?
A
eBay is one good place, though prices on there tend to get inflated far above reality and it's hard to get a decent deal. People
are going to get sick of eBay soon. www.musicstack.com is the best place I have seen. Record Collector Magazine is another
good place. You can advertise at the rear of the mag with your wants list. I don't get involved myself with trading in Slade records,
so the best place to ask is on the message boards (see links page). People there can often help out.
THE SLADE ARCHIVE FORUM
Q
Why have you put a forum up?
A
I have been trying to have a forum up for a while. Mainly for the use of a few local bands, including mine. Slade In England
announced that that forum was closing down, so I tweaked the trial forum I had up to include some Slade sections and hey ho,
we have another Slade forum. Preferably one where various factions won't tear each other limb from limb.
Click here to be magically transported to the forum.
I don't propose to be heavily involved when it's going at full speed - for a couple of good reasons:
Time -
My family -
I don't want the board to be overly influenced by my own input. That would be tedious.
THE KERBCRAWLERS
Q
Where did the name come from?
A
My wife said it as a jokey comment and it became the favourite option for a new name.
Big E was another, but was
dropped for being too silly.
THE ROADRUNNERS
Q
What happened to the group? Are you not playing live anymore?
A
Check out the website for the two Ians at http://www.thekerbcrawlers.co.uk to find out exactly what we are up to now.
We are still quite busy and probably playing shows somewhere near you soon.
The Roadrunners split for a number of reasons:
Our old drummer - Waz - got tired after so many years of setting up a huge drum kit and playing five or six nights a week.
He also really began to detest the club gigs and started to ask for most of our gigs to be cancelled or for us to get another
drummer in to cover for him. He also put together his own group, while The Roadrunners were still going. He was naturally
moving towards what he really wanted to do.
Ian J at the same time had got tired and bored with playing all-out hard rock music and was beginning to have problems with
some of the rock gigs. This was all openly discussed in the band. I myself was getting really tired of some things happening
around and about the Roadrunners too and was seriously on the verge of going elsewhere. Ian J eventually gave us notice as
the end period of The Roadrunners seemed to have got to him, too. No-one forced anyone else out of the group and everyone
is probably far, far happier now that the old group has gone and that we can all do what we want to.
Funnily enough, we turned down a one off 'name your own price' gig as The Roadrunners, re-opening an old favourite local venue,
as the old group have no real intention of playing together again. They actually kept going up a hundred pounds at a time - to New
Year's Eve club type money - they really wanted us - and Ian J kept saying No. Ouch!!
There's no animosity at all, but the group has spilt up and we don't foresee it happening ever again. That's basically it. All good
things come to an end. We have all moved on.
Q
Why not just carry on using the Roadrunners name?
A
We were proud of what The Roadrunners were and what we did but, we decided to drop the Roadrunners name, as we just aren't
that band anymore. We will not be going back to some of the venues we used to play, as they would expect us to be the same old
band and play all the same stuff, which we're not going to do. We got bored rigid with it. It became 'a jam night on tour' at some places.
There are still some of the old songs in the set, but we also have a lot of new ones. We also are not going to just do the old Roadunners
rounds of all the same set of pub gigs. Nothing wrong with some of the venues, but this is now a 4 man band and we want to play at
bigger places.
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BAD HABITS
Q
Ian E has put photos up on the site of recent gigs with Bad Habits. Are you going back with them?
A
I am fully committed to The Kerbcrawlers and will not be joining any other group. I would love to play some more gigs with
Bad Habits, however, if the opportunity arises and schedules permit, as they are some of my favourite people and the gigs
are always really enjoyable. I did think about what to do towards the end of The Roadrunners, and the idea of checking out
what they were up to was one of my options. As it turns out, they don't want to do as many gigs as I do. I hear different things
from different people..... They are hunting for a new bassist and I will do the odd thing with them when I can.
Q
How about coming back to The Trumpet?
A
Show us the money! Also see answer above.
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OH BOY
Q
Whatever happened to Oh Boy?
A
I left the group completely under my own volition, partly because of the way I was treated by the lead guitarist every time we played.
They are still working a few nights a week as far as I know. I am not in touch with them anymore. Wait for my book.
That will upset a few people!
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WEBSITE
Q
What is the website built in?
A
Dreamweaver MX2004 web design software. Animated gifs are created using Selteco Bannershop software.
Photos are manipulated and tweaked in Adobe Photoshop 7
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