Frank Torpey, the last surviving original member of The Sweet, has sadly passed away. His family have posted the following message on Facebook.
“Frank passed away in his home surrounded by family at 1AM on Saturday 23rd March 2024. He will be missed and remembered by all his friends and family, rest well xx”
Frank, along with Brian Connolly, Steve Priest and Mick Tucker, was one of the founder members of The Sweet.
Torpey, Connolly and Tucker had previously been part of the Middlesex-based band, Wainright’s Gentlemen. Torpey and Tucker were unceremoniously sacked and an infuriated Connolly decided to quit of his own accord. The three musicians then opted to find themselves a bass-player and form a band of their own. Steve Priest was recruited, the four of them meeting up in the Swan pub in Ruislip in January 1968 to discuss plans for a new band.
Frank Torpey (seated) with myself and other Sweet fans in the very pub where the band was first formed
Rehearsals began and as well as working up their own cover versions of well-known and not so well-known songs, the four also devoted considerable time to coming up with a suitable name, eventually alighting on The Sweetshop. Priest wrote in his autobiography: “There were many bands around at this time that had silly names like Marmalade, Strawberry Jam or Strawberry Alarm Clock, and so we managed to come up with a silly name too. We thought that Sweet Shop would do it.”
Although the band were still only semi-pro at this stage, Frank and the rest of the newly-christened Sweetshop would play their debut gig on 9th March 1968 at the Hemel Hempstead Pavilion. Things appeared to be moving fast as soon after, the band were recording their debut single, ‘Slow Motion’, after impressing producer Phil Wainman.
The release of the single necessitated a shortening of the band’s name to The Sweet after someone else nabbed the name for another release before they got their own single out. It was to be Frank’s only release with the band. Although the four continued gigging throughout 1968 and the first half of 1969, tiring of the quality of the venues and the lack of money coming in, Frank decided to call it a day with the band to be replaced, initially, by Mick Stewart and then, more permanently, by Andy Scott who joined in 1970. Indeed, very permanently, Andy is still at it now!
Frank Torpey’s role in the history of The Sweet was a small one but, nevertheless, an important one. Moreover, as well as continuing to play and record, he was always happy to engage with fans about The Sweet’s very early days.
It was in February 2022 after Steve Priest’s memorial service that Frank met up with Sweet fans in The Swan in Ruislip, the very pub where the band was formed back in 1968. When I presented him with a signed copy, he was delighted when I told him he got more than just a passing mention in my book The Sweet In The 1970s, even though it primarily focused on the band’s hit-making decade. “Just tell me which chapters I’m in,” he joked. “It’ll save me reading the whole thing!”
Friday evening saw me make a whistlestop trip to the capital to catch up with my old friends The Pouk Hill Prophetz, who were performing a gig at London’s Water Rats.
Coming together through a shared love of Slade and a determination to celebrate the glam era in their own unique fashion, The Pouk Hill Prophetz have been around for a decade now. Never far away from anything Slade-related and raising a ton of money for various charitable endeavours along the way, they’ve long been a fixture at various Slade conventions (which is where I first caught them back in 2016). They even performed at my own Slade book launch last summer which was a huge load of fun.
The band have built up quite a dedicated following over the last ten years and the venue was nicely packed-out for them, their first gig in the capital with new drummer, James Hannington, who joins established Propheteers Nigel Hart and Martin Brooks.
I’ve seen many glam-inspired tribute acts and numerous glam covers bands over the years, but what really sets Pouk Hill Prophetz apart is that they don’t just restrict themselves to the most obvious foot-stomping big hits. You get a good blast of those, of course. But as far as their love as Slade goes, you can always expect a liberal smattering of obscure B-sides, carefully-chosen album tracks and archive material from the early pre-glam days thrown in as well.
Accordingly, tonight starts with a stomping version of ‘Know Who You Are’ – Slade’s last non-hit single before they struck gold with ‘Get Down and Get With It’. ‘Gudbuy Gudbuy’ from Slade’s classic Slayed album makes an appearance, as does ‘Darling Be Home Soon’ and ‘In Like A Shot From My Gun’ from the much-celebrated Slade Alive album.
It’s not just Slade though. They also give us a blast of The Sweet’s ‘Hellraiser’ and T Rex’s ‘20th Century Boy’ and later on a suitably pounding sing-along version of the Bay City Rollers’ ‘Shang-A-Lang’. It’s not even just the glam covers either. We get some great hard-rocking version of ZZ Top’s ‘Tush’ and Billy Idol’s ‘White Wedding’.
