SLADE ALIVE - EVERYONE'S A WINNER

Published in 1976, '' ROCK ON THE ROAD '' was a collection of essays on some of the major ROCK and POP acts of the day with photos by MICK GOLD. The book contained an excellent contribution from SIMON FRITH who describes how SLADE '' Weaned the hooligans off the football terraces and back into the concert halls '' . FRITH attended their EARLS COURT show in JULY 1973 and GOLD took photos at HAMMERSMITH ODEON in MAY 1974. What follows is an excerpt from the article and all of the photos that originally accompanied it

'' We went down the Kings Road first - a sunny afternoon and elegant accents, the shops were playing David Bowie and everyone looked suitably weary. French coffee and we got the tube at Sloane Square: it was packed with West Ham's North End. On their way rather than coming back, but happy like they'd already won. Scarves waving, shouting, elbowed ribs - no aggro, friendly but private. They knew something we didn't and by the time we reached Earls Court we'd picked up a Terrace Convention. Clenched greetings but they marched from the station at respectful distances. The singing began: rival anthems, graphic rudeness, but still no trouble. It was truce night. In the stadium the terraces came together and the enemy was outside '' 

'' At a football match the energy of the crowd moves in response to what is happening on the field - it is almost possible to follow a game just by listening. Not completely though, because the bond between footballers and their audience is twisted by two factors. First the crowd is not at one: every moment of joy is someone else's moment of frustration, every step forward is someone's mistake. In games of particular excitement or boredom or skill or brutality the contradictory responses of rival fans can create a pitch of tension which quite transcends what is happening on the real pitch - the crowd's energy becomes self-generated. Secondly, although footballers do respond to their crowds, only rarely do they do so exactly. The crowd is willing them to break the limits of their and their comrades' skills, to ignore the reality of the opposition, the pitch, the weather. Mostly they can't and if you do listen to a football match what you hear is brief moments of exhilaration punctured by periods of lull '' 

'' In it's cheerfulness and unselfconscious passion, Slade's concert was much more like a football match than any rock concert I'd ever seen. But it was unlike any football match too - Slade's bond with their audience was total and never broke: there were no twists. It was easy to say why: Slade's crowd was at one, they had all come to see Slade win and there was no opposition, no rival supporters, no reasons for bitterness: and Slade could and did respond to the crowds demands, they had no opponents to trip them, no lumpy turf, and although their musical skills are limited those weren't the skills they needed for this night anyway - skill here was not a matter of technique but of picking up moods and laying them down without missing a beat of the communal stomp '' 

BURUNDI BLACK

 

'' BURUNDI BLACK '' is an early 70's FRENCH 45 that has interesting origins and a far reaching influence. The basis of the track was a ' FIELD RECORDING ' taken in BURUNDI, a small independent state in SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA. The recording was included on the LP '' MUSIQUE DU BURUNDI '' , issued on the FRENCH OCORA LABEL in 1968. It featured the CHANTING and DRUMMING of the people of THE BUKIRASAZI COMMUNE in CENTRAL BURUNDI. The techniques of playing and drum making are passed down from father to son and the music and performance have been used in ceremonies for hundreds of years 

In 1971 a FRENCH RECORD PRODUCER named CLAUDE FRANCOIS augmented the recording with PIANO, CLAVINET and GUITAR parts for a 7'' SINGLE that was issued on BARCLAY RECORDS under the name '' BURUNDI STEIPENSON BLACK ''. The B-SIDE of the record contained an edited version of the original recording

The recording was picked up by CLUB DJ's and became a CULT RECORD in UNDERGOUND DISCOTHEQUES. It also sold well in a number of countries, including the UK where it reached number 31 in the SINGLES CHART. The RHYTHM OF BURUNDI was now ' out of the bag ' and continued to inspire other WESTERN MUSICIANS in the proceeding years. JONI MITCHELL used the same recording of THE BUKIRASAZI DRUMMERS on a song called '' THE JUNGLE LINE ''. The track was included on her 1975 LP '' THE HISSING OF SUMMER LAWNS '' . Sadly, like CLAUDE  FRANCOIS, she proved to be A SNAKE and claimed sole songwriting credit!

'' BURUNDI BLACK '' also proved to be an influence on POST PUNK music in the UK at the start of the next decade. '' C·30 C·60 C·90 GO '' by BOW WOW WOW and '' KINGS OF THE WILD FRONTIER '' by ADAM AND THE ANTS both utilized BURUNDI STYLE TRIBAL DRUMMING. The former was a minor hit towards the end of '81 { reaching number 34 } and the later climbed to number 2 at the start of the following year. The MUSIC PRESS began to use the term  ' BURUNDI BEAT ' and a new arrangement of '' BURUNDI BLACK '' was created by JEAN PHILIPPE ILIESCO with the help of DJ RUSTY EGAN, giving the sound new life on the dancefloor 

The BURUNDI DRUMMERS never received a penny from the SAMPLING of their playing or the CULTERAL APPROPRIATION of their sound and only began to benefit when they were brought to the UK for the first WORLD OF MUSIC, ARTS AND DANCE FESTIVAL in 1982. They displayed their skill and tradition to an enraptured audience and have since conducted TOURS AROUND THE WORLD, recorded THREE ALBUMS and appeared in WERNER HERZOG'S film FITZCARRALDO 

LINK FOR DRUMMERS OF BURUNDI

SPARKS ON THE MIDNIGHT SPECIAL TV SHOW 1974

 

Footage of GROUPS and SINGERS performing on TV SHOWS in the 70's turn up regularly on YouTube. They're always great to see, but more often than not, are unofficial and in fuzzy ' bootleg ' quality. THE MIDNIGHT SPECIAL YOUTUBE CHANNEL began a few months ago and sets a new standard that will hopefully be followed by others. The performances from the LEGENDARY US TV SHOW are all fully remastered and restored from the original tapes and a wealth of great artists from the era are included. A recent addition to this amazing archive is a dazzling four song set from SPARKS that was originally broadcast on November 15, 1974. All four numbers were taken from their third studio album '' KIMONO MY HOUSE ''

The Midnight Special YouTube Channel