Slade

Slade were an English Glam rock band formed in Wolverhampton in the mid 1960s, they rose to prominence during the glam rock era in the early 1970s, achieving 17 consecutive top 20 hits and six number ones on the UK Singles Chart.

All the members of Slade grew up in the Black Country, Drummer Don Powell and bassist Jim Lea were born and raised in Wolverhampton. Lead vocalist Noddy Holder was born and raised in nearby Caldmore, and lead guitarist Dave Hill moved to Wolverhampton from Holbeton as a child.

They were the first act to have three singles enter the charts at number one; all six of the band's chart-toppers were penned by Noddy Holder and Jim Lea.

Following an unsuccessful move to the U.S. in 1975, Slade's popularity in the UK waned, but was unexpectedly revived in 1980 when they were last-minute replacements for Ozzy Osbourne at the Reading Rock Festival.

I saw them at Uni in Reading the following year, the original line-up split in 1992, but reformed later in the year as Slade II. The band have continued, with a number of line-up changes, to the present day. They have also shortened the group name back to Slade.

A number of artists from diverse genres have cited Slade as an influence, including The Undertones, The Clash and Oasis.

In no particular order, here are my favourite Slade tracks.

Three early classics, characterised by the deliberately crazy spelling on the track titles. 'Cum Feel the Noize'

'Mama Weer all Crazee Now'

'Gudbuy T'Jane'

How about 'Everyday'?

If pressed then 'Far Far Away' is one of my all time favourite Slade track

From their later years I'd add in 'My Oh My'

Controversially I have not included 'Merry Xmas Everybody', a great song but I like the others better!

Patti Smith

Patti Smith was an American singer-songwriter, musician, author, and poet who became an influential component of the New York City punk rock movement with her 1975 debut album ' Horses '. Her most widely known song is " Because the Night ", which was co-written with Bruce Springsteen. It reached number 13 in America and number 5 in the U.K.

The Psychedelic Furs

The Psychedelic Furs were a British new wave band founded in London in the mid to late 1970s, led by singer Richard Butler and his brother Tim Butler on bass guitar, the Psychedelic Furs are one of the many acts spawned from the British post-punk scene. Their music went through several phases, from an initially austere art rock sound, to later touching on new wave and elements of hard rock. Early tracks that I particularly liked included ' Sister Europe ' & ' India ' from their self-named debut album in 1979. The band had several hits in their early career. In 1986, filmmaker John Hughes used their song " Pretty in Pink " for his film of the same name. I saw them play at the Sports Centre in Crawley and then again later in Reading, whilst at Uni.

Puff Daddy

Sean Combs also known by the stage names Puff Daddy, P. Diddy, Puffy, or Diddy , is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, record executive, entrepreneur, and actor. Combs was born in New York City but was raised in Mount Vernon, New York. He worked as a talent director at Uptown Records before founding his own record label, Bad Boy Entertainment, in 1993. Combs' debut album, ' No Way Out ' from 1997 was an instant success, followed by multiple successful albums and singles. Combs formed the musical group Dirty Money and also produced and cultivated artists such as Mary J. Blige and The Notorious B.I.G. The Track ' I'll be Missing You ' featuring Faith Evans is about the death of The Notorious B.I.G. in a shooting incident, and samples heavily form The Police 's ' Every Breath I Take '.

JoBoxers

JoBoxers were a British new wave group formed in the early 1980s, when former Subway Sect members Rob Marche (guitarist), Dave Collard (keyboardist), Chris Bostock (bassist), and Sean McLusky (drummer), teamed up with England-based American singer Dig Wayne. The band's debut single, " Boxerbeat ", peaked at number three in the UK while the group were the opening act on the Madness 'Rise and Fall' tour. However, it was their next hit, " Just Got Lucky ", that broke the band internationally. This single made the UK Top 10, and cracked the US Top 40, in 1983. The band split in 1985.

The Rolling Stones

The Rolling Stones were an English rock band formed in London in the early 1960s. THey were at odds wit hthe prevailing popular pop music of the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered a gritty, heavier-driven sound that came to define hard rock. The band's first stable line-up consisted of bandleader Brian Jones (guitar, harmonica, keyboards), Mick Jagger (lead vocals, harmonica), Keith Richards (guitar, vocals), Bill Wyman (bass guitar), Charlie Watts (drums), and Ian Stewart (piano), the last of whom was removed from the official line-up in 1963, but continued to work with the band as a contracted musician until his death in 1985. Jones left the band less than a month before his death in 1969, having already been replaced by Mick Taylor, who in turn left in 1974 and was replaced in 1975 by Ronnie Wood, who has since remained. To my mind there are only four great Stones tracks - three from the late 60s, early 70s period, these being ' Paint it Black ' 'Sympat...

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