Things slow down for an acoustic segment mid-way through, with guitarist Martin Brooks moving on to keyboards for heartfelt renditions of Slade’s ‘Everyday’ and its lesser-known cousin ‘She Did It To Me’ alongside ‘Dapple Rose’ and a highly emotive ‘Old New Borrowed And Blue’. Although taking the title of a Slade album, the latter is not a cover version at all but an original composition cleverly taking fragments of various Slade lyrics from across their career to create a unique and utterly sincere musical love-letter to the famous foursome from Wolverhampton.
A few more raucous classics to round off the evening, including ‘Cum On Feel The Noize’ and ‘Born To Be Wild’ as well as a Slade-inspired vintage rock and roll medley, and then it’s time for me to say some hurried goodbyes and make a swift exit in time to get the last train back to Hastings.
Ahead of the ten-date Lust For Life tour (featuring Clem Burke, Glen Matlock, Katie Puckrik, Kevin Armstrong, Luis Correia and Florence Sabeva) where she will appear as their special guest, I catch up with Suzi Ronson. Suzi was a small-time hairdresser in Beckenham before being swept up in a world which saw her become stylist for David Bowie and the originator of the iconic Ziggy Stardust hairdo as well as falling in love with the late Spiders From Mars guitar icon, Mick Ronson, who she would go on to marry.
You’ve got the Lust For Life tour coming up in February/March this year. Can you tell us about your role in that?
I’m going to be telling a story! A bit like a Moth story when I did that. I think I’m doing it right before the Lust For Life band go on. I’ve got a couple of stories but I think the one I’m going to use is my journey from a little hairdresser in Beckenham, meeting Mrs Jones (David Bowie’s mother) and getting involved with David and going on the road with him. That basically is what it’s going to be about. It was quite a journey that’s for sure!
You mentioned the hair salon in Beckenham and then being introduced to David Bowie. What were your first impressions of David?
The first time I saw David he was wearing a dress walking down Beckenham High Street. So when we all ran out to have a look we were like [mouth wide open] it’s a man in a dress! But when I first met him, he was quite shy really. I mean he wasn’t particularly… Angie was the one who would talk all the time. David was quite quiet. But very determined. Very conscious of what he was doing I think – all the time. He was really ambitious. He was so ambitious, David. I didn’t realise quite how ambitious until I started doing research for my book and I realised that since he was 15 years old, he’d been playing like five nights a week every week anywhere that would take him. And I mean that is dedication for you. I was surprised when I read that. I think it’s that old adage where people say to you, “Oh, it’s overnight success.” But, of course, it’s anything but that. David had been doing this for years before I met him. I just happened in on the pivotal moment I think.
Working as David’s stylist which you went on to be, were you surprised to find just how influential your ideas would be in shaping British pop culture in the early 70s?
No, I mean if you told me that some fifty years later we’d still be talking about this haircut I would never have believed you! I think when the punks came in and they still had that sticking up hair-do which I think was my influence from David. And it changed. I mean David’s hairstyle was originally inspired by a Kansai Yamamoto model But that wasn’t the haircut he ended up with. That was just a little froo at the front. But it developed and evolved and in the end it was definitely my haircut. That long – what was it? – the mullet I suppose is what it ended up being! And the colour!
And, as you say, it had that enduring impact across one different fashion and youth cult to another so it didn’t just come and go.
It didn’t. I still get asked about it. David was asked once what he’d most like to be remembered for and he said, “Always having great hair.” And he was right! I mean he had great hair. He really did. And a great face. I mean I saw 200lb truckers wearing that hair-do and it didn’t look quite the same. David certainly was the perfect person to do this hair on, yes. It helped he was tall and skinny!
And if we can just talk a little bit about Mick as well, one of the dates on the tour is going to be Hull on 1st March. That’s going to be a rather special night surely, in Mick Ronson’s home city?
It’s always a special night when I’m in Hull. It always is. I went to see Turn & Face The Strange (Mick Ronson tribute) there a year or so ago. I mean, I would go every year but I’m not in England all the time. It’s a great show. They took such care to do that show. I think it’s a really good show. And they love Mick in Hull. I think he would be shocked at just how revered he is in Hull still. His old band-mates still play and talk about Mick. And, yes, it will be an interesting evening and I always get a bit emotional when I go to Hull. Because I go and visit him, of course, in his grave and it’s a bit emotional. And it’s also a bit terrifying because they knew him. And I kind of do that accent at some point coz (adopts strong Hull accent) I can take Mick off quite well now. I can talk a bit Hull like. And I’m always a bit nervous to do that up there!
