Dave Hill's recent sacking of Don Powell, his friend and Slade bandmate of 57 years, allegedly via the cold medium of email, leaves an unpleasant taste in the mouth of this old glam-rocker. Hill and Powell along with various hired hands kept the spirit and music of Slade alive after the respective departures of Noddy Holder and Jim Lea brought a creative end to the band in 1992. While in reality they've been little more than a glorified tribute act ever since, one might have hoped that as they each approach their 74th birthdays, they would've been able to see out their long careers together. We're obviously not privy to all the ins and outs of the situation, but life is surely too short for this kind of malarkey, as Powell's subsequent minor stroke attests.
Coincidentally, at around the same time as Dave Hill's announcement, 6Music DJ Mark Radcliffe shared this superb photo of himself with Roy Wood and Noddy Holder, with the caption '...a lovely lingering lunch at the Lazy Trout with the grand viziers of glam...'
Stylistically atypical despite being released in 1973 at the very peak of Slade's glam success, 'Kill 'em at the Hot Club Tonite' appeared as the b-side of the massive hit 'Skweeze Me, Pleeze Me' and is a nod (if you'll pardon the pun) to Holder's love of Django Reinhardt.
Slade - Kill 'em at the Hot Club Tonite
2 comments:
Yup a sad end to a band we all loved at one time.
Tune in at my place on Friday for more of the same
I always wanted Noddy & Jim to record a Hot Club album in the style of Reinhardt and Grappelli; interestingly, Noddy named his son and heir Django
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