Tag Archives: Slade

Live review: Slade at White Rock Theatre, Hastings 28/11/25

Glam rock, Hastings music scene, Live reviews, Rock music, Uncategorized, , , , , , , ,

I was lucky enough to see the original line-up of Slade on one of their annual Christmas tours a couple of times back in the early 1980s. Then, after Dave Hill reformed the band with Don Powell in the early 1990s, seeing Slade every Christmas pretty much became an annual tradition. Health issues meant that Hill, now the only original remaining member, had to miss a couple of years in recent times. But now he’s back on the road for a ten-date UK tour. As he approaches his 80th birthday next April this has been advertised as the final ever Slade Christmas tour. They are not giving up playing live altogether, Hill reassures us all later on. There will still be the odd show, just not these big tours.

Yes, there’s no Noddy and Jim, the ones who actually wrote all of those Holder/Lea hits being blasted out tonight. Don departed some years ago amidst a certain amount of acrimony and so Dave with his ever-flamboyant stage-attire is the last man standing. But it’s a chance to see a bonafide ‘70s legend less than a mile from my front door and, most importantly, a chance to celebrate all those hits with as much communal stomping, swaying, singing and clapping as all of us can muster. I wouldn’t miss it for the world.

Looking forward to getting crazee with Slade!

It’s not exactly an unfamiliar set-list, either for long-time Slade fans or, indeed, almost anyone who had more than a passing acquaintance with the chart music of the 1970s and early ‘80s. Only three of the songs being played tonight came in below the Top Five in the UK singles charts! And the only things that may even slightly resemble anything like a ‘deep cut’ are ‘Lock Up Your Daughters’, a minor hit for the band the year after their post-Reading comeback; and ‘My Baby Left Me’, another minor hit recorded as a tribute to Elvis following the King’s death in 1977. Familiarity is what’s it’s all about tonight and kicking off with ‘Take Me Bak ‘Ome’ the big hits come thick and fast.

The classic Slade live format of lead guitar, rhythm guitar, bass and drums has been tampered with in recent years and rather than someone taking on Noddy Holder’s old role on second guitar, you now have Russell Keefe on keyboards. This works surprisingly well, especially given the prominence of the keyboards in so many of Slade’s mellower numbers, like ‘Everyday’, ‘My Friend Stan’ and ‘My Oh My’. What works less well is when Keefe takes lead vocal on several songs. Holder’s voice was gravelly but it was never gruff. In Slade’s glory days, Holder could yell louder than any of them but Tom Waites he was not.

Without trying to mimic Holder, Hill’s long-time bass-player, John Berry, does a much more sympathetic job on the songs where he sings lead. The other new-boy, Alex Bines, pounds away on drums as the audience clap and stomp along, and the soon-to-be-octogenarian Hill nails all those familiar, classic, guitar solos.

An impassioned Dave Hill imploring the crowd to look to the future

It’s the first night of the tour and towards the end Hill seems genuinely moved by the rabble-rousing response from the audience tonight. After a suitably crazy ‘Mama Weer All Crazee Now’ the band exit the stage but soon they are back for an encore with an epic singalong rendition of ‘My Oh My’, followed by a wonderfully raucous ‘Cum On Feel The Noize’.

But wait, it’s nearly December, it’s the start of the Slade Christmas tour and there’s obviously one song left to do. The roadies are on hand to distribute Santa hats, Dave Hill gives an impassioned plea about looking to the future, even though times might be right now, and soon we’re all yelling along to Merry Xmas Everybody’ at the top of our voices and leaving with a real spring in our step ready to face 2026.

Setlist:

Take Me Bak ‘Ome
Lock Up Your Daughters
Look Wot You Dun
Everyday
Coz I Luv You
Run Runaway
My Friend Stan
Far Far Away
The Bangin’ Man
My Baby Left Me
Gudbuy T’Jane
Mama Weer All Crazee Now
My Oh My
Cum On Feel the Noize
Merry Xmas Everybody

Related posts:

Book: ‘Slade In The 1970s’ by Darren Johnson

Let there be drums! 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

Giants of Rock, Minehead 26-29 January 2018

Slade at Brighton 2019

Live review: Pouk Hill Prophetz at the Water Rats, London 23/2/24

Glam rock, Live reviews, Rock music, , , , , ,

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.