And given it’s the Lust For Life tour, will you be sharing any particular memories of Iggy Pop as well?
Yeah, that’s the other story I’ve got. I’ve got an Iggy story. I met Iggy at the Dorchester Hotel. David, Lou and Iggy were doing a press conference for the American press and it was the culmination of a couple of weeks where they’d all played in London. David had played at Aylesbury. Both Lou and Iggy played at the Scala. I went to the Lou one. I wish I’d gone to the Iggy one because the reviews from that night were like completely outrageous. So I wish I’d gone to that one but I was exhausted, I couldn’t go to them all. And I met him there and then I met him in California. And his hair – he wanted something different so we dyed it blue. And I said to him as I left, “Don’t go in the pool. Don’t wash your hair for a couple of days. Let the colour have time to set.” Well, he paid me no attention whatsoever. He goes in the pool at the Beverly Hills Hotel and left a streak of blue from one end to the other. So those were my two most memorable moments with Iggy.
And if we can move on to another key figure in rock and roll. One of Mick’s long-term collaborators was Ian Hunter who wrote that wonderful tribute ‘Michael Picasso’ when Mick passed away.
Oh my god. I can’t listen to that song. I can never listen to that song. What an amazing song.
It still always brings a tear to my eye when I hear it.
I can’t. I can’t. When Ian does a show he always says, “Suzi, time to leave!” Because I can’t. I’d just sit there and I’d just bawl. It’s such a sad song but it’s such a great song. Ian’s a really good writer.
It must have been incredibly moving hearing that for the first time.
Yes, I mean yeah… Lisa and I for years we would go and see Ian. They’re still friends of mine today. And Lisa and I we’d just look at each other and go, “No please, don’t do this song.” But an incredibly moving song, yes. Brilliant writing. And Mick well deserved it. He was an amazing person, Mick.
Yes it just seemed to capture both the friendship and Mick’s personality in that song.
Yes. Brilliant title. What a title – Michael Picasso. What a great title.
And personally, I became more aware of Mick’s work with Ian Hunter when I was a teenager in the 80s than I did with Mick’s work in the Spiders really.
That first record was just destroyed by managers. The Ian Hunter record that first one they did together, ‘Once Bitten Twice Shy’ – what an amazing record that was. We all thought – hold on, here we go! Managers… Record companies… They were not going to allow that to continue. And it just ended up… I’m amazed that we’ve remained friends to be honest after what went on during that time with Tony Defries and Fred Heller – and they should check their egos at the door but they did not. Especially Tony and they just wanted it all under their control and it’s just ridiculous. Ridiculous really because that should have been a hit record and it should have been a hit touring band. Because they looked fabulous together. It was all working out because Mick had done the Mott thing. I don’t know what went wrong there but that was a massive failure! And then he and Ian decided to work together and do a record. They still couldn’t be a band because we had two different managers and two different record companies and neither one of them wanted to be, you know kind and nice and ‘let’s make something work’. They just didn’t do that. But the record itself, I thought, was fantastic.
Absolutely. And it’s so nice to hear that the friendship has endured all of that.
Yes! I’m seeing Ian in a couple of weeks. I still cut his hair! Isn’t that funny. I still cut his hair!
And finally, is there anything else you want to tell us about the tour before we wrap up?
Oh, come and see it! I think it’s going to be great. That band sold out last year. I didn’t see it – I was in New York – but apparently it was amazing. The whole tour was great. And Katie (Lust For Life band lead singer – Katie Puckrik) I met her and I saw some videos of her and I thought, “Damn, this girl is really good.” I kind of missed her not living in England. I kind of missed what she was doing before. And Glen (Matlock) is an old friend of mine so that’s going to be really nice. And there’s Clem (Burke). I don’t know Clem and I don’t know Kevin (Armstrong) but by all accounts that band are really hot and I can’t wait to work with them. I think it’s going to be a lot of fun.
And I think you’re going to be a fantastic addition to the tour as well!
Slade in the 1970s – my third book for Sonicbond Publishing’s Decades series came out in May 2023, following my books on The Sweet (2021) and Suzi Quatro (2022). All three books are available on Amazon and other major retailers as well as the publisher’s own online shop at Burning Shed.
It’s been great seeing the amount of interest in the book, including a joint interview with Don Powell (pictured here with a copy of my book – definitely a proud author moment!)
