Slade

Glam-rockers Slade are best known for their 1973 smash hit “Merry Xmas Everybody”, which is still wheeled out every December to soundtrack shops and radio shows in the run-up to Christmas. They were the most commercially successful glam-rock band in Britain in the early 70s, outperforming competitors like David Bowie, T. Rex and Roxy Music. In fact their singles sales were better than any rock act of the decade, and their sound has been cited as a precursor to the 1976 punk explosion initiated by the Sex Pistols.

After a few unsuccessful singles, Slade burst on to the scene with their first No.1 “Coz I Luv You” in 1971. Incredibly their next 11 singles were all Top 5 hits, including five further No.1s such as “Mama Weer All Crazee Now”, “Cum on Feel the Noize” and “Merry Xmas Everybody”. Meanwhile their albums were performing similarly well, with the classic live album Slade Alive! (1972) hitting No.2, before a trio of chart-toppers: Slayed? (1972), Sladest (1973) and Old, New, Borrowed and Blue (1974). Later, as new musical trends such as punk, new wave and disco emerged, Slade struggled to stay on top. After 1975 their biggest hit was “We’ll Bring the House Down”, which reached No.10 in 1980. Now too old to be in fashion with youth audiences, they enjoyed two more Top 10 hits – “My Oh My” (1983) and “Run Runaway” (1984) – before Noddy Holder left the band in 1991. He later became known to a new generation of young Brits as an actor and TV personality.