MELODY MAKER Band Breakdown - 4 March 1972

Words by Chris Charlesworth ~ Pictures by Barrie Wentzell

WHEN the audience is sitting right at the front of the stage and NODDY HOLDER is the centre of attention, he's apt to say something likely to upset the hall management. "Ello lovey, what's your name?" he'll say to some girl. Then he'll grin from ear to ear,open his eyes wide and tell the whole hall what colour knickers she's wearing.

His hair flops from out of his flat hat to give him a naughty schoolboy look. He tends to leer at girls from the stage like a Dickensian character might leer at a little boy chimney sweep. He's got a pretty evil laugh too, which he uses to great effect when explaining that Dave Hill is not quite as masculine as he'd have you believe.

He's pretty adamant when it comes to getting an audience on their feet. In his boots and occasionally braces he sets the style for the night's show. If you don't like it, well he didn't ask you to come and for all he cares you can get the hell out of it. He'll tell you as well.

During our interview Noddy rubs his eyes like he's had a good night the night before. He laughs frequentlv, and likes a dirtv joke. One or his songs Is called " Dirty Joker " and it could easily be Nod " We're not the best musicians in the world at all. Jim is a good musician. He's clever, but we want to have a good time. We're not good musicians, it's just that we like to enjoy ourselves. A lot of people know about us having a good time on stage, but some have started to listen to the music as well now.

" People put us down because they think it's wrong for a group to be having a good time with the audience. They think we ought to be concentrating hard on the music. but what's the point? kids come to see us because they know we'll give them a good time. That's why they've bought the record, because they know us from the stage act."

Noddy still retains a slight skinhead look although the other three have dropped the look cornpletely. " Dave was the first to cut his hair and we followed suit - Six months ago I would have said we regretted the skinhead thing because we were going downhill. but now I'm not so sure. The idea of skinheads stamping around in boots is our thing. 'Get Down And Get With It' is our national anthem and that's a real stomper. It was too rowdy to get exposure on radio though."

A grim determination to "make it" some day has kept Slade together during hard times. Sticking together with the same line up says Noddy, is a main reason for their current success.

" We never thought of packing up. We had to stick at it because we knew the bad times would turn into good times sooner or later. It would never have worked if we had brought anybody else in. The fact that the four of us have stuck together has brought us through. Look at the Who, They've stuck together through the good and bad, but if one of them had to leave they would flop out. Groups that stick together are the ones that make it."