215 Hello Slade - Get Down And Get With It

Chart  entered : 19  June  1971

Chart  peak : 16

Number  of  hits : 33

A  relatively  low-key  debut  for  the  British  kings   of  the  singles  chart  in  the  seventies ( a certain  Swedish  group  had  taken  the  overall  title  by  the  decade's  end ). This  came  into  the charts   at  a  time  when  I  couldn't  go  into  the  back  garden  without  hearing  the  neighbours' kids  singing  an  annoying  song  apparently  entitled  "Where's  Your  Mama  Gone ?",  my  first exposure , albeit  at  one  remove,  to  a  current  chart  hit.

As  the  band  themselves  always  acknowledged  theirs  was  no  overnight  success. Drummer    Don  Powell  and  guitarist  Dave  Hill  ,both  born  in  1946 , were  the  first  two  to  play  together  in  a  band  called  The  Vendors  on  the  Wolverhampton  club  circuit  who  made  their  own  recording  of  four  tracks  in  1964  which  was  never  released. At  the  same  time  Neville "Noddy " Holder  was  in  a  band  called  The  Mavericks  who  backed  an Elvis  impersonator  called  Steve  Brett. It's  not  clear  if  Noddy's  on  the  three  singles  Brett  recorded  on  Parlophone  in  1965  which  were  all  credited  to  him  alone.

In  1965  the  Vendors  decided  to  pursue  a  bluesier  direction  and  changed  their  name  to  The  N'Betweens. They  also  recruited  the  15  year  old  musical  prodigy  Jim  Lea  as  their  new  bass  player. Both  the  N'Betweens  and  The  Mavericks  got  work  in  Germany  and  were  on  the  same  ferry  whereupon  Don  and  Dave  invited  Noddy  to  join  their  band. Noddy  eventually  accepted  and  the  band  got  a  chance  to  release  a  single  on  Columbia , a  cover  of  the  Young  Rascals'  US  hit  "You  Better  Run"  in  December  1966  produced  by  american  maverick  Kim  Fowley. It's  a  raucous  R & B  stomper  that  showed  some  potential  but  was  perhaps  a  bit  rough  for  the  charts.

That  was  it  for  The  N' Betweens  as  far  as  records  went  but  they  spent  the  next  couple  of  years  developing  a  strong  live  reputation  in  the  Midlands. Along  the  way  they  dropped  lardy  singer  John  Howells; Noddy's  vocal  prowess  and  stage  presence  had  made  him  redundant. In  1969  they  came  to  the  attention  of  Fontana's  Jack  Baverstock  who  offered  them  a  deal  if  they  changed  their  name  and  accepted  management  from  London. After  some  hesitation  they  agreed  and  became  Ambrose  Slade, named  after  his  secretary's  fashion  accessories.    

Their  first  single  in  April  1969  was  a  self-written  space  rock  instrumental  "Genesis"  somewhere  between  Pink  Floyd  and  Hawkwind  that  relies  on  production  tricks  by  Roger  Wake  rather  than  any  great  melody . Neither  it , nor  its  parent  LP  "Beginnings"  which  was  mainly  made  up  of  covers,  sold  but  during  the  recording  sessions   they  met  ex-Animal  Chas  Chandler  who  offered  to  manage  them . Impressed  by  his credentials  as  the  man  who  discovered  Jimi  Hendrix  they  accepted  his  offer.

Chandler  produced  their  next  single  "Wild  Winds  Are  Blowing"  released  in  October  1969. It  was  written  by  songwriting  duo  Jack  Winsley  and  Bob  Saker. The  Slade,  as  they  were  now  called,  give  it  a  garage  rock  treatment  with  Noddy's  raucous  vocal  - close  to  the  Lennon  of  Twist  And  Shout  -  prominent.  Not  only  the  name  had  changed; at  Chandler's  suggestion  they  went  for  a  "skinhead"  look  of  boots  and  braces  although  none  of  them  actually  went  the  full  distance  and  had  a  number  one  crop. It  fitted  their  proletarian  roots  but  in  other  respects  it  was  a  mistake. Noddy  and  Don  looked  pretty  "handy"  already  and  it  gave  them  an  unhelpful  association  with  the  burgeoning  problem  of  football  hooliganism.

For  their  next  single  in  March  1970  they  did  a  cover  of  the  Mann/Weil  song  "Shape  Of  Things  To  Come". This  really  should   have  been  the  one  to  break  them. Noddy's  street  corner  holler  of  the  apocalyptic  lyric  and   Jim's  overdriven  bass  give  the  record  a  ferocity  that  makes  it  the  perfect  curtain-raiser  for  the  troubled  new  decade. It's  a  brilliant  single  but  even  a  Top  Of  The  Pops  appearance  wasn't  enough  to  get  it  in  the  charts.

Chandler  now  got  them  out  of  the  Fontana  contract  and  signed  to  Polydor.  For  the  next  single  "Know  Who  You  Are" in  September  1970  a  positivity   lyric  was  grafted  on  to  the  "Genesis"  track  with  the  phasing  tricks  removed. It  sounds  clumsy  and  uncomfortable  and  wasn't  rewarded. Without  a  hit  single  the  album  "Play  It  Loud"  didn't  chart  either.

But  salvation  was  at  hand. "Get  Down  And  Get  With  It"  is  a  call  and  response  song  popularised  by  Little  Richard  and  Slade  had  been  using  it  in  their live  set  to  rouse  the  audience  for  some  time. Chandler  suggested  they  record  it  to  try  and  capture  that  excitement  on  disc. Well ,it  sort  of  works ; it  was  probably  very  useful  for  party  hosts  as  Noddy  barks  out  the  instructions  before  the  band  burst  into  short  blasts  of  high  octane  12  bar  blues  but  subtle  it  certainly  isn't  and  you  can  understand   why  it  was  quickly  forgotten  once  it  had  done  its  job.