We raised a nation... we brought fun and colour

As Slade's flamboyant guitarist Dave Hill prepares to bring the noize for their final concert tour, he reflects on the rock band's powerful anthems, changing line-ups, and how John Lennon indirectly made Merry Xmas Everyone a global mega-hit

- BY SUE CRAWFORD

Dave signs autographs for fans at the height of the band's fame in 1973

THE YEAR that Slade took the country by storm was one of the most tumultuous in British history. As London was rocked by IRA bomb attacks, millions went on strike in protest over government pay restraints. The oil crisis saw motorway speed limits reduced to 50mph and, by the end of 1973, coal shortages resulted in power cuts and the implementation of the Three-Day Week.

Yet blaring out from every battery-operated radio in every teenager's bedroom was the sound of Slade. Cum on Feel the Noize and Skweeze Me Pleeze Me both topped the charts, as did their bestselling Christmas hit Merry Xmas Everybody.

The joyous glam rock sound, with their quirkily misspelt song titles, was quite the contrast to the chaos unfolding across the nation, and flamboyant guitarist Dave Hill is convinced that's exactly why they captured the public's imagination.

"1973 was one heck of a year," he reflects. "The mood of the country was low, amidst strikes, lack of money and three-day weeks.

"But all through that there was joy in the music we were doing.

"We raised a nation. I think people thought, 'To hell with all of this we've had a rough year, we've had a lot of problems, look at this'. We brought fun and colour."

Today, 52 years on, the group is still touring to packed audiences of thousands.

Dave, who has been with the group since the start, has no doubt as to why they are still pulling in the crowds all these decades later.

"There is something reassuring about Slade's music," he says. "Everyone wants to have that feeling of returning to their happiest times.

"It doesn't mean to say they're not happy now, but they'll never be the same as they were when they were young and the world was in front of you."