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100055115121968

Related Posts:

A day celebrating Slade at the Trumpet, Bilston – Book Launch & Pouk Hill Prophetz 17/6/23

Live review: Pouk Hill Prophetz – charity gig for Dementia UK, London 2019

Live review: Slade Convention 2016

Pouk Hill Prophetz raise thousands for brain tumour research

‘Slade in the 1970s’ by Darren Johnson – reviews round-up

Book reviews, Glam rock, Music culture & history, Music news, Rock music, , , , , , ,

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

Related posts:

More info on Slade in the 1970s book

Reviews roundup: ‘The Sweet in the 1970s’

‘Suzi Quatro in the 1970s’ by Darren Johnson – reviews round-up

A day celebrating Slade at the Trumpet, Bilston – Book Launch & Pouk Hill Prophetz 17/6/23

Glam rock, Music culture & history, Rock music, , , , , , , ,

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.

Photos: Darren Johnson and Martin Brooks

Related Posts:

Darren’s books

Live review: Pouk Hill Prophetz – charity gig for Dementia UK, London 2019

Slade Convention 2016

Pouk Hill Prophetz raise thousands for brain tumour research

Slade in the 1970s: interview with Mike Rogers

Glam rock, Interviews, Music culture & history, Music news, Rock music, , , , , , ,

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.

Related posts

‘Slade In The 1970s’ by Darren Johnson out 26th May 2023

Reviews round-up: ‘Suzi Quatro In The 1970s’

Reviews round-up: ‘The Sweet in the 1970s’

SLADE in the SEVENTIES – with author, Darren Johnson

Glam rock, Interviews, Music culture & history, Music news, Rock music, , , ,

I talk to Gary Alikivi about my love of 70s glam, my writing and my forthcoming book on Slade for his excellent online blog here.

Alikivi's avatarALIKIVI : NORTH EAST UK CULTURE

I was encouraged by the reaction to my Sweet book and began work on one about Suzi Quatro, another big ‘70s icon that I’ve always been a huge fan of. However, the first band I truly fell in love with was Slade said author Darren Johnson.

Originally from the North West, Darren moved to London in 1990 where he spent over twenty years working full time in politics…

My professional background was in politics and campaigning so I’d written a lot about current affairs and had various articles published in the national press – from tackling climate change to building more council housing.

After stepping back from politics Darren moved out of the capital and in 2016 based himself in Hastings, East Sussex.

When I no longer had an endless cycle of meetings to attend, one of the things I was determined to do was go to more live gigs…

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‘Slade In The 1970s’ – book launch and music from Pouk Hill Prophetz at The Trumpet, Bilston, 17th June

Glam rock, Music culture & history, Music news, Rock music, , , , , , ,

Marking the publication of my third book for Sonicbond’s Decades series, Slade In The 1970s, I’ll be at the legendary Trumpet pub in Bilston on 17th June, a traditional stomping ground for the members of Slade in the early days and still a much-loved and highly-respected jazz venue.

Slade In The 1970s previewed this month in Wired Up glam fanzine:

As well as a Q&A and book signing I’m thrilled to announce there will also be a live acoustic set from Martin Brooks and Nigel Hart of the Pouk Hill Prophetz as part of the launch that afternoon (1pm-3pm) as well as a later set that evening (8pm-11pm).

Coming together through their shared love of Slade, Pouk Hill Prophetz have been together almost a decade now, bringing their own unique take on the music of Slade and other glam-era icons.

Martin Brooks, guitarist with Pouk Hill Prophetz: “Darren Johnson has been a friend of the band for many years and we are delighted to support his book launch. It is a great honour for PHP to play a gig at The Trumpet, which is such an important music venue in the Midlands and has been associated with Slade since their glory days in the 70s. It will be a day and a night to remember!”

