IT wouldn’t be Christmas without Slade and it won’t be long before the first strains of their Festive classic hit are heard.
But if you fancy a live rendition of ‘Merry Christmas Everybody’ then the Saddleworth Independent may be able to help you out.
We’ve got a pair of tickets to giveaway for Slade’s Manchester leg of their new tour at Academy 2 on Sunday, December 17.
To find out how to win then read on or go to the end of this article about one of Britain’s most enduring bands of the last half century.
Guitarist Dave Hill and drummer Don Powell, who first met in little known Sixties band, the Vendors, are original members of the group that enjoyed six UK number ones and six hit albums.
Slade first hit the road in 1966 though it wasn’t until 1971 when they enjoyed the first of 23 top 20 chart hits, ‘Get Down and Get With It’.
And it wasn’t long before ‘Coz I Luv You’ became the Wolverhampton band’s first number one featuring Hill, Powell, Noddy Holder and Jimmy Lea.
Throughout the Seventies, Slade became one of Europe’s biggest bands, touring and recording continually.
Their catalogue of hits are synonymous with the era: ‘Take Me Bak Ome’, ‘Mama Weer All Crazee Now’, ‘Cum On Feel The Noize’, ‘Gudbye T’ Jane’, and ‘Skweeze Me Pleeze Me’, to name but some.
At the beginning of the 1980s, Slade were invited to appear at the Reading Rock Festival, and they stole the show.
As result, the band signed a new record deal and unleashed the anthem ‘We’ll Bring The House Down’, which reached the Top 10 in the UK in January 1981.
It was the prelude to Slade forging a new path through the hugely influential British heavy rock scene.
A successful appearance followed at Castle Donnington in 1981 before a crowd of over 200,000.
It paved the way for the single ‘Lock Up Your Daughters’, and the album ‘Til Deaf Do Us Part’.
The early 1990s saw the band’s ‘Radio Wall of Sound’ hit the UK Top 30.
Due to continual demand from around the world, Hill and Powell returned to touring by playing a few select dates in Europe prior to embarking on what turned out to be a successful two-month tour of Australia.
The band’s latest additions are ex Mud bass guitarist John Berry, frequently spied in the guise of the Big Issue seller in EastEnders, and new lead vocalist Mal McNulty, once of Rockin’ Horse, Golden Night and German rock band Hazzard.
So, to win tickets to see them in Manchester, email your answer to the question below to trevor@saddind.co.uk or write to Saddleworth Independent, Slade Competition, Units 3-4, 45 High Street, Uppermill, Saddleworth, OL3 6HS.
Question: Slade originate from Wolverhampton in the West Midlands. But what is the nickname of the city’s football team?
A) Squanderers B) Wanderers C) Conjurors
The first correct entry drawn after the closing date of Thursday, November 30, 2017 wins the pair of tickets.
To buy tickets, ring: 0161 832 1111 or go online: www.manchesteracademy.net
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