Slade ULU London 20th December 2019
Live review & photos by; Michael Blackhart
‘Tis the festive season, and playlists across the lands are filled with the musical spirit of ghosts from Christmas past. From Wham to Queen, to ‘Fairytale Of New York’, they act as aural blankets that wrap us in the comforter of nostalgia to fend off the winter chill...
Slade’s ‘Merry Christmas Everybody’ is probably the greatest exponent of this movement from the pantheon of ‘Rock’. Originally released in December 1973 it romped straight into number one on the singles chart and stayed there for nine impressive weeks.
Released at the peak of the bands popularity it galvanised Slades legacy and without a doubt is the proverbial Christmas gift that keeps on giving as it fills the coffers year in and year out through royalties…
Upon hearing the titular track last year, I checked the bands listings to see when they might be passing through London, and as luck would have it they had a date scheduled for the ULU... Good times... but unfortunately the event was sold out... Bad times!
Fast forward a year to 2019, we find Slade once again returning to Londons’ ULU, it’s another sold out affair, but this time around I had the foresight to get a ticket in advance! Good times!
Now Slade isn’t quite what it once was, Noddy Holder (lead vocals / guitar) and Jim Lea (bass), left the band back in the 1990's and ever since then Dave Hill and Don Powells’ version has been touring for even longer then the duration of the original line up.
Up until recently, Mal McNulty of 80’s ‘The Sweet’, had been handling lead vocal duties with great aplomb, but time and tide has now seen him retire and replaced with veteran keyboardist Russell Keefe, who shares the undertaking with bassist John Berry.
'Take Me Bak 'Ome' opens the set, which is swiftly followed by the hard rocking 'Lock Up Your Daughters' (Quick side note, the riff ‘woz’ allegedly ’influenced’ by Whitesnakes’ ‘Fool For Ya Lovin') and with great gusto, the pint sized Dave Hill, armed with his trusty, ‘Gibson Gold Top’ firmly in hand, leaps, jumps and bounds around the stage with an infectious enthusiasm that would put performers half his age to shame. The clothes are still glitzy and the sequins are stitched into all the right places and whilst the waste line has become somewhat more generously proportioned, the broad smile on Daves’ face, with ‘a wee twinkle in his eye’, is enough to convince me that, Mr Hill is very much ’ere to rock!!!!
‘Look Wot You Dun’, showcases Keefs’ keyboard abilities and the audience is reminded how tracks such as ‘My Friend Stan’, ‘Everyday’ and ‘My Oh My' were created around Jim Leas’ piano-stylings. It adds an extra layer of dynamics to the crunching guitars, that they are most known for and highlights that the ‘Slade Sound’ was more then a wall of amps turned up to eleven. Furthermore it demonstrates just how talented the songwriting partnership of Holder and Lea ‘woz’.
By the time we get to ‘Far Far Away’, the crowd is swaying and singing along with their arms in the air. There is a general warmth and affection for, ‘The Slade’, But for me, as talented as Keefe and Berry are behind the mic, they're not as engaging as McNulty and the divvying up of vocals between the pair becomes a distraction, as neither Berry nor Keefe can truly replicate the swagger that Holder brought to the stage.
Thankfully, Dave is still as energetic as he was at the beginning of the show and proves himself to be the true focal point of the band… near on fifty years and counting!!!
‘Cum On Feel The Noize’ is the penultimate song, and probably their best known, given the cover versions by Twisted Sister and Oasis and various other artists over the years, it really does encapsulate the true spirit of the ‘Slade’ ethos and as a testament to this, Gene Simmons writes in his biography Kiss and Make-Up, that they liked “the way they (Slade) connected with the crowd and the way they wrote anthems... we wanted that same energy, that same irresistible simplicity” and that is exactly what Slade still delivers.
Then it gets to that time of the evening ...
The guys return to the stage with the prerequisite tinsel and Santa hats that ‘Merry Christmas Everybody’ demands. There’s a slight rush of people to the barrier and as I look around the audience everyone is singing in unison to the lyric, “…What will your daddy do, when he sees your mama kissin' Santa Claus? Ah-ha…” all in all, it is a mighty sight to behold and a fitting end to the night… and a taste of what this holiday season potentially holds!
With an extensive back catalogue of hits I’d happily catch Slade again, as seeing them perform, ‘Rock N Roll Preacher’, ‘Wall Of Sound’ and the curio of the ‘Myzsterious Mizster Jones’, would be too good to miss!
As long as Dave is willing to stay on the road...
And as long as they can still sell out venues up and down the country…
And as long as there is a Christmas!
Long may Slade continue to get your Rock N Roll Christmas off to a rollicking start!
Sirs we Salute You!