...they were right to use a stand-in

Melody Maker, July 14th, 1973

…they were right to use a stand-in says Paul
by Dennis Detheridge

“It’s a terrible business but Slade were right to carry on with a stand-in drummer." said Paul McCartney in Birmingham last week as Wings neared the end of their British tour.

“We used a dep for Ringo in Australia,” he recalled. “I think how Slade have done it is great. They’ve done it very well.”

“It’s one of those things – either they lay off and lose momentum or they keep going with a dep, someone not as good, obviously.

“But the kids will dig it. They’ll understand. That’s the great thing about audiences. That’s the good thing about working live. That’s the kind of thing people do understand.”

“They will think it’s great of Slade to have even turned up. They’ll appreciate that they did it.”

Did an incident like the Don Powell tragedy make Paul worry about his own safety?

“No, I’ve never worried at all about driving,” He commented. “If I crash, I crash, but I’ve been lucky so far.”

.....

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The rest of the article is not Slade related.


Slade: alive and well...

Melody Maker, July 14th, 1973

Slade: alive and well…
by Chris Charlesworth

ISLE OF MAN, SUNDAY. As the strains of “Mama Weer All Crazee Now” died down, Slade manager Chas Chandler gazed into the air and whistled to himself.

“If anybody had told me on Wednesday that this concert would come off, I’d have laughed at them.” He confessed, “It’s a miracle we’re here tonight.”

It was the climax to the most tempestuous week in Slade’s career. After their gigantic show at Earls Court last weekend, tragedy struck during the week when drummer Don Powell was involved in a car crash. He was lucky to be alive and even now has not regained consciousness fully.

When news of the accident reached the Isle Of Man, thousands of fans who had bought tickets gathered around the Palace Lido at Douglas with faces as long as broomsticks. It looked certain that the concert would be cancelled.

And while the fans gathered to hear the news, the three remaining members of Slade were having a conference with Chandler at Jim Lea’s Wolverhampton flat.

Also at the flat was Jim’s 18-year old brother Frank, a plumber’s mate by trade, who was fixing the piping to a dish-washing machine. Frank overheard the discussion, dropped his spanner and volunteered to act as deputy drummer for the Isle of Man show.

On Friday he rehearsed with the group, on Saturday his picture appeared in the papers and on Sunday he was the hero of 4,000 fans who turned up to witness this historic gig. And curiously enough, I doubt whether anyone noticed the difference.

Frank Lea had been taking drumming lessons from Don Powell and travelled with the group on numerous occasions. What better man for the job? And what a reception the fans gave Frank when Noddy Holder introduced him, the cheers were almost as loud as the din that followed Holder’s announcement that Don Powell was recovering and would be back behind his kit within three months.

Nothing, it seems, can keep Slade down.

“This weekend we’re really going to enjoy ourselves.” Dave Hill told me when I arrived on Saturday.

“Now that we know Don is going to be all right, it’s like a pressure valve being released.

“For two days we thought Don had had it, but when we heard that he was being taken off the critical list and put on the severe list we knew everything was going to be all right. And we know that Don would have wanted us to go on with the concert.

“We’d be letting down lots of fans who’ve bought tickets and lots of fans who have taken their holidays on the Island to coincide with the concert.”

The only fans who didn’t make it were 2,000 from Ireland who cancelled their reservations on the ferry across when news of the car crash broke.

“We’re just seeing what happens about the future,” said Chandler. “We’re crossing every hurdle when we come to it. As it is we’ve had to postpone our next American tour, which will probably take place in October now. But really it’s a miracle that it’s happening at all.”

“On Wednesday I went up to Wolverhampton and the doctors at the hospital didn’t give Don a chance. I was walking around in a daze, but when I heard he was going to pull through I was the happiest man in the world.”

But Slade are one of those unflappable groups who can take everything in their stride. After only brief rehearsals they knew everything would run smoothly at the Isle of Man.