Here is a round-up of reviews that have come in so far:
“Covering the titular decade, Johnson provides in-depth analysis release by release, relying heavily on contemporary press. It reads well: interesting, informative and with an amiable personal slant.” – Gerry Ranson RnR magazine
“Another ‘must have’ for the casual Slade fan and anyone who loves a bit of glam rock”– Jason Ritchie, Get Ready To Rock (read full review here)
“As a massive glam rock fan, this is a must-have book” – Martin Hutchinson, Eighth Day magazine
“This neat paperback guide to a glittering 70s heyday recalls a momentous run of singles and albums” – Beat magazine
“As well as listing all single and album tracks, with accompanying background notes, all key elements of the Slade story are covered here.” – Jon Marsh, Wired Up fanzine
It’s just been announced that former Bowie stylist and wife of the late Spiders from Mars guitar hero will join the 2024 Lust For Life Tour(Clem Burke, Glen Matlock, Katie Puckrik and Kevin Armstrong). Suzi Ronson will be reading extracts from her her forthcoming book Me and Mr Jones: My Life With David Bowie and the Spiders from Mars – published on 4th April next year.
Me and Mr Jones is described by publishers, Faber as “an electrifying peek behind the curtains during a legendary chapter of pop culture history… from the stylist behind David Bowie’s Ziggy Stardust look.”
“Suzi Ronson was there as Bowie transitioned from suburban folkie to world superstar and genius. Few can offer such insight, and tell this fascinating story with such verve.” Hanif Kureshi
From the synposis:“Suzi Ronson was working in a Beckenham hair salon in the early seventies when Mrs Jones came in for her weekly shampoo and set. After being introduced to her son David and his wife Angie, Suzi finds herself at the Bowies’ bohemian apartment and is soon embroiled in their raucous world.
Having crafted his iconic Ziggy Stardust hairstyle, Suzi becomes the only working woman in David’s touring party and joins the Spiders from Mars as they perform around the globe. Amid the costume blunders, parties and groupies she meets her husband-to-be, Mick Ronson, and together they traverse the absurdities of life in show business, falling in with the likes of Iggy Pop, Bob Dylan and Lou Reed along the way.
Dazzling and intimate, Me and Mr Jones provides not only a unique perspective on one of the most beguiling stars of our time but also a world on the cusp of cultural transformation, charting the highs and lows of life as one of the only women in the room as it happened.”
Following on from her hugely enjoyable gig at the Albert Hall last year, Suzi Quatro is currently touring the UK once again. An almost capacity-crowd packed out Brighton Dome to witness Quatro mark her half-century since first topping the UK charts with ‘Can The Can’.
The set-list is largely the same as for the Albert Hall performance, spanning the Suzi Quatro back catalogue from 1973 right up to the present day. However, there have been a couple of new albums since last April’s Albert Hall gig and we get a song apiece from each of those: her covers release, Uncovered (here represented by Quatro’s storming interpretation of Creedence Clearwater Revival’s ‘Bad Moon Rising’.) and her duet album with KT Tunstall, Face To Face (here represented by ‘Shine A Light’).
Like last year, there’s no support – just two hour-long sets of pure unadulterated Suzi with just a short break in the middle. Of course, last year’s prestigious Albert Hall gig saw a handful of special guests take the stage, too, in the form of Sweet’s Andy Scott, Slade’s Don Powell and Suzi’s own son, Richard Tuckey. But in truth, hugely enjoyable though these cameos were, no special guests are needed. Quatro’s backing band (these days incorporating female backing singers and a brass section in addition to the classic bass-drums-keyboards-guitar configuration) are absolutely shit-hot.
The first half sees the various phases of Quatro’s fifty-year solo career well-represented, as are the different sides of her on-stage musical persona. From the big glam-era hits like ‘Daytona Demon’ and ’48 Crash’; to the emotive balladry of ‘Can I Be Your Girl?’ from early ‘80s Unreleased Emotion album; to songs from the two critically-acclaimed albums written with son, Richard, No Control and The Devil In Me; to a blistering cover of Neil Young’s ‘Rockin’ In The Free World’.
Now back on stage in her trademark leather jumpsuit, there’s another blast of her more recent material in the second half, including the magnificent ‘Motor City Riders’ celebrating Quatro’s Detroit heritage, as well as more Chinn/Chapman-penned hits and a stomping version of ‘Glycerine Queen’ from Quatro’s first album which is then followed by a pumping extended bass solo.
