APRIL / MAY 1974
Slade's new single will be "Everyday" c/w "Good Time Gals" both taken from their number one album, "Old New Borrowed and Blue". These tracks were chosen because of the big popular demand expressed by the general public, especially for " Everyday".
The new album "Old New Borrowed and Blue" like its predecessors went to No.1 and within four weeks of release had sold more than the total amount for "Sladest". It has been suggested that this will be Slade's first aibum to reach 500,000 sales.
Once again I have received the results of another Pop Poll. Slade were voted Top Group in Britain in the 'Disc Music Poll', as well as No.4 Top Group in the world. "Slade Alive" was also voted one of the top ten albums although it is now over 2 1/2 years old. And Nod does it again by being in the top male singer section.
It seems that more and more people are interested in buying sheet music and once again we give Fan Club Members the opportunity of obtaining them at a reduced price. To receive your your copy of "Everyday" just send me a 15p Postal Order or cheque and I'll send it off to you as soon as possible. There is also available the words and music of the album "Old, New Borrowed and Blue" except "Just Want A Little Bit" which was not written by Jim and Nod. Non Members price is £ 1.25., but to Members it's £1.00, plus 5p postage and packing.
When Members write in to inform me that they have changed their address could they please include their Membership number.
Lookout for Valentine Magazine on the 18th April, where Slade take over the Magazine for one issue. Dave's on the front cover and there's tremendous colour photos inside.
COMPETITION
The winner of the 'Slade Gear costume competition is S. Bache of Guildford and her Brother and friend all of whom received a copy of SIade' s latest single before it was released.
This month's competition is how many words over four letters can you make out of the title of Slade's latest album Old, new Borrowed and Blue'. Please inform me of your age as the competition will be divided into two sections - under 12 years and over 12 years. Just send your entries to me an envelope marked with a large 'C' in the left hand corner.
DAVE HILL
Dave here speaking to all you fun loving fans - that was a good start wasn't it? See if I can keep it up.
Just got back from Japan, what a place! They're the most cleanest people I know, not only do they have a bath everyday, they also have a shower afterwards to wash off any of the dirt they may have collected while bathing. I am going to install a shower room in my house.
Australia was nice too, but very dry and dusty; it gets into your hair if you know what I mean.
We are just gonna have a couple of weeks free before the English tour, we've already christened it Slade's crazy night out, fun and games, paper streamers and balloons, just like a party.
Hope to see you all there; I'll keep an eye out for you.
LUV DAVE XXXXXXXXX
NEWS IN BRIEF
Slade has been voted Top Overseas Group in Finland, Belgium and Ireland .... Slade opened a £61,000 Special care unit for Spastic Children. The Boys helped to contribute with a concert at the Wembley music festival last year, which boosted funs by £20,000. They also donated a Chairmobile to the unit .... Rob Wilson, one of Slade's roadies served out a five day jail sentence for speeding during the American Tour .... At the Lyceum Ballroom London, Slade were presented with the Carl Alan Award for Top Group, for the second year running, by H.R.H Princess Margaret. During the evening she also invited the boys to join her at her table .... More cartridge and casettes have been bought of "Old, New, Borrowed and Blue" that of all the other albums put together .... Slade's own Magazine called 'Superslade' on sale price 30p.
AMERICA
Sometime in New York city. A girl hovered round the foyer of a Manhattan hotel, clutching a brown paper bag beneath her coat. Two bomb scares had headlined the papers that morning, and the receptionist eyed her parcel with suspicion. "Is Dave Hill here?" The receptionist shook her head without taking her eyes off the parcel. "They checked out an hour ago. Can I help you?" The girl gave a resigned, dejected sigh. "You see the thing is I have been up since five getting this stuff for Dave, I had to go miles to get the right stuff". Adding "He's very particular you know". The girl opened the bag to reveal the precious contents - two pounds of finest multi coloured glitter. "Cost me over ten dollars. I mean it's not the bread it's just that... " She turned towards the exit door. "Oh Dave - why do I do it for you?".