The show itself ran like all Slade shows – the only number they cut out was Janis Joplin’s “Move Over Baby” which features plenty of tricky drum work. The rest of the Slade ingredients were all there: football chants, suggestive remarks, the responding crowd and the deafening noise of Holder’s amazingly powerful voice.

When it was all over, the group celebrated in grand style – but as you read this spare a thought for Frank. On Tuesday morning he was due to return to plumbing again – at 7:30 a.m.


Tuesday Scene

Daily Mirror, July 10th, 1973


SLADE: still in
the old routine


TUESDAY SCENE
by Deborah
Thomas

The heady smell of success has proved too strong for many a good pop musician. But Britains chart-topping group, Slade, have found a remedy - keep one brightly-booted foot in your own backyard.

A pop stars lifestyle is littered with fast cars, big house's, boozy parties. Groupie girls are generous with their favours, drugs suddenly become easy to obtain, champagne flows like bitter water.

But the glitter of stardom doesn't touch the derelict school hall down a back street in Wolverhampton, where I ran three members of Slade to earth while they were rehearsing with their stand-in, Frank Lea, Jim's brother.

The group, whose "Skweeze Me, Pleeze Me" is No. 1 this week, have practised here ever since they first hit the charts two years ago. The immense noise has cracked the plaster on the ceiling. And bare bulbs shake above a sea of rattling teacups as the band bash out another edition (sic) of "Take Me Bak 'Ome". No champagne here, just sweat and noise and work, work, work. There's no trace of the snarling, top-hatted Noddy Holder, we've all come to know on stage here either.
"Come on, Frank, you can do it," says Noddy.
Tragic
He and fellow members Jim Lea and Dave Hill have been hit heavily by the tragic car accident which seriously injured their affable drummer, Don Powell, and killed his girlfriend, Angela Morris. Don is more than just the group's drummer - he's their mate.

"I bet people are saying, 'hullo, what's going on here, flash cars, parties and you know' but Don is a more stable person than most." says Aitch.
(That's Slade's name for Dave Hill - and the only "aitch" they pronounce.)
"We do a lot of things together, you know. We follow each other somehow. One buys a car, another buys a car. We are very close. People don't understand when they hear us slag each other." He laughs, "We slag each other fun-wise. That way we can handle things."
Until a few months ago all four Slade boys lived at home with their parents. Now each of them has bought a house and Jim has married his childhood sweetheart, Louise. Aitch admits, somewhat shamefacedly, to living in a "snotty" area. But nothing they swear, will ever make them budge from Wolverhampton.
"Going to America has changed us in some ways - bizarre things happened there - but we still go to the same local and keep the same friends." says Noddy.
Change
Jim doesn't say much. He calls himself Mr. Non Interview. But when the others have stopped larking about he usually has the last word.
Life as a pop star would drastically change anybody, he explains, but Slade has stayed the same because they're treated like local lads in Wolverhampton.
He adds simply:
"It rains a lot but it keeps us sane."


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Many thanks to Stu Rutter for supplying the hard copy.


Slade's Finest Hour

Melody Maker, July 7th, 1973

NODDY HOLDER: take yer knickers off

Slade's finest hour

CHRIS 'I told you three years ago that they'd be big' CHARLESWORTHreports on Slade's amazing gig at London's Earls Court

IT’S MONDAY morning and my ears are still ringing. The night before, I’d been among the 20,000 fans who packed London’s Earls Court to prove beyond doubt that Slade are Britain’s most popular pop/rock group.

For them and me, it was an emotional occasion. You see, three years ago I knew this was going to happen to Slade sooner or later. Three years ago I gazed into my crystal ball and predicted in these very columns that within a year or so, Slade would become household names. Needless to say, I was scoffed at.
Happy

So despite the singing and ringing and the dumbness and the numbness, I am a happy man this Monday morning. So, I should imagine, are the boys themselves – not forgetting manager Chas Chandler – fully resident in their Swiss Cottage hotel that the Sunday papers reported had been under siege at the weekend.

