walking upstream…
Slade
Slade formed in Wolverhampton, in England's Black Country, its four members — singer-guitarist Noddy Holder, guitarist Dave Hill, bassist Jim Lea, and drummer Don Powell — cycling through names as the Vendors and the N'Betweens before settling on Slade around 1970. Early on they cut their teeth on American blues and rock and roll; Holder has said Little Richard was his first inspiration as a singer, the man who 'made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up.' Briefly repackaged as skinhead-styled toughs, they found their real identity once producer Chas Chandler pushed them toward glam, and became Britain's biggest singles band of the early 1970s, topping the UK chart six times with deliberately misspelled titles like 'Cum On Feel the Noize' and 'Mama Weer All Crazee Now,' built on Holder's rasping holler and Hill's stomping riffs. Their 1973 single 'Merry Xmas Everybody' remains a perennial holiday chart-topper.
the sound in question
1973
Cum On Feel the NoizeSlade
walk the tributaries ↓
Little Richard1950s · Rock and roll / R&B
Noddy Holder has said flatly that 'no one has influenced me like Little Richard,' calling him 'the person who really influenced me as a singer' and 'my first inspiration in rock and roll.' Holder's raw, shredded-throat holler across Slade's biggest hits traces straight back to that model of pushing a rock and roll vocal past polite limits.
listen: upstream & here
1955
Tutti FruttiLittle Richard
1972
Mama Weer All Crazee NowSlade
listen forCompare 'Tutti Frutti' with 'Mama Weer All Crazee Now' — both are carried by a hoarse, full-throttle shout riding just ahead of the beat, a voice used as a percussion instrument as much as a melodic one.
Chuck Berry1950s · Rock and roll / Rhythm and blues
Slade's members have cited Chuck Berry among the rock and roll records they cut their teeth on before forming the band, and his duckwalking, riff-first guitar language reappears in Slade's records as a simple, insistent lick built to drive the whole song rather than decorate it.
listen: upstream & here
1958
Johnny B. GoodeChuck Berry
1972
Take Me Bak 'OmeSlade
listen forSet 'Johnny B. Goode' next to 'Take Me Bak 'Ome' — both are anchored by a short, instantly-recognizable guitar riff that repeats through verse and chorus alike, the riff functioning as the song's real hook.
The Beatles1960s · Rock / Pop rock
Slade's members have named the Beatles among the contemporary rock acts that shaped their sound as they moved from strict R&B covers into songwriting of their own, and it surfaces in Slade's records as an ear for a big, communal, everybody-sings vocal hook layered over the noise.
listen: upstream & here
1963
She Loves YouThe Beatles
1973
Merry Xmas EverybodySlade
listen forPlay 'She Loves You' against 'Merry Xmas Everybody' — both are built around a simple, wordless-feeling refrain designed for a crowd to shout back in unison, melody flattened into something closer to a chant.