Slade are an English rock band. They were the top UK group of the 1970s. They were the first act to have three singles enter at #1, and all six of the Wolverhampton band's chart-topping stompers were penned by Noddy Holder and Jim Lea.
The group dominated the UK charts during the early 1970s. During the height of their success, Slade out-performed their chart rivals, such as Wizzard, Sweet, T. Rex, Suzi Quatro, Mud, Smokie, Gary Glitter, Roxy Music and David Bowie. In the UK, they achieved twelve Top 5 hit singles from 1971 to 1974, six of which topped the chart.
In total, Slade had seventeen Top 20 hits between 1971 and 1976 including six #1s, three #2s and two #3s. No other UK act of the period enjoyed such consistency in the UK Top 40 and Slade actually came the closest to matching The Beatles' twenty two Top 10 records in a single decade (1960s). Three of their singles entered the charts at #1 and they sold more singles in the UK than any other group of the 1970s. By 1973 alone, "Merry Xmas Everybody" had sold over one million copies globally, and gained gold disc status. They toured Europe in 1973 and the US in 1974.
Slade have released over thirty albums, three of which reached #1 on the UK Albums Chart.
While Slade's attempts at cracking the United States market were largely unsuccessful, they left their mark on several US bands who cite Slade as an influence. Kiss bassist Gene Simmons admitted that his band's early songwriting ethos and stage performance style was influenced by Slade. In his book, Kiss and Make-Up, Simmons wrote on page 85, "the one we kept returning to was Slade," and "we liked the way they connected with the crowd, and the way they wrote anthems... we wanted that same energy, that same irresistible simplicity. but we wanted it American-style".
Tom Petersson of Cheap Trick said that his band went to see Slade perform, and that they used "every cheap trick in the book", thus inadvertently coining his group's name. Cheap Trick covered the song "When the Lights are Out" (the original one appeared on Old New Borrowed and Blue) on their 2009 release, The Latest. Quiet Riot had US hits with their covers of "Cum On Feel the Noize" and "Mama Weer All Crazee Now". The origins of Slade's influence on Quiet Riot dated back to the early 1970s, when Kevin DuBrow photographed Slade during their first Los Angeles appearances at the Whisky a Go Go.
- Above Quoted From Wikipedia