Under siege indeed! I can remember the first time I watched Noddy, Dave, Jim and Don perform. It was at Samantha’s Club, off London’s Regent Street, when barely 20 turned out to see them. And they were mostly foreign tourists visiting the club to drink and attach themselves to members of the opposite sex. Not much sieging (sic) went on that night outside the Paddington hotel where they stayed.

Over the last three years I have watched their rise with both a personal and journalistic interst. I have watched Slade at a pub in Lewisham when they closed their set with a disgustingly loud version of “Born To Be Wild” accompanied by police sirens. And since that day I’ve seen them squeezing and pleezing, getting down and getting with it, taking their boots off and going craze at the best part of 25 gigs in this country and on the continent.

Looking back, it seems that each particular concert was better than the one I saw before, both in terms of musical advancement and mass appeal. There were gigs in Scotland where I first saw the armies of fans amassing in a serious way.

There was one night – I’ll never forget it – when they were playing a private party for an expensive debutante in the City area of London. I think they were paid £50 and they never actually received the cash because we drank it away in the dressing room. What a night that was.

There was a concert at the London Palladium earlier this year when I introduced the group from the stage and there was another at Wembley’s Empire Pool soon after when a bunch of Americans – witnessing the Slade armies for the first time – went away completely shattered by the scenes they had witnessed.

And so we come to last night – perhaps the final and ultimate climax of the groups career. It would be difficult to imagine Slade, or any other group for that matter, emulating the barrage of fanatical acclaim that Slade won for themselves at Earls Court. It was more of a convention than a concert, a gathering of the converted that rivalled political assemblies, royal weddings and sporting crowds in both size and fervour. It was bluddy wonderful.

Melody Maker has given me the opportunity of watching the cream of world rock talent over the past three years and, with the notable exception of Elvis Presley, I can safely say I’ve seen the lot.

And before I joined this paper, I saw the Beatles on three occasions.

But nothing has ever moved me as much as last nights bash at Earls Court. I have heard more subtle music, sure, but atmosphere scored the points last night. Let me tell you what happened.

At around 5:30 pm I crossed Warwick Road to be confronted by the biggest gathering of Slade fans ever amassed at any one time. Outside the Earls Court arena were salesmen of all kinds, retailing every imaginable souvenir of the event, rosettes, top hats, spray on glitter, books, badges, posters and the inevitable ‘show souvenir’ bearing the dubious promise – “this booklet is designed for your further enjoyment of the show.” They were all doing a roaring trade.

Inside the buzz was tangible, but what caught the eye was this set – you couldn’t call it a stage – erected for Slade to graciously step from. It was both vast and visable from all points – or so they thought before the climbing started. Then there was this huge PA system – 11,500 watts I was told – flanking the stage, but what topped the lot was the giant screen high in the sky on which a video TV system beamed close up pictures of the whole affair.

(Flashback: The first time I saw Slade they were cramped onto a tiny area about eight feet by ten. Jim Lea’s bass narrowly avoided Noddy Holder’s ear on a number of occasions, and Dave Hill’s cavortings (sic) were limited to side steps not unlike the famous Shadow’s criss-cross.)

Clutching my Slade armband which afforded me entry into the holy of holies backstage, I skipped a couple of hurdles guarded by large men and found our heroes ensconced in a mobile dressing room, looking remarkably calm despite the turbulence outside. The scene has changed but they haven’t. Jeff Beck is sitting astride a make-up chest discussing the price and quality of various brands of glitter.

Course
Chas Chandler, who has steered the course of his group for over four years now, is beaming. Alongside Slade’s dressing room stands a dark red Rolls Royce Corniche, a recent acquisition for Chas, who is passing the time of day with Andrew Oldham, where did he come from?

The Alex Harvey Band are supporting Slade tonight, as they have on the whole tour, and I could forgive them for regretting their presence here. It’s no secret that on various shows, the Slade audience has given them a rough reception – rather like the Christians fighting lions in front of a patriotic Roman audience.

