Let The Day Begin...Let The Day Start!: Day 346 - Slade

The Very Best Of... - Slade

Polydor

Released 28th November 2005

UK Charts #39

Released as a 2CD set

Notes On Singles
(In chronological order)

(German Picture Sleeve)

Get Down And Get With It / Do You Want Me / Gospel According To Rasputin

May 1971

UK Chart #16

(Italian Picture Sleeve)

Coz I Luv You / My Life Is Natural

October 1971

UK Chart #1

Look Wot You Dun / Candidate

January 1972

UK Chart #4

(Portuguese Picture Sleeve)

Take Me Bak' Ome / Wonderin' Y

May 1972

UK Chart #1

(Austrian Picture Sleeve)

Mama Weer All Crazee Now / Man Who Speeks Evil

August 1972

UK Chart #1

(Dutch Picture Sleeve)

Gudbuy T' Jane / I Won't Let It 'Appen Agen

November 1972

Uk Chart #2

(Spanish Picture Sleeve)

Cum On Feel The Noize / I'm Mee, I'm Now, an' That's Orl

February 1973

UK Chart #1

(German Picture Sleeve)

Skweeze Me, Pleeze Me / Kill 'Em At The Hot Club Tonite
June 1973
UK Chart #1

 (Swiss Picture Sleeve)

My Friend Stan / My Town
September 1973
UK Chart #2

(Belgian Picture Sleeve)

Merry Xmas Everybody / Don't Blame Me
December 1973
UK Chart #1

Everyday / Good Time Gals

March 1974

UK Chart #3

 The Bangin' Man / She Did It To Me
June 1974
UK Chart #3

 Far Far Away / O.K. Yesterday Was Yesterday
October 1974
UK Chart #2

How Does It Feel? / So Far So Good
February 1975
UK Chart #15

 Thanks For The Memory (Wham Bam Thank You Mam) / Raining In My Champagne
May 1975
UK Chart #7

 In For A Penny / Can You Just Imagine
November 1975
UK Chart #11

(French Picture Sleeve)

Let's Call It Quits / When The Chips Are Down
January 1976
UK Chart #11

Gypsy Roadhog / Forest Full Of Needles
January 1977
UK Chart #48

My Baby Left Me / That's All Right / O.H.M.S.
October 1977
UK Chart #32

This would be their last charting single until 1981. The previous single, not included on the album, Burning In The Heat Of Love (April 1977), had been the first Slade single not to chart since 1970!

When I'm Dancin' I Ain't Fightin' / Born To Be Wild /  Somethin' Else/Pistol Packin' Mama/Keep A Rollin'
September 1980
UK Chart #44

Their rising from the ashes at Reading Festival in August 1980 gave them a new lease of life.
 

We'll Bring The House Down /Hold On To Your Hats
January 1981
UK Chart #10

Wheels Ain't Coming Down / Not Tonight Josephine
March 1981
UK Chart #60

(Dutch Picture Sleeve)

Lock Up Your Daughters / Sign Of The Times
September 1981
UK Chart #29

A1 Ruby Red    
B1 Funk Punk & Junk    
    Special Bonus Single - Not To Be Sold Separately
C1 Rock And Roll Preacher (Live Version)    
D1 Tak Me Bak 'Ome (Live Version)
March 1982
UK Chart #51

(German Picture Sleeve)

(And Now - The Waltz) C'est La Vie / Merry Xmas Everybody (Live & Kickin')
November 1982
UK Chart #50

Not exactly a "Top Hit" as the picture sleeve announced!

A My Oh My    
B1 Merry Xmas Everybody (Live & Kickin')    
B2 Keep Your Hands Off My Power Supply
November 1983
UK Chart #2

Run Runaway / Two Track Stereo, One Track Mind
January 1984
UK Chart #7

All Join Hands / Here's To...
November 1984
UK Chart #15

7 Year Bitch / Leave Them Girls Alone
January 1985
UK Chart #60

Myzsterious Mizster Jones / Mama Nature Is A Rocker
March 1985
UK Chart #50

Do You Believe In Miracles / My Oh My (Swing Version)
November 1985
UK Chart #54

Still The Same / Gotta Go Home
February 1987
UK Chart #73

A Radio Wall Of Sound    
B1 Lay Your Love On The Line    
B2 Cum On Feel The Noize
October 1991
UK Chart #21

Released a month prior to the compilation Wall of Hits that went to #34 in the UK Album Charts

A1 Universe    
A2 Red Hot    
B1 Gypsy Roadhog    
B2 Merry Xmas Everybody
December 1991
Did Not Chart

Was included on the Wall of Hits Compilation released in November 1991.

It was also to be the final single with the original line-up of Slade as Noddy Holder retired as did Jim Lea. Dave Hill and Don Powell carried on under the banner of Slade 2 and are still at it these days but go under the name of Slade.

***********************

Whilst many girls were in a frenzy about The Osmonds and Jackson 5 back when I was a kid most of the boys would be raving about the greatness of Sweet or Slade.  

Slade were one of the first bands I really took to as a kid and one that I consistently saved up my pocket money in order to buy their singles and albums. There was such a wealth of brilliant singles as well.

They were never short of a song or two to fill a compilation either. Their very first being a German release in 1970 called Coz I Luv You (the album was also released in Holland with a slightly different track listing) that contained the very early singles from the late 60s, half of the 1970 album Play It Loud. 

The first UK compilation release of course was Sladest in 1973. This gave them their second #1 album entering the chart in Top spot and hanging around the Top Ten until early 1974 when it topped the chart for the second time.

Slade Smashes! from 1980 went to #21. It was released mainly because all of the Slade singles were deleted apart from Merry Xmas Everybody. It's actually quite a good collection despite the fact that some tracks had been remixed to give them a more 1980's feel.

Slade Greatz (1984) was released in response to the success of My Oh My and Run Runaway (both not included on the album!) and although it only reached #89 in the charts it's not a bad compilation but it does bear a striking resemblence trackwise to Smashes!

Wall of Hits came in 1991 and featured their final two singles Radio Wall of Sound and Universe. It reached #34 in the charts and it was basically a "Gudbuy" from the band as Noddy Holder hung up his hat after 25 years of being in the band in 1992 followed by Jim Lea. There was some discussion about the absence of some recent hit singles ( "We'll Bring the House Down", "Myzsterious Mizster Jones" and "Still the Same") from the album and the fact that they could have been included if they had not included some of the earlier hit singles that were also available in other places! But I guess if they had done that people would have been saying "How can you release a Best Of and not include...."(insert song title here!).

Feel The Noize - Greatest Hits (1997) reached the heady heights of #19 and spent five weeks on the chart. Nothing much to write home about regarding this one as there were still debates about certain "newer" singles that were left off.

And so to The Very Best Of... posted above. Well to begin with it does contain a fair number of tracks that had been discarded on other compilations and that's a real plus. It also manages to leave out many of the "not so good" Slade singles that were released between 1977 and 1988, that's also a plus. 

The only negative (and it's a small one), is that if we are considering The Very Best of Slade then surely room could have been made for the excellent Shape of Things To Come from 1970, although not a hit it is one of the finer tunes from their earliest days. I would have ousted 7 Year Bitch in order to include their magnificent second single.

The album would spend four weeks in the UK Album Chart peaking at #39.

Let The Day Begin...Let The Day Start!