The Slider by T.Rex - 40 Years Old Today

Just over a month ago, the 40th anniversary of the release of David Bowie's Ziggy Stardust LP was rightly celebrated with much fanfare and bunting. Today, I'm dusting off the party hat and dressing in my best bib and tucker, for what I assume will be a slightly more low-key 40th birthday celebration, that of The Slider by T.Rex.

The Slider was my first LP. 'Wait', I hear you cry, 'what about this?'. OK, my first new, real, proper non-cheapo compilation LP! The anniversary of it's actual purchase by me is still a week or so away, but today is the day it was let loose on the world.

By the time of The Slider's release, I was familiar with Electric Warrior and had accumulated many of the band's singles to that point; Get it On and Hot Love from a store selling ex-jukebox records, Jeepster from a slightly older school friend who had already moved on to more 'serious' music (how fickle!), and the album's trailblazers Telegram Sam and Metal Guru were the results of my earliest forays into real record shops. I didn't pick up Ride a White Swan until slightly later. I remember being overwhelmed by the three tracks on offer on each of the latest singles - so much new music all at once! Telegram Sam b-side Cadilac, which didn't feature on the album, remains a favourite to this day.

School was out for the summer and while on holiday with my parents in Boscombe, Dorset during the first week of August 1972, I have my first clear memory of seeing the distinctive, now iconic, sleeve for The Slider in a record shop window. All these years later, I don't recall having been aware of it's impending release, but I do remember the initial frisson of excitement upon seeing that sleeve. I had the wherewithal (holiday spending money from various relatives) and with Dad's help I made the purchase.

A well put together LP sleeve can be a beautiful thing and The Slider's packaging is a very beautiful thing indeed. I should know, I had over a week of our holiday left in which to examine every inch of it before we went home and I could actually play the record!

Then came the music....aah the music. It was at once lush and raw, direct and impenetrable, obvious and mysterious - all produced to perfection by Tony Visconti. These days I might not listen to the album as frequently as I once did, but from time to time it can still take me by surprise. In recent years, in my mind, I've thought of Metal Guru as being one of the band's weaker singles of that period, then one afternoon in 2010 I happened to hear it on the radio. That intro exploded from the speakers in a majestic ka-boom of sound and I was all at once 12 years old again.

There have been thousands of other LPs since 1972, many of which may have been better records, played more often, subject to more critical acclaim, cherished and feted, but you always remember your first love don't you? The Slider has been with me for over three quarters of my life and at this juncture, I think it's safe to say it'll be with me until the bitter end - we're in it for the long haul.

R.I.P. Jon Lord

I can't claim to be their greatest fan, but I, like many others of my age, had a definite Deep Purple period. As Mark Steel remarked on Twitter this evening, their heyday was a time when 'heavy metal had a tune that all the family could enjoy'. I'm not sure my parents would have agreed, but I can see where he's coming from. Tonight, to mark the sad passing of Jon Lord, here's a tune from the tail-end of that heyday, but what a stormer it is.

Saturday Scratch #2

This week, Saturday Scratch finds Lee Perry back behind the desk at the Black Ark for this 1977 single by Ronnie Davis.

For over 40 years Davis has worked as part of The Itals and The Tennors vocal groups and he's also been produced as a solo artist by legendary figures such as Bunny Lee and Phil Pratt. Now in his early 60s, he continues to tour and record.

An enterprising soul put the two sides of this 7" together to form a custom made extended edit, although I own a 12" version which has a subtly different mix. This works fine for me though. Feel free to join in with the backing vox.

Have a good weekend.

Saturday Scratch

Another week gone! To ease you into the weekend, here's a tune from the very end of  Lee Perry's Black Ark period. 1980's 'The Return of Pipecock Jackxon' was finally reissued in 2011 and to be honest it's a patchy affair, but 'Bed Jammin' is a mighty fine groove that just keeps rolling and rolling.

Hooded Fang

Hooded Fang's self-titled debut from 2010 was an enjoyable retro-sounding affair, but over the following few months 'Nuggets' must have been on heavy rotation in the band's rehearsal room, as 2011's 'Tosta Mista' boasts more of a 60's garage-rock vibe.

It's a slightly uneven album, but at it's best it's very good indeed. Here's the best of the bunch and one of my fave raves of last year.

The McCartney Connection

As the shutter clicked, capturing a happy couple in the East End of London exchanging their wedding vows, 225 miles to the North West a young man was enjoying his first day as a teenager. The date was June 18th, 1955. The couple getting married were my parents. The boy celebrating his 13th birthday was Paul McCartney.

The photo obviously means a lot to me on a personal level, but over and above that, I think it's such a wonderful image. It captures the moment beautifully, under what, I imagine, were difficult conditions with the poor light in the church and primitive technology of the day...also the bored choirboy is a nice touch! Today would have been my parent's 57th wedding anniversary. The last they celebrated together was their 52nd. 

Macca, of course, hits 70 today. To try and sum up his life, work and influence in a few words would be futile...so let's have a song. 'Press' may be considered a minor work, but it makes me smile every time I hear it - particularly if I hear it in conjunction with the video which is an absolutely joyful celebration of McCartney in 'Thumbs Aloft' mode. To this day, if I'm on the London Underground, I never miss an opportunity to do the 'walking down a wind tunnel' bit!

Many happy returns of the day Sir Paul.

Noddy Holder at 66

If you were at school during the early 1970s, chances are that you too were caught up in my generation's pop stand-off. Forget The Beatles versus The Stones...forget Oasis versus Blur, between 1971 and 1973 you were only allowed to express a preference for one band or the other and never the twain should meet - T.Rex or Slade, which side were you on?

I was firmly on the side of the guy who wasn't no square with his corkscrew hair. My first proper album was 'The Slider', first live show T.Rex at the Edmonton Sundown in 1972 and for about 18 months I listened to no-one else.

Gradually though, I realised that there was life beyond Marc Bolan's Les Paul and began checking out other things as well - including Slade, but of course I had to keep that piece of information from the kids at school!

Over the subsequent years, I doubt I've listened to Slade quite as much as T.Rex, old allegiances die hard, but a few of their records did become firm favourites. Here's two of them. Happy birthday Noddy!