To celebrate 50 Years of ‘Cum On Feel The Noize’ & ‘Merry Christmas Everybody’ British glam rock band Slade are embarking on a UK Tour coming to the Royal Holloway Students Union in Egham on Friday 8th December. Surrey Rocks were lucky enough to catch up with guitarist and founding member Dave Hill on all things Slade, Touring, Christmas and lifting people’s spirits!
ARE YOU EXCITED ABOUT YOUR UPCOMING TOUR?
Very much so! We have been doing Christmas tours for a very long time now – 50 years to be exact! The fifty year Anniversary of ‘Merry Christmas Everybody’ & ‘Cum On Feel The Noize’ is a milestone! It’s about all our songs – it’s very special to a lot of people – especially me! We are looking forward to visiting to Newcastle, Egham and of course visiting the black country, home of all this music with its working class roots and rock band heritage. (Dave and the band still live in Wolverhampton!)
WHAT IS THE BEST & WORST THING ABOUT TOURING?
The best thing is our audiences and being on stage with all the fans having a great time. Playing the 1 hr and a quarter of solid Slade hits – what’s not to like! The worst is the late nights, delays, traffic and Brexit was actually a real bummer! I also really miss the wife and kids when I’m on the road too. I’m a family man at heart.
‘MERRY XMAS EVERYBODY’ REGULARLY TOPS ALL TIME GREATEST XMAS SONG LIST. WHAT WERE YOUR RECOLLECTIONS OF COMING UP WITH IT?
We recorded it in New York in July 1973 in 100 degree heat. It was quite amazing – we stole John Lennon’s harmony and his studio time (as he wasn’t able to use the studio). Our country was on a big low at the time in 1973 – we didn’t know it was going to be a monster track. A total original – the public took to it like a duck to water. It definitely lifted British people and everyone’s spirit.
WHATS YOUR FAVOURITE SONG TO PERFORM AND WHY?
‘Come Feel The Noize’ speaks volumes with what the bands about. People come to hear a racket when they come and see us. We really are a bunch of guys from Council houses making a lot of noise!
YOU WENT FROM A ROCK BAND TO SKINHEAD BAND BEFORE GOING BACK TO ROCK AGAIN – HOW DID YOU MAKE ALL THESE TRANSITIONS?!
It was a really funny story actually. We met manager Chas Chandler in a pub in London, he was not producing for Hendrix at the time which meant he had a gap in his schedule. We were definitely in the right place at the right time! We were there busily doing gigs and Chas liked us so we were told to pop down to Rasputin in Bond Street and we got him involved. There was a skinhead movement at the time and they didn’t have a band to represent the movement. So Chas got us all down the hairdressers and we did it. Tried to look a bit hard you know!! That only lasted 12 months then we gave up on it and grew our hair back!
SO MANY BANDS STRUGGLE TO ‘MAKE IT’ – WHO WAS INFLUENTIAL IN YOUR SUCCESS?
Management was definitely the key to our success, Chas was highly influential having been the ‘Animals’ bass guitarist and Jimi Hendrix Experience manager.
READING FESTIVAL IN 1980 CHANGED YOUR LIFE?
We were invited to appear at the Reading Rock Festival, we literally stole the show, kindling new interest from a whole new audience. As a result, we signed a new record deal and unleashed the anthem “We’ll Bring The House Down”, which reached the Top-10 in the UK in January 1981. Slade were back! A blade of grass blows in the wind! We can’t be stiff need to move and our resurgance in the 1980’s was definitely down to doing that show.
SLADE – DECEMBER 2023 UK TOUR DATES INCLUDE:
Sunday 3rd December NEWCASTLE – O2 City Hall
Friday 8th December EGHAM – Royal Holloway Students Union
Friday 15th December LEICESTER – O2 Academy 2
Saturday 16th December SHEFFIELD – Foundry
Monday 18th December CARDIFF – Tramshed
Tuesday 19th December SOUTHAMPTON – Engine Rooms
Thursday 21st December MARGATE – Dreamland
Friday 22nd December OXFORD – O2 Academy
Saturday 23rd December BIRMINGHAM – O2 Academy 2
Tickets for all of the above dates are available from:
www.davehillslade.com/tour-dates www.ticketweb.uk www.seetickets.com/ and www.premier.ticketek.co.uk/
PLUS YOU CAN WIN X 2 TICKETS FOR THE EGHAM SHOW
Check out Surrey Rocks Social Media (@surrey_rocks) on 2nd December to be in with a chance of winning 2 x tickets to see Slade at their Egham Concert on Friday 8th December.