Happily, the Earls Court audience did not give the traditional thumbs down sign to Alex, who bravely mounted the gigantic rostrum to face the multitudes. There were isolated cries for Slade during his set, but the fans were patient. And while he didn’t raise an encore, he passed the time away for three quarters of an hour keeping the tide at bay.

By the time he set was over the big push had started. Not only were fans standing up and standing on their chairs, but the extroverts were standing on each other’s shoulders on the chairs. The cheering came in waves as the roadies appeared on stage checking equipment.
Cheer

It was just after 9 p.m. when Emperor Rosko entered stage right and the lights dimmed. Above the yelling, I could make out that he was introducing each member of Slade in turn “Let’s have a cheer for Don,” he shrieked and the shrieks responded, “Let’s hear it for Jim,” Aaaaaaghhhhh “And for Dave.” Aaaaaaghhhhh “Have I missed anyone out?”

“Noooodddddyyyyy”

And here they are ladies and gentlemen, for your personal delight, we present Slade, the working class heroes of the seventies, the loudest rock group in the world (tonight anyway) to boys nextdoor to be emulated by all, the brash creation of a million kids the world over, and most of all, the rock group who consistently make the best singles since the golden years of the sixties.

For the fashion conscious fans – and there are plenty – here’s a record of how the quartet dressed for this auspicious occasion.

Don Powell, drumsticks in one hand and usual tregnum of Scotch in the other, has chosen an all white ensemble with narrow black pin stripes. It has matching waistcoat and trousers, flared from the knee and tight around the groin, and his boots also match.

Jim Lea, Gibson bass at the ready, is wearing a rather smart red lurex suit which shimmers beneath the arc lights. A black tee shirt is worn under the jacket and red boots complete the effect.

Dave Hill, arguably the most fashion conscious of the four, has bedecked himself with glitter around the face and hair. Light, tight trousers are worn over silver boots with large platform soles and the effect is set off with a long coat, open at the top and exquisitely embroidered in shining blues, blacks and golds.

Noddy Holder, adopting his usual pose at the head of the band, carries his much-copied black top hat with silver circles. A red shirt, matching check waistcoat and trousers (worn slightly too short) give Noddy a sporting outlook which is emphasised by the red tail hunting coat, abandoned after two numbers because of the heat.

The music starts and the noise is really quite shattering from both group and fans. First number is “Take Me Bak ‘Ome”, delivered with a force and intensity that caused the battalion of bouncers at the front to tear up paper hankies and place the tissue firmly inside their ears.

The show develops in much the same manner as all Slade shows, except that on this occasion everything has been multiplied tenfold – and despite the melee going on all around they are playing remarkably tight, a feat that probably went unnoticed by those to whom a glimpse of the band is enough to arouse complete hysteria.

Scarves
The songs came thick and fast as thousands of arms reached into the air, scarves and hats held aloft in a statutory worshipping position. Down at the front I edged myself next to Chas Chandler, whose eyes were popping as though he didn’t really believe this was all happening around him. He probably dreamed all this four years ago, but tonight it was reality.

“I’m just lost for words,” he said, shaking his head in disbelief. “All I can say is thanks for all the encouragement.”

Chas added, after a slight delay: “All you’ve got to do in a place like this is to build a big stage and light it properly. It’s as simple as that. All you got to do is make sure everyone has a good view of the group.”

(Flashback: In 1971 I saw Slade play a free concert in a park in Amsterdam. The stage was in a bandstand in a small lake, approachable only by a narrow bridge. Trees and tall weeds surrounded the bandstand and obscured everyone’s view. An argument developed between Chas and the promoter about the trees. Chas won the argument after threatening to throw the promoter in the lake unless something was done about them.)

Enough reminiscing, and back to the concert where Noddy, as usual, is using all his guile to whip up the audience in the most tremendous fever. They yell back at him when told, raise their arms when told, bop up and down when told every time. There’s the naughty bits too and Earls Court provided a gem which went like this.

