Slade was at their peak the most commercially popular band in the U.K. Of course they didn’t start the movement of Glam Rock, but certainly contributed to be a popular success. They are also regarded as the precursors of Punk-Rock.
Their energy on stage and their songwriting differentiated them the rest. On stage represented what a rock concert should be. Engaging the crowd and making them go mad.
“Slade was certainly our greatest influence; not only in the crafting of rock songs but also as performers. Before Slade, no one really knew shit about how to make an audience riot. We really got off on that. There would probably never have been us without them.” – Gene Simmons (Kiss)
They were also one of the bands that came close to break The Beatles record on most U.K. hits in a decade. The Beatles had 22 and Slade had 17.
Slade is another of those bands that has a ton of songs that you had no idea that belonged to them. Like “Cum on feel the noize”
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One of the most popular songs is “Merry X-mas Everybody” for several reasons. First of all they deliberate misspelled the name on the cover art, so that gained immediate attention but also it was a Christmas song for the regular U.K worker, something we like to call “Pa la muchachada” (For the boys).
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Slade’s first hit happened in 1971 with the song “Get down and get with it”.
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Slade’s second hit is “Coz I luv You” this was actually the first time they misspelled a name, something they kept along their career.
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Go on and find on iTunes. Great band.
pol