Slade: Still bringing the Noize

DAVE HILL ON BAND'S ICONIC HITS, 70S GLORY DAYS AND FINAL TOUR

- by SUE CRAWFORD

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. People thought, 'To hell with 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. Dave, who has been with the band since the start, has no doubt as to why they are still pulling in the crowds.