Dave Hill stood with his arms outstretched, legs apart while an Airport Security man checked him over. "Hey, watch what your doing down there - I'm feeling very sensitive this morning". On the plane over to Toledo an all American car sales man from Detroit subjected Don Powell to a lecture in defence of Nixon and the Watergate tapes. "Whats so special about Watergate, huh? I mean whats so durned special about bugging huh?" Don nodded vaguely. "I do it all the time" He clamped on a pair of head phones, but the salesman continued undeterred. "I mean what do you think about it all huh?". Don fiddled with the volume switch. "Sounds great in stereo .... "
This was Siades third U.S. Tour and the rigours of intercity flights were being met with all the sleepy indifference of the seasoned traveller. Noddy and Jim kicked round vague ideas for a new number between mouthfulls of homogenised sandwiches while Chas Chandler settled back with his eighth sci-fi paperback in ten days. Dave stared blankly out at the snowy wastes of Northern Ohio, then leaned across to Swin "Hey you didn't see that bird with the glitter, did you?".
The Toledo Sports Centre was thronged with 4,000 blue-jeaned kids, watching Iggy and the Stooges in stoney silence. Siades reputation as a live act had built up over the two previous tours, and the crowd were beginning to get impatient a chorus of "We want Slade" spread from the front rows as Iggy pranced about the stage in his Y fronts, waving the mike stand at a gaggle of girls holding up a "CUM ON FEEL THE NOIZE" banner. Back in the dressing room Chas settled into a corner with his book, surrounded by coke filled litter bins and boxes of half eaten Kentucky fried chicken. Noddy sought sanctuary in the shower room, swathed in a heavy black over coat and patiently tuning his guitar. Oh stage Iggy launched into a last attempt to work up enthusiasm for his act, hurling himself half-naked into the front rows. A moment later, Slade marched on stage like victors from a cup final. Dave strutted across to the far mike, his shadow rising over the vast arena roof like some Tolkien phantom. From the moment they walked on stage, the fans were with them all the way to the end. But then Toledo was like home ground, other gigs had not been so easy. Like London, Ontario, a hundred miles north of the border in Canada. This was the first time appearance, and for the first ten minutes the audience gazed at Slade like zombies, mouths open, as if they'd been expecting to see a performance of "Swan Lake". But like a political orater, Noddy was quick to adapt to the situation. "You gonna suss them out. Audiences are like women you've gotta find their weaknesses. If they start playing hard to get, you've gotta coax them till the right moment". The moment came when someone threw a bottle on stage. Noddy picked it up then walked slowly back to the milk. He'd seen the boy who'd thrown it, and pointed straight at him. "We didn't come here for a punch up, but if thats what you want, that's what we'll give you ... after the show. Alright". There was a dead hush, followed by a sweep of applause. From that moment Slade could do no wrong, and by the end the kids were up on the seats, shouting and cheering through three encores. When Slade left for the last time it took six roadies to hold back the crowd from the stage.
"Anyone seen Dave?" - Noddy and Don looked up as Chas came into the restaurant. The Detroit concert was due to start in half an hour, and Jim had already left with Swin. "He's probably taking a kip" said Noddy, finishing off his hamburger, Chas called his room again, but there was no answer. Then came came the message - the lift had stuck between two floors Needless to say Dave was inside, hammering on the doors while his only companion the bellboy, sat quaking on the floor in a state of advanced panic. "Come on boy - where's that stiff upper lip?" But Dave's attempt to restore a sense of British command was sadly wasted. The bellboy could only mumble something about having prunes for breakfast, which rapidly transformed the lift into a gaschamber. The rest of the group waited in the lobby, not knowing whether to cancel the gig, write out funeral invitations - or both. After frantic efforts from the hotel management, Dave emerged from the lift ten minutes later, his hands clasped to his mouth and nose.