The Trumpet, 58 High St, Bilston, Wolverhampton WV14 0EP: https://www.thetrumpet-bilston.com/

Pouk Hill Prophetz: https://www.poukhillprophetz.com/

Slade In The 1970s – out 26th May: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Slade-1970s-Decades-Darren-Johnson/dp/1789522684/

About the author: A former politician, Darren Johnson spent many years writing about current affairs but after stepping away from politics he was able to devote time to his first love: music. His first book, The Sweet In The 1970s, was published by Sonicbond in 2021, followed by Suzi Quatro In The 1970s in 2022. Now he turns his attention to the first band he truly fell in love with: Slade. A keen follower of both rock and folk, he maintains a popular music blog Darren’s Music Blog and has reviewed albums and gigs for a variety of publications. He lives in Hastings, East Sussex

New book: ‘Slade In The 1970s’ by Darren Johnson out 26th May 2023

Book reviews, Glam rock, Music culture & history, Rock music, , , , , , ,

Following my books on The Sweet and Suzi Quatro I’m absolutely delighted to confirm that my third book for Sonicbond’s ‘Decades’ series, Slade In The 1970s, is published on 26th May 2023.

You can order from Amazon’s website here and via the publisher’s online shop at Burning Shed here as well as other major retailers.

Launch event at The Trumpet, Bilston, 17th June – details here

Slade In The 1970s – synopsis

Slade were one of the biggest British bands of the 1970s. One of the early pioneers of glam rock they enjoyed an incredible run of six number one singles, five top-ten albums and a succession of sell-out tours. However, after a failed attempt at an American breakthrough in the mid-1970s, Slade returned to Britain and faced dwindling record sales, smaller concert halls and a music press that had lost interest in them. By the end of the decade, they were playing residencies in cabaret clubs and recorded a cover of a children’s novelty song. But then came a last-minute invitation to play the 1980 Reading Festival, setting into motion one of the most remarkable comebacks in rock history.

As we come to the fiftieth anniversary of Slade’s 1973 annus mirabilis that saw ‘Cum On Feel The Noize’, ‘Skweeze Me, Pleeze Me’ and ‘Merry Xmas Everybody’ all enter the UK charts at number one, this book celebrates the music of Slade. From the band’s beginnings in the mid-1960s through each year of the decade that gave them their biggest successes, every album and single is examined, as well as their raucous live shows and colourful media profile.

About the Author

A former politician, Darren Johnson spent many years writing about current affairs but after stepping away from politics he was able to devote time to his first love: music. His first book, The Sweet In The 1970s, was published by Sonicbond in 2021, followed by Suzi Quatro In The 1970s in 2022. Now he turns his attention to the first band he truly fell in love with: Slade. A keen follower of both rock and folk, he maintains a popular music blog Darren’s Music Blog and has reviewed albums and gigs for a variety of publications. He lives in Hastings, East Sussex

Slade in the 1970s by Darren Johnson – one sheet summaryDownload

Related posts:

The Sweet In The 1970s – reviews round-up

Suzi Quatro In The 1970s – reviews round-up

This week’s featured artist: singer/songwriter/guitarist Joe Matera – new single features Slade’s Don Powell

Album reviews, Glam rock, Music news, Rock music, , , , , ,

Darren’s music blog gets a ton of email traffic about artists flagging up new releases. There are not hours in the day to follow every single one up. This one was about to slip through the net but singer-songwriter Joe Matera was a little more persistent and kindly sent me a follow-up email a week later. What’s more he was flagging up that none other than legendary drummer Don Powell of Slade is performing on his new single. That immediately sent it to the top of the my ‘things-worth-checking-out-pile’ – but first a little more about Joe…

Also a prolific and respected music journalist, Joe has played in a number of rock outfits in his native Australia. He was founding lead guitarist for classic rock band Double Vision and before that played in a popular local band On The Prowl. As a guitarist Joe has also collaborated with a number of artists and his original guitar instrumental compositions have appeared on various film soundtracks. In 2012 he performed with Steve Harley for a series of live acoustic performances for radio and TV on Harley’s first ever promo tour of Australia.

