ALBUM REVIEW: Slade Live At the New Victoria (BMG)
Slade were one of the biggest singles bands of the 1970s, dominating the charts and notching 12 UK Top 5 hits between 1971 and 1974 as glam rock ruled the airwaves.
But beneath the mirrored top hats and glittery spandex costumes lay a very good rock band who were crying out to be taken seriously, as this live set from 1975 demonstrates.
Recorded on 26 April 1975 on the second of two dates at London’s New Victoria Theatre, it remained in the band’s archives for more than 40 years.
Only officially released for the first time in 2022, as part of the All The World Is A Stage 5CD boxset, it’s now available on limited edition vinyl and deluxe CD as part of a major reissue campaign.
It finds a band in good form, with Noddy Holder in fine voice, Dave Hill showing his under-rated prowess as a guitarist, and Jim Lea and Don Powell proving themselves a formidable rhythm section.
After four years of runaway success, Slade were at something of a crossroads career-wise, however. Formed in 1966, they were now in their late 20s and wanted to be taken more seriously than merely making chart hits for teenagers.
The 12 tracks here are a mixed bag featuring hit singles from the glam era, new songs from the feature film In Flame, which the band were promoting, and several album cuts.
Odd opener
It kicks off with Them Kinda Monkeys Can’t Swing, from the soundtrack to the film, which had a ’60s feel, and while it’s unmistakeably Slade, it’s an odd choice to open with.
Next up was The Bangin’ Man, a hit single in 1973, full of bluesy riffs, and it was followed by the glam rock smash Gudbuy T’Jane, which wakes the strangely muted audience from its torpor at last.
Far Far Away, the lead single from the film, is next, and although it had been a No 2 hit at the end of the previous year, it was a big departure from the rabble-rousing glam pop which had earned the band such a devoted following. I loved the song as a kid, and still do now, as it shows Slade at their melodic best.
Thanks For The Memory (Wham Bam Thank You Mam) is introduced as their next single, unreleased at the time of this gig, and its B-side Raining In My Champagne also gets an airing later.
Closing out side one is recent single How Does It Feel, a hugely under-rated song, for me, but plaintive piano-led ballads were clearly not what your average bell-bottomed Slade fan wanted to hear, as it had only reached No 15 – their lowest chart position since 1971.
Another song from the film soundtrack, the blues-inflected heavy rocker Just A Little Bit, is played next, to a fairly muted response, despite Noddy’s best efforts, though Everyday, one of their very best songs, gets the crowd energised a little, even prompting a singalong.
The fourth and final Flame song, OK Yesterday Was Yesterday, is greeted with less enthusiasm, and the aforementioned B-side seems to do little to raise temperatures as the set enters its final stretch.
Hard-rocking
We’re nearing the end now, and waiting for Slade to light the blue touchpaper, and it happens at last when they unleash the brash, hard-rocking Let The Good Times Roll, a track from their 1972 chart-topping album Slayed?
Last, but certainly not least, the band give the fans what they want, and everybody finally goes bonkers when they wheel out Mama Weer All Crazee Now, one of their six No 1 singles.
I’d imagine many a young fan left feeling slightly disappointed at the lack of hits in the set, but as a snapshot of where Slade were at in 1975 and the direction in which they were heading, this is an enjoyable enough album. 7/10.