From the 20,000 seater at the Philadelphia Spectrum. Slade now travelled 3,000 miles to keep the date with the little town of Frenso, California. They had always preferred playing small gigs where there is less of a barrier between audience and group and in Frenso California they had already won a dedicated following. On the night of the concert, the tiny Rainbow Club was packed with hundreds more crowd-; ing the enterance in hope of tickets. After the show, many of the kids, followed Slade up to San Francisco to see the concert a second time round. While Slade where on stage, Chas got an unexpected visit from two traffic police. It turned out one of the roadies had been caught speeding on the freeway between Frenso and San Francisco and) was currently languishing in jail. After an hour of hard barganing, Chas managed to get him a temporary release - on condition that the roadie would fly back to Frenso tram New York at the end of the tour, serve out a week in jail, then fly direct to Australia to join up with Slade for their Far East tour! To find out what the unfor tunate roadie might be expecting in an American jail, Don joined a sight-seeing tour of Alcatraz the following day. The prison had only been open to the publ ic for the past month, but already hundreds had made the boat trip across San Francisco Bay to the former State Penitentiary. The party were given a long lecture during the guided tour, and at the end they were asked if they had any questions. Don put UP his hand. "Where did they keep the electric chair".
He was some what disappointed to hear that they never had one at Alcatraz, and went off to sulk in the Birdman's solitary confinement cell. Unfortunately, he slammed the cell door behind him, and it took all of ten minutes before he could be released.
From San Francisco the group flew south to Los Angeles to appear at the Hollywood Paladium. Noddy was a bit apprehensive. Their earlier tour had come unstuck when the equipment had packed up halfway through the concert due to a power cut. The group settled back for the hour long flight and Chas got out his 14th paperback. Suddenly the emergency lights started flashing followed by the Captains voice over the loud speaker "This is your captain, Archibald Nixon speaking. We have a slight fault with the landing gear, and now returning to San Francisco to check out the problem, following the fuel ejection procedure". Fuel ejection constituted the bizarre spectacle of watching 5,000 gallons of fuel being dumped over San Francisco Bay. So much for the energy crisis! Don and Jim looked nervously out of the window at the lines of ambulances and fire engines taking up their positions on the tarmac. But Chas remained unperturbed by such minor incidents as he breezed on through chapter 10.
Noddy's premonitions for the Los Angeles concert proved unfounded in fact it turned out to be one of the most success full gigs of the whole tour. Only one person seemed upset. He stood at the back of the audience glancing at his watch "What time do Emerson Lake and Palmer come on?" "Your've got the wrong place fella - they're twenty miles away down the road in Anaheim". He was about to leave when the lights dimmed, and Noddy gave them a track from Slade's new album "Everyday". By the end of the concert he was raving along with the rest of them. Somebody saw him later on "thought you were going to the ELP concert?". He hesitated "Yeah? well, everyone can make a mistake, can't they? By the way where can I get a Slade T Shirt?"
SLADE U.K. TOUR
Please check with your local press as these dates are subject to change.
APR I L 19th St. George's Hall, Bradford
20th Opera House, Blackpool
21 st Belle Vue, Manchester
22nd Odeon, Birmingham
23rd Winter Gardens, Bournemouth
24th Gaumont, Southampton
26th Colston Hall, Bristol
27th Brangwyn Hall, Swansea
28th New Theatre, Coventry
29th Civic Hall, Wolverhampton
MA Y 1 st Caird Hall, Dundee
2nd Apollo, Glasgow
3rd Apollo, Glasgow
4th Mountford Hall, Liverpool
5th Spar Grand Hall, Scarborough
7th Victoria Hall, Hanley
8th King George's Hall, Blackburn
9th City Hall, Sheffield
10th City Hall, Newcastle
12th New Theatre, Oxford
13th Kursaal, Southend
14th Capitol Theatre, Cardiff
16th Odeon, Hammersmith
17th Odeon, Hammersmith
18th Odeon, Hammersmith
At each venue there will be competitions for the best Slade gear worn by a member of the audience, and great prizes will be given out.
Tour tickets are only available from box offices or ticket agents.
RENEWALS
Some fan club members subs are due for renewal. Please wait until you receive a renewal form from me, before you send in your money.
Must go now.
EVERYDAY JAMES LEA/NEVILLE HOLDER
Everyday when I'm away I'm thinking of you Everyone can carryon Except for we two
And you know that our love And you know that I
And you know that our love won't die
CHORUS
And it won't even show And no one will know One little wave
To say you'll behave
It won't even show
How far love can go.
Everyday when I'm away And there's been a few Every hand I need a few
To help me come through
And you know that our love And you know that I
And you know that our love won't die
CHORUS:
Copyright 1973 for the world.