Official Promo, 2019 – Photo: Anders E. Skånberg

Joe has continued to tour and record as a solo artist, releasing several albums and EPs of original material as well as providing support for artists as diverse as Peter Kriss (ex-Kiss), Canned Heat and the Bay City Rollers. In early 2018, he joined Swedish based rock band Rough Rockers as permanent member on guitar.

His latest solo single ‘Inside Looking Out’ is released towards the end of this month. It’s a song that starts off deceptively mellow until the aforementioned Mr Powell’s unmistakeable drumming kicks in and we are served up an infectiously jaunty slice of contemporary pop-rock with a blistering guitar solo to boot.

Because of lockdown restrictions the track was recorded remotely across three countries, Don Powell (drums) in Denmark, Janne Borgh (bass) in Sweden and Joe (vocals, guitars and keyboards) in Australia.

Don Powell: “I was really honoured when Joe asked me to play drums on his track. I had SO much fun in the studio recording my drums for him…I can also speak for my engineer Torben Lehmann, we both really got off listening to Joe’s track as I was recording my drums. Can’t wait to do more together.”

‘Inside Looking Out’ is released via Mercury Fire Music on October 29th on all digital platforms

https://www.joematera.com/

Related posts:

Interview with Don Powell

Album review – Don Powell’s Occasional Flames ‘Just My Cup of Tea’

Veteran drummer Don Powell out of Slade

Interview with former Slade legend Jim Lea

Slade, strikes and the three-day week: the story of the greatest Christmas record ever made

Slade at Donnington 1981

Header photo credit: Sofia Rewert-Strasser

Rock: album review – Don Powell’s Occasional Flames ‘Just My Cup of Tea’

Album reviews, Glam rock, Rock music, , , , , , ,

After decades of touring the circuit blasting out the old hits with erstwhile colleague, Dave Hill, in his reconstituted version of Slade, the last few years have been something of a creative renaissance for drummer, Don Powell. There was the enormously well-received album with Suzie Quatro and Sweet’s Andy Scott, there’s been work with his new Don Powell Band and he is also about to release his second album as part of Don Powell’s Occasional Flames. Just My Cup Of Tea sees him, once again, with guitarist/vocalist, Les Glover, and lyricist/poet and ukulele supremo and Slade superfan, Paul Cookson.

Paul Cookson is a brilliantly witty lyricist and poet, indeed publishing an anthology of Slade related poetry ‘Touched By The Band Of Nod’ back in 2007. I have a signed copy! Of course, there are numerous nods to Slade on the album and ‘Coz We Luv You’ is an affectionate tribute to our four heroes from Wolverhampton with a trademark Slade stomp.

The cultural references across the album’s fourteen songs go far beyond Slade and 70s glam, however. ‘I Won’t Be Playing Wonderwall’ is a witty Oasis pastiche, for example, but much of the album gives off something of an early 80s post-punk vibe – choppy, slightly aggressive yet highly tuneful playing, teamed up with sharp, observational semi- spoken-word lyrics. Not the album lacks more sensitive moments, too, like the poignant ‘We Are The Hearts’ or the affectionate ‘Bernie and Elton’ tribute to the bespectacled pianist and his long-time lyricist.

There quality of the musicianship on the album is great, too, both from the trio themselves and their musical guests. Cellist, Liz Hanks, who has played with the likes of Liam Gallagher, Richard Hawley, Paul Heaton and Thea Gilmore is one of the album’s guests for, example, while the group’s own guitarist, Les Glover, has a very impressive musical CV, running from Elvis sideman, James Burton to 10cc’s Graham Gouldman.

Glorious words, great playing and Don Powell out of Slade, too – what’s not to love about the Occasional Flames!

Just My Cup of Tea is released on 1st August 2021

http://www.occasional-flames.co.uk/

Related posts:

Interview with Don Powell

Veteran drummer Don Powell out of Slade

Slade legend Jim Lea releases video footage in bid to locate recently stolen guitar

EP review – Jim Lea ‘Lost In Space’

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

Giants of Rock, Minehead 26-29 January 2018

Slade at Brighton 2019