Editing Slade (section)

===Decline in popularity (1974–1975)===
In the latter half of 1974, the possibility of making a film was being discussed. The band considered a number of screenplays before settling on ''[[Slade in Flame]]'', a gritty tale of the rise and fall of a fictional 1960s group called Flame; the story was based on true music business events involving Slade and various other groups of the time.<ref name="Charlesworth"/> A track from the film was released, "[[Far Far Away (song)|Far Far Away]]"; this reached number two in the UK and topped the charts in Norway and other parts of Scandinavia.<ref name="officialcharts.com"/><ref>{{cite web|author=Steffen Hung |url=http://norwegiancharts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=Slade&titel=Far+Far+Away&cat=s |title=Slade – Far Far Away |website=Norwegiancharts.com |access-date=15 July 2011}}</ref>  Holder has cited the single as his favourite Slade song.<ref name="Holder"/>

The [[Slade in Flame (album)|soundtrack album]] was released in late November and despite a positive reception from the critics, the disappointing chart position of number six was seen by some as an indication of the band's decline in popularity.<ref name="officialcharts.com"/><ref name="autogenerated7">Slade in Flame remastered booklet</ref> The film, released in January 1975, received a somewhat mixed reception. Critics loved it, but it was thought that its bleak, noir atmosphere confused Slade fans who were used to Slade delivering a good time.<ref name="Charlesworth"/> Directed by [[Richard Loncraine]] and written by [[Andrew Birkin]], the film featured [[Tom Conti]] in his first major film role.<ref name="Charlesworth"/>

The number 15 position of the film's main theme song, "[[How Does It Feel (Slade song)|How Does It Feel]]", was seen as further proof of the band's decline.<ref name="officialcharts.com"/> The ballad, featuring brass instruments and flute, was at the time thought to be too far from the fans' expectations.<ref name=autogenerated7 /> [[Noel Gallagher]] of the British band [[Oasis (band)|Oasis]] however has claimed the track to be, "one of the best songs written, in the history of pop, ever".<ref>1999 It's Slade Documentary</ref> The follow-up in May "[[Thanks for the Memory (Wham Bam Thank You Mam)]]" fared slightly better, peaking at number seven in the UK and doing well in a number of other European countries.<ref name="officialcharts.com"/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://austriancharts.at/showitem.asp?interpret=Slade&titel=Thanks+For+The+Memory+(Wham+Bam+Thank+You+Mam)&cat=s|title=Slade - Thanks For The Memory (Wham Bam Thank You Mam) - austriancharts.at|date=4 November 2012|access-date=28 October 2017|url-status=bot: unknown|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121104202933/http://austriancharts.at/showitem.asp?interpret=Slade&titel=Thanks+For+The+Memory+(Wham+Bam+Thank+You+Mam)&cat=s|archive-date=4 November 2012}}</ref> The single became Slade's last top 10 hit of the 1970s.