Ironically, their classic-era material (certainly ‘Blowin’ Free’, from ‘Argus’) would fit in quite well on US classic rock radio today. Here in America, however, Wishbone Ash made no impact at all, with only 2 of their records ever entering the Hot 100. Their 3 rd record, entitled ‘Argus’, widely regarded as their finest hour, charted in the UK at #3, and earned the band both ‘Album of the Year’ award from Sounds magazine, and ‘British Album of the Year’ from Melody Maker in 1972. Wishbone Who? Ash’s first 8 albums placed in the UK Top 40. (See how carefully I worded that last sentence?) Powell and Turner were arguably the finest pre-Thin Lizzy two-guitar team in hard rock, paving the way for many bands to follow. Both displayed a deft touch and knew when to crank it up and when to turn it down. Lead guitarists Andy Powell and Ted Turner were well ahead of their time, not only in their development of harmonized leads but also in the intricate guitar arrangements found in just about every song. Don’t let the ‘folk’ tag scare you this was the most interesting element of their sound: folk music played with electric guitars. Wishbone Ash’s sound was an interesting amalgam of prog, folk and hard rock. Anyway, who cares? Most of the bands that made that particular trope famous (Maiden, Lizzy, etc) will tell you they copped it from Wishbone Ash. The debate over who originated twin guitar harmonies, or who first popularized their use, will likely never be settled. If you’re interested, I recommend you check out the compilation ‘Get Yer Boots On’ (I hate recommending comps, but this one includes all of their non-lp singles, which are excellent and a huge part of the Slade story), their 2 nd full-length, “Slayed”, or their ‘wilderness era’ album, aptly titled “Whatever Happened To Slade?” One wonders: Why would a crap band like Quiet Riot have 2 consecutive hits with Slade songs that had previously failed completely in the US? What’s up with that? Were Slade simply ‘too British’? Or was it because they couldn’t spell? Their glammy image would have fit into what was going on in the States nicely. Cheap Trick covered “When the Lights Are Out” just a few years ago. There’s an awful lot of Slade in early Kiss, and tons of other bands from various genres have name-checked them as an influence. Noddy Holder was a world-class belter, with a voice that could peel paint, and they had one monster musician in bassist Jim Lea.

And, while they were capable of throwing in a pop balled here, a novelty song there, overall they rocked quite hard for the era.

Their music was custom built for audience participation. Slade had a way with a ‘rousing chorus’, a infectious, football chant musicality and an all-inclusive generosity of spirit. Pity most of their early records are a hoot. In the US in the 70’s, radio play was make-or-break. While the touring scored them points with concert goers in several major US cities, US radio never got behind Slade. And at the height of their success in Britain, Slade made a concerted effort to break in the states by touring through the 2 nd half of 1975 and the bulk of ’76 with the likes of Aerosmith, ZZ Top and Black Sabbath, to little avail. By contrast, here in the US the band had only 4 singles that broke into the Top 100 during that same period the highest of which reached #68. Six number one singles on four years… They were the first UK band to have 3 singles enter the chart at #1. In that 4-year period, they released a staggering 17 consecutive Top Twenty singles 12 of which went Top 5, including 6 that hit #1.

Slade OWNED the singles charts in the UK from 1971-1975. She shook her head, no doubt thinking You Yanks just don’t get it, and said ‘No Slade! Amazing! Well, cheers!’ and off she went. I repeated my answer, and politely offered that while ‘Merry Christmas Everybody’ was a personal favorite of mine, Slade weren’t exactly a household name in America, remembered, if at all, for their fluke 1983 hit ‘Run Runaway’, or for supplying Quiet Riot with their 2 best-known songs, ‘Mama Weer All Crazee Now’ and ‘Cum on Feel The Noize’. ‘You haven’t any Slade?’ she asked, this time over-pronouncing the band’s name, in case I misheard her the first time.

When I told her the store didn’t stock any Slade product, she looked confused. She had a strong British accent, and I assume she was from the UK, perhaps visiting the States for the holidays. I few winters back I was working a liquidation for a major national retailer, and was asked by a customer if we had ‘Slade’s Christmas song’ on CD.

Dieks finalshot