Forfeit
Noddy: “We going to play a game with you all now, and have one minute’s silence. If anybody makes a noise, they’ll pay a forfeit. If it’s a bloke who makes a noise, he’s got to come up here on the stage and take his trousers down. If it’s a young lady who makes a noise she’s got to come up here and take her knickers off.”

The ensuing din resembled Concorde.

There was a usual and now compulsory football chant as supporters of Arsenal, Chelsea, Spurs and West Ham bellowed their allegiance before breaking into an unaccompanied “You’ll Never Walk Alone,” that rivalled choir practice at the Anfield Kop.

They played for just over an hour – pretty short by some standards – and punctuated their single hits with songs from the “Slayed” album. They had one and all singing to the choruses on “Cum On Feel The Noize”. I could have sworn those delirious fans were on the brink of a visit to the nearest asylum.

After all the din had subsided I am happy to report that everyone went home happy, craze or whatever. Me? My ears are still ringing but it matters not, COZ SLAYED I LUV YER. THANX A LOTT AND MAE YER FYUTCHER BE AS BRITE AS YER PASSED.


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Big thanks to Stu Rutter for reminding me about this awesome review. Chris Charlesworth's enthusiasm is enough to demonstrate just how high Slade soared during their golden years. There is no exaggeration here, this is an accurate account of one of the greatest nights in British pop/rock history.



Slade Crazee!

Melody Maker, July 7th, 1973

SLADE’S Dave Hill and (below) the banner waving fans.

SLADE
CRAZEE
!

SLADEMANIA reached new heights this week as the band’s new single “Skweeze Me, Pleeze Me” jumped to the top of the MM chart in its second week of release and 20,000 fans crammed into Earls Court to see the Superyobs give the most sensational concert of their career.

The fans were decked out in style, totally emulating their idols. Top hats, glittery hair, check trousers, boots and braces were the uniform of the day. And salesmen dispensing Slade souvenirs – hats, scarves, badges, posters and books – did a roaring trade.

The group, who normally live at home in Wolverhampton, were besieged at their Swiss Cottage hotel over the weekend.

The Earls Court concert – which developed into a minor riot from the moment the group took the stage – was both recorded and filmed for a possible audio/visual album which the group may release around Christmas depending on the results. A compilation album of “The Best Of Slade” is planned for September release, and six weeks later a new studio album will be released. Most of this was recorded last week.

Although the Earls Court show was the last date of the group’s British tour, two additional concerts are now planned – both in the Isle Of Man. One takes place next Sunday, and the other on July 29. An enterprising boat owner has organised trips from Belfast to see the group.


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This is the front cover article. Chris Charleworth covers the the gig on page 10 of Melody Maker.

Next Page

Earls Court 1973

Earls Court, July 1st 1973

Slade's Summer Tour of 1973 ended with the spectacular show at London's Earls Court arena. It was the first sell out concert held at the venue and would have been the first concert had David Bowie not managed to wangle an appearance in a few weeks before.

Unfortunately for Bowie, he failed to garner enough interest to fill the theatre and played to a "less than full" auditorium. The infamous opening show of the UK Aladdin Sane tour was the first time the Earls Court was used for a concert and a large proportion of the audience had very poor view and sound.

A riot ensued with fisticuffs and general mayhem. Bowie eventually left the stage and the audience were urged to calm down by a roadie, the audience finally calmed down when Bowie refused to carry on unless they behaved.

You can read all about David Bowie's gig here.