Soon it’s time for the two songs absolutely everyone has been waiting all night for: ‘Can The Can’ and ‘Devil Gate Drive’. And Suzi implores us all to get up on our feet for these. Sadly, we also know this incredible show is drawing to a close but there’s still time for a joyful, life-affirming communal sing-along to ‘Can’t Give Me Love’ followed by an incendiary rendition of Chuck Berry’s ‘Sweet Little Rock n Roller’. For her final encore Suzi puts down her bass and takes a stool to give us a spellbinding rendition of the Eagles ‘Desperado’.
An incredible show. An incredible fifty years.
Setlist:
The Wild One I May Be Too Young Daytona Demon Tear Me Apart Shine a Light Stumblin’ In 48 Crash No Soul/No Control The Devil In Me Slow Down Rockin’ in the Free World Can I Be Your Girl? Motor City Riders I Sold My Soul Today Bad Moon Rising She’s in Love With You Overload Too Big Glycerine Queen Can the Can Devil Gate Drive If You Can’t Give Me Love Sweet Little Rock & Roller Desperado
My book ‘Suzi Quatro In The 1970s’ published by Sonicbond is available here
‘Bikini Vision’ is the debut single from New York-based neo-glam band, Dream Pony, who recently got in touch saying:
“We stumbled on your blog because you’ve covered a lot bands we dig.”
I get an awful lot of emails like this, of course, but as soon as I played the video I was immediately drawn to that heady blend of garage rock meets glammed-up New York punk meets timeless pop. They rightly surmised that they’d be the perfect fit for Darren’s Music Blog so we here we are. They are not wrong.
Dream Pony: “Dream Pony draw on cinematic themes and are rooted in the poetic condition of the everyday.”
“Bikini Vision is a fuzzed out beach pop anthem celebrating personal expression and body appreciation. This recording takes us on a ride through Brooklyn on hot Summers day. Songwriter D’Arsie paints a picture of a character in search of an escape from the heat and the ensuing delirium, blissfully in love with life and able to see beauty in everyone and everything. Bikini Vision has both crisp, blown out guitars, killer drum fills driving bass, swirling organs and cruisy backing vocals. Somewhat equal parts Iggy Pop sarcasm and Rowland S Howard irony.”
Dream Pony were formed in late 2022 by singer-songwriter and poet Jordan D’Arsie (from NYC proto-punk combo Women of the Night) and Aaron Mika (from the band Televisionaries). The pair were then joined by Supremo Massiv on bass, from another NYC outfit Revel in Dimes.
A collaboration between UK-based singer-songwriter , Tim Izzard, and US-based lyricist, DJ and owner of Dandy’s Stardust Dive online radio station, Gregory Dobbins, Glitter, Gum & Bubble Pop is twelve tracks of shiny, sparkly, retro pop. It’s an album that unashamedly celebrates both the late ’60s US bubblegum scene and the early ’70s UK glam scene, while also paying homage to the golden age of Hanna-Barbera cartoons through the creation of the duo’s animated alter-egos, Sir Prize & The Twomorrow Knightz.
Tim Izzard and Gregory Dobbins:
“Hear ye, Hear ye!……..The future of the music of the past has arrived……50 years in the making, ‘Glitter Gum and Bubble Pop’ is an album that takes the lyrics of a young American teenager in the 70’s to create a retro-modern Bubble Gum Pop and Neo-Glam sound. The 12 original songs are performed by the fictional, ‘cartoon-like’ Sir Prize & The Twomorrow Knightz just like the old, Saturday morning cartoons of the past.”
“Imagine being young again. A new, weekly cartoon is on TV on Saturday mornings. Each episode includes a song that you can’t help but sing along to till next week’s episode …..when you hear another new song!!!”
“The memories of Hanna-Barbera hang with the ghosts of US 60’s Bubble Gum pop and UK 70’s Glam Rock to produce something for the future from the spirit of the past. Arise ‘Sir Prize & The Twomorrow Knightz’……and strut your stuff!!”
The collaboration came about because Dobbins has been playing Izzard’s solo music on his station for the last three years. A friendship grew out of their shared love of 70s pop with the idea for an album eventually emerging.
Lead single, ‘Automatic Satin Circus’, is an irresistible slice of glam-inspired pop with a crunchy riff, an infectious beat, a Bowie-esque vocal and lyrics celebrating many of the Glam heroes of the era.
