SLADE’S BEGINNINGS

Slade’s 1969 debut album sells for over £700 and is the latest in RC’s series of classic vinyl reissues (see offer, p29). DAVE HILL tells the story behind it. Interview by Ian Shirley

On 4th April 2010, Dave Hill celebrated his birthday in Moscow. “I was 64 and they made a cake and brought it out on stage,” he chuckles down the phone, “there were about 2,500 people in the audience and they all sang to me.”

To paraphrase The Beatles song, it seems that Slade fans not only still need Dave Hill, but are happy to feed him as well! Despite Slade last gracing the charts in 90s, there remains tremendous affection for the band. Although singer and second guitarist Noddy Holder and bass player Jim Lea have left the ranks, Hill, drummer Don Powell, along with Jon Berry (bass) and Mal McNulty (vocals), continue to tread the boards in the UK, Germany, Holland, Norway as well as Russia, where they are attracting a new generation of fans.

“There were kids in the audience who were 20 years old and not even born when our records were made, and they knew all the words!” Translation is made easier as Slade have one of the most chantable back catalogues in pop, and Hill’s reputation as the most flamboyant and visual guitarist of the 70s makes the band perfect fodder for the internet generation.

“You punch your name into YouTube and there are pages and pages of you,” Hill laughs. And so there should be, as Slade were not only one of the great singles …

by Ian Shirley
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