"In 1973, a very excitable Me was going through my collection of glitter, spray on hair colour (gold & silver), Royal Stuart tartan Oxford Bags, hooped socks (I don't think I found red & yellow though) 4" platforms and, as I recall, a home made top hat complete with mirrors."
"Well, I say mirrors, they were actually metal discs with razor sharp edges that I'd found in the back yard of the local launderette. I had to climb over the six foot wall to retrieve our football and found a yard full of scrap metal. I don't remember what happened to the hat, I can't remember actually wearing it?"
"It was a Sunday and myself and my mates were buzzing with anticipation of seeing Slade at Earls Court in London. The build up had been intense, the newspapers and magazines were full of Slade and the tour had been a resounding success and was culminating with Earls Court and we expected an end of tour party."
"18,000 tickets had sold out and I had one of them. The Sensational Alex Harvey Band were supporting and I'd checked out 'Next' and found it a bit naughty, expectation was high. We gathered outside my house and my Dad looked at me (14 years old by less than a month)..."
"You look like Coco the bleedin' Clown!" 
"I had heard him saying that about Noddy Holder on Top Of The Pops so I was clearly having the right effect. And so we set off on our pilgrimage to the heart of London to find Earls Court. The walk up past West Ham football ground was probably the most awkward, necks were snapping as the regular folk done a double take but we were oblivious as we chatted excitedly among ourselves."

"Boarding the London Underground, we quickly realised we were not alone, every station platform seemed to include a smattering of tinsel bedecked bodies. As we got off at our destination, normal folk were the odd ones out. It was like trying to get into the football stadium on a Saturday but the entire crowd were teenage aliens, just like us, in fancy dress and glitter."
"Exiting the tube station the crowd spilt out onto the roads and top hats as far as the eye could see, we followed the mass of teen bodies, flowing with the current, and there ahead was the huge white building with it's red Earls Court lettering. The Mecca of our pilgrimage. I was determined not to get ripped off by the vendors outside (as I had at Wembley) but, of course, I couldn't stop myself. I bought a programme and a poster. I think the programme was the black one with Slade in red & white circus lettering, no pictures and minimal content (as I recall) and the poster was Nod in the salmon pink satin shirt with 'Lennon' glasses on... I think?"
"Alex Harvey teased the crowd about having to wait for Slade but they were bloody good and I enjoyed their show. When they finished the anticipation was unbearable, the excitement was buzzing like a high voltage cable." 

"The crowd were screaming for Slade and we seemed to wait forever. We were sat in the upper tier, I remember making my way to the balcony and looking down onto the stools. There in the middle, near the stage, seemed to be what I would now refer to as 'a mosh pit' except it wasn't, of course. It was a crowd of lads, 17-18 year old I guess, that had claimed their own space. In retrospect, they were probably hooligans that had flattened the seats already, before Slade had even made an appearance. There was also, if my memory serves me well, a giant whisky bottle.... inflatable maybe?"
"Then somebody stepped onto the stage and the surge began, the whole world went crazy and the screaming reached fever pitch.... that's it!"
"I don't remember sod all else, vaguely remember standing on a tube platform hoping a train would come but that could have been any one of many Hammersmith gigs??? The rest of my Earls Court memories are probably yours too, the intro from the video footage, the 'girls with no knickers on' dialogue, the 'keeping quiet competition', etc, do I remember it or have I read about it or watched it and think I remember it. I really don't know?"

Slade's night at Earls Court was the stuff of legend. The crowd noise was truly incredible and the atmosphere electric. The entire performance was filmed and recorded for album release and potential broadcast. Disappointingly, the decision was made not to release the footage and it has become the most talked about 'what if' in the world of Slade fans.
"The Earls Court footage wasn't released because of the poor audio. Yes we're aware that the BFI have a copy but unless they can do something about the audio it's unlikely to get a release?"
Noddy Holder: The Space, Brighton. 7th June 2012






"It was amazing to see that after all these years...my very first exposure to Slade. I've held on to the cassette tape I made back then (by holding up a microphone to the TV speaker during Don Kirshner's Rock Concert), but never dreamed I would see that footage again. It took me right back. Went right to the record store the day after and bought Sladest. It changed my life.
Now if only someone can get their hands on The Midnight Special -- My Friend Stan and Everyday played live, with Jim on keys and Dave on bass, plus Do We Still Do It. Dave was dressed in some feathered get-up and looked almost like a human-sized chicken...."
Scott Samuels

My thanks to Chris 'The Historian' Selby for his relentless research. It is said, in certain circles, that Walsall Archives have a seat reserved specifically for him and that Wolverhampton archives consult him when searching the Express & Star