It’s not the usual sort of venue I’ve seen him at over the years but one of the function rooms in the rather plush surroundings of the Mount Country Manor Hotel on the outskirts of Wolverhampton is the setting for the official launch event for Dave Hill’s first ever solo album, Dirty Foot Lane.
With a mix of music and chat, Hill is questioned by TV presenter and long-time Slade fan, Nick Owen, together with a specially-assembled band playing a selection of songs from the album and an old Slade hit to finish. Except it isn’t Nick Owen to start with as he has the wrong night in his diary (!) so a member of the organising crew ably fills in until Owen hurriedly makes his way over to the venue.
Just as Hill’s surprisingly thoughtful autobiography (So Here It Is! released back in 2017) was not simply a well-rehearsed selection of ’70s glam-era anecdotes, but delved into stark class tensions in Hill’s wider family background, his late mother’s long-running mental health battles as well as his own similar struggles, this highly-personal debut solo album can be seen as something as a companion piece to the autobiography. Hill pays tribute to his mother during the Q&A as he talks movingly about ‘Sweet and Tender’ – one of the songs on the album, which was written in her memory.
Although it isn’t one of the songs performed live this evening, Hill also talks about the inspiration for the album’s title track, ‘Dirty Foot Lane’. A country lane on the Wolverhampton/South Staffordshire border that the young Hill would wander up and down with his mom, dad and sister, Carol, (and would later visit with his own wife and children) Slade geeks will be aware that the song celebrating those times first appeared on Keep on Rockin’, the 1994 album from the post-Holder/Lea version of Slade. Three decades on it’s been given a complete makeover by album producer, Django Holder, about whom Hill is also very generous in his praise tonight.
And if that name has a ring of familiarity about it, Django is, indeed, the son of Noddy Holder and his novelist wife, Suzanne. It was on Noddy Holder’s recommendation that Django Holder, now a noted record producer, took on the production duties for the album. “He’s very quiet,” reveals Hill, noting the obvious contrast with his two larger-than-life parents. Nonetheless, Hill credits him with bringing a wide palette of musical influences to the album, citing Neil Young and Tom Petty to name two. Hill also reveals that he and Noddy Holder are now “closer than ever” – which may warm the hearts of many fans, given some of the well-documented tensions in the Slade camp since the original band split in the early ‘90s.
Musically, we are treated to a live performance of ‘Thanks for the Good Times’, Hill’s affectionate and heartfelt tribute to all the happy memories of working with Noddy Holder, Jim Lea and Don Powell and manager/producer, Chas Chandler. On a less optimistic but nevertheless moving note, there’s also a rendition of ‘She Had a Troubled Heart’, another song from the album. Based on a true story, it deals with a broken heart that couldn’t be fixed and the ultimately tragic consequences of that. While not an autobiographical song per se, it clearly means a lot to Hill and he speaks of his ambassadorial work with the Black Country Mental Health charity who are represented at the launch event tonight.
That’s not to say there aren’t some lighter moments during the evening as well. At one point, Hill’s own sister, Carol, is brought up on stage to recall the youthful excitement she felt on tuning into the radio and first hearing her brother had made it to number one in the charts.
The formal part of the evening ends in suitably upbeat fashion with a sing-along rendition of Slade’s ‘Far Far Away’. Then it’s a lengthy but good-natured queue at the signing desk as those present wait to get their CD’s, books and records signed and get their photos taken with the man himself.
Dirty Foot Lane is released on 13 November 2026
Related posts:
Book: ‘Slade In The 1970s’ by Darren Johnson
Interview with Slade legend Don Powell
Interview with former Slade legend Jim Lea
Jim Lea at the Robin 2, Bilston 2017
Before glam: the debut 60s singles of Bowie, Bolan, Slade, Mud and Sweet
Slade, strikes and the three-day week: the story of the greatest Christmas record ever made
Slade at Donnington 1981
Slade at White Rock Theatre, Hastings 2015