‘Little Lambs Dressed As Mutton’ is more the art-school glam favoured by the likes of Roxy Music et al, while songs like ‘Bubble Gum Kisses’ and ‘Stewy Stewy’ nicely capture that archetypal bubblegum sound of The Archies and early Sweet. 70s space rock and the middle of the decade’s Doo-Wop revival also get a look in on the album, too
Packed full of instantly-recognisable sounds even if the songs themselves are unfamiliar, If I didn’t know any better I’d have assumed this was another of those ‘Junkshop Glam’ compilations that had unearthed and repackaged yet more delightfully obscure singles of the era. But it isn’t. These are all brand-spanking-new songs, and Sir Prize & The Twomorrow Knightz are here to inject a much-needed dose of glam-pop into our twenty-first century lives.
To mark the publication of my latest book‘Slade In The 1970s’I was delighted to be at The Trumpet in Bilston, Wolverhampton, recently – along with Martin Brooks and Nigel Hart of the Pouk Hill Prophetz and a sizeable gathering of Slade fans.
Given the heatwave we’d been having all week I started wondering if we’d actually get many people along and thinking that they may well prefer to spend the day in the garden with a BBQ rather than be stuck inside a pub. I needn’t have worried. As soon as I turned up on Bilston High Street laden with a heavy rucksack full of books, I began spotting fans in Slade T-shirts waiting for The Trumpet to open. Phew!
The Trumpet was a regular stomping ground for the four members of Slade back in the day and is still a much-loved and highly-respected jazz venue. One of the musicians who played there regularly was Black Country pianist, Tommy Burton, who appears on Slade’s Old, New, Borrowed & Blue album. There is a blue plaque for him at the pub.
Once inside, Martin and Nigel of the Pouk Hill Prophetz were already busy sound-checking and I got to work setting up a display of my books on what would be the signing table, in front of the stage and handily right next to the bar. By the time things kicked off the pub had filled up nicely.
After an introduction from Nigel, I took to the mic-stand to say a little about my book, explain the concept behind Sonicbond’s Decades series (of which ‘Slade in the 1970s’ is part) and share with everyone how my long-standing love affair with the band came about. Then it was time for questions: What was my first Slade gig? How did I go about researching the book? What made me switch from being a politician to writing about music?
Following a short break where I signed copies of my books and chatted to Slade fans, it was then time for the first set of the day from the magnificent Pouk Hill Prophetz. Coming together through their shared love of Slade, Pouk Hill Prophetz have been together almost a decade now, celebrating the music of Slade and, occasionally, other glam-era icons.
The first set of the day was an entirely acoustic set where Martin and Nigel gave us their own interpretations of a number of Slade classics. From the big hits like ‘Cum On Feel The Noize’ and ‘Coz I Luv You’, to obscure early album tracks like ‘Dapple Rose’, to anthemic B-sides like ‘She Did It To Me’. It was all rather spectacular, but it wasn’t over yet. The duo would be back for two more sets in the evening, including a full electric set towards the end, with a guest drummer and a special outing for a replica version of Dave Hill’s famous Superyob guitar.
Michael Vanoverstraeten adds: “After the afternoon session, my wife and I went back home to fetch the John Birch Super Yob Guitar for Martin to play it in the evening. Martin surely blew the cobwebs of my John Birch Super Yob Guitar blasting out “Born to Be Wild” at the end of the evening.”
Michael Vanoverstraeten with Mick Marsden – a member of the N’ Betweens prior to the Holder/Hill/Lea/Powell line-up that would eventually become Slade
I’d like to thank Diane at The Trumpet for hosting us that day and giving us such a warm and friendly Black Country welcome, I’d like to thank Martin and Nigel of Pouk Hill Prophetz for giving us such wonderful music and I’d like to thank everyone who came along – all brought together through a shared love of Slade. A memorable day indeed.
Radio host, YouTuber, writer and producer, Tokyo-based Mike Rogers has many incredible connections in the world of rock and roll.
I’ve been in contact with Mike on numerous occasions in connection with my music PR work, representing other artists. This time, however, I was the guest on the Mike Rogers Show, talking about my recently-published book on Slade.
You can catch my interview with Mike below, where I talk about my love of ’70s glam, my new book on Slade, my two previous books on Suzi Quatro and The Sweet and my segue from London politics to music writing.
Actually, as The Times noted last weekend I’m not the first ex-London politician to write a book on Slade. Before turning my hand to music writing, I did a sixteen year stint as an elected member of the Greater London Authority (GLA), representing the Green Party. But the first person to write a book on Slade was George Tremlett, a Conservative member of the predecessor body, the Greater London Council (GLC), whose own Slade book came out in 1975.
And below Here we have George Tremlett’s 1975 book ‘The Slade Story’, alongside my own book which came out on 26th May this year.
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