Editing Slade (section)

{{Short description|British rock band}}
{{about|the English rock band||Slade (disambiguation)}}
{{Use British English|date=June 2018}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2024}}
{{Infobox musical artist
| name             = Slade
| background       = group_or_band
| image            = Slade - TopPop 1973 19.png
| caption          = Classic lineup of Slade in November 1973; left to right: [[Jim Lea (musician)|Jim Lea]], [[Don Powell]], [[Noddy Holder]], [[Dave Hill (guitarist)|Dave Hill]]
| alias            = The N'Betweens (1966–1969)<br />Ambrose Slade (1969)<br />The Slade (1969&ndash;1970)<br />Slade II (1992–2002)
| origin           = [[Wolverhampton]], [[Staffordshire]], England
| genre            = {{hlist|[[Hard rock]]|[[glam rock]]}}
| years_active     = 1966–present
| label            = {{hlist|[[Fontana Records|Fontana]]|[[Polydor Records|Polydor]]|[[Cotillion Records|Cotillion]]|[[RCA Records|RCA]]|[[Columbia Records|CBS]]|[[Cheapskate Records|Cheapskate]]|[[Barn Records|Barn]]}}
| website          = 
| current_members  =
* [[Dave Hill (guitarist)|Dave Hill]]
* John Berry
* Russell Keefe
* Alex Bines
| past_members     =
* [[Noddy Holder]]
* [[Jim Lea (musician)|Jim Lea]]
* [[Don Powell]]
* Steve Whalley
* Steve Makin
* Trevor Holliday
* Dave Glover
* Craig Fenney
* [[Mal McNulty]]
}}

'''Slade''' are <!-- Per WP:ENGVAR, bands that originate from Great Britain are treated plural. Please do not change "are" to "is". --> a [[Rock music|rock]] band formed in [[Wolverhampton]], England in 1966. They rose to prominence during the [[glam rock]] era in the early 1970s,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/slade-mn0000749734/biography|title=Slade - Biography - AllMusic|website=[[AllMusic]]|date=2 August 2013|access-date=28 October 2017|url-status=bot: unknown|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130802213153/https://www.allmusic.com/artist/slade-mn0000749734/biography|archive-date=2 August 2013}}</ref> achieving 17 consecutive top 20 hits and six number ones on the [[UK Singles Chart]]. The ''[[British Hit Singles & Albums]]'' names them the most successful British group of the 1970s based on sales of singles. They were the first act to have three [[single (music)|singles]] enter the charts at number one; all six of the band's [[record chart|chart-toppers]] were [[songwriter|written]] by [[Noddy Holder]] and [[Jim Lea (musician)|Jim Lea]]. As of 2006, total UK sales stood at over 6,500,000. Their best-selling single, "[[Merry Xmas Everybody]]", has sold in excess of one million copies.{{sfn|Roberts|2006|p=506}} According to the 1999 BBC documentary ''It's Slade'', the band have sold more than 50 million records worldwide.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01pf7kr |title=BBC Four - It's Slade |website=Bbc.co.uk |date=12 April 2014 |access-date=1 February 2018}}</ref>

All four members of Slade grew up in the area of England known as the [[Black Country]]. After a period in different groups, the four members came together by 1966 as 'N Betweens, and recorded some unsuccessful singles. In 1969 Jack Baverstock of [[Philips Records]] signed them and recorded their debut album, changing their name to "Ambrose Slade", a name inspired by Baverstock's secretary, who had named her handbag Ambrose and her shoes Slade.<ref name="Charlesworth"/><ref name="Holder"/> Slade dominated the UK singles charts during the early 1970s.<ref name="500 Number One Hits 2">{{cite book| first= Jo| last= Rice| year= 1982| title= The Guinness Book of 500 Number One Hits| edition= 1st| publisher= Guinness Superlatives Ltd|location= Enfield, Middlesex| page= 149| isbn= 978-0-85112-250-2}}</ref> Slade achieved twelve Top 5 hit singles in the UK between 1971 and 1974, three of which went straight to No. 1.{{sfn|Roberts|2006|p=506}} Of the 17 Top 20 hits between 1971 and 1976, six made No. 1, three reached No. 2 and two peaked at No. 3.{{sfn|Roberts|2006|p=506}} No other UK act of the period enjoyed such consistently high chart placings in the UK [[Top 40]] or sold as many singles. In 1973 alone, "[[Merry Xmas Everybody]]" sold over one million copies globally, obtaining [[music recording sales certification|gold disc]] status.<ref name="The Book of Golden Discs">{{cite book |first=Joseph |last=Murrells |year=1978 |title=The Book of Golden Discs |edition=2nd |publisher=Barrie and Jenkins Ltd |location=London |page=[https://archive.org/details/bookofgoldendisc00murr/page/336 336] |isbn=978-0-214-20512-5 |url=https://archive.org/details/bookofgoldendisc00murr/page/336 }}</ref> They toured Europe in 1973 and the US in 1974.<ref name="The Book of Golden Discs"/> Slade have released over 30 albums, three of which reached No. 1 in the [[UK Albums Chart]].{{sfn|Roberts|2006|p=506}} Their releases have spent 315 weeks in the UK charts and they have earned 24 top-30 UK hits {{as of|2016|lc=y}}.<ref name=UKCharts>{{cite web |url=http://www.officialcharts.com/artist/30945/slade/ |title=Slade - Official Uk Charts |website=Officialcharts.com |access-date=6 April 2016}}</ref>

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 and Leeds Festivals|Reading Rock Festival]]. The band later acknowledged this to have been one of the highlights of their career. For the next two years, the band produced material tailored towards the heavy-metal scene and by 1984, they finally cracked the American market with the hits "[[Run Runaway]]" and "[[My Oh My (Slade song)|My Oh My]]". This new-found success did not last long, however, and despite a top-25 UK hit in the early 1990s the band split shortly after in 1992. 

The original line-up split in 1992, but re-formed 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. ''The Illustrated Encyclopaedia of Music'' tells of Holder's powerful vocals, guitarist [[Dave Hill (guitarist)|Dave Hill]]'s equally arresting dress sense and the [[Sensational spelling|deliberate misspelling]] of their song titles (such as "[[Cum On Feel the Noize]]" and "[[Mama Weer All Crazee Now]]") for which they became well known.{{sfn|Du Noyer|2003|pp=84–85}}