Slade

Slade are a rock group from Wolverhampton, Staffordshire, England, UK, which became famous during the glam rock era of the early 1970s, having 17 consecutive top 20 hits including 6 chart-topping UK singles. The British Hit Singles & Albums named them as the most successful British band of the 1970s, based on singles sales. Slade became well known for Noddy Holder's powerful vocals, lead guitarist Dave Hill's arresting dress sense and the deliberate misspelling of their song titles, including "Cum On Feel the Noize" and "Mama Weer All Crazee Now". They were the first act to have 3 singles enter the charts at the top, all six of the group's # 1s being penned by lead vocalist Noddy Holder and bass guitarist Jim Lea. Total UK singles sales stood at 6,520,171 by 2006, with their best-selling single, "Merry Xmas Everybody", having sold over a million copies. The BBC documentary, It's Slade, stated that the band had sold over 50 million records worldwide. After an unsuccessful move to the US during 1975, Slade's popularity declined but was revived in 1980 when they were last-minute replacements for Ozzy Osbourne at the Reading Rock Festival. The original line-up split in 1992, but they re-formed that same year as Slade II. The group continued, with a number of line-up changes, having later returned to using the name Slade during 2002. Diverse artists who have cited Slade as an influence, include alternative rock icons Nirvana and the Smashing Pumpkins, punk pioneers Ramones, Sex Pistols, The Undertones, The Runaways and The Clash, glam metal bands Kiss, Mötley Crüe, Poison, Def Leppard, heavy metal groups Twisted Sister and Quiet Riot and pop-rockers The Replacements, Cheap Trick and Oasis.