SKINHEAD SLADE

In 1969 publicist Keith Altham was struggling to gain column inches for the under achieving ROCK band SLADE.The group were managed by CHAS CHANDLER {who had discovered JIMI HENDRIX} but neither their debut LP ''BEGININGS'' or the singles pulled from it had met with any success.

Then he hit on a bold plan to re-style the band in the mold of a teenage fashion that was receiving considerable media attention: SKINHEAD.The skinheads were a smart working class subculture that matched MOD CLOTHING and PROLETARIAN WORKWEAR with the CROPPED HAIRCUT which gave them their name.It was a reaction against both the older generations adoption of longer hair {coupled with a more relaxed dress code} and the look of the 'HIPPY DROPOUT' which had been widely adopted by the young middle class at this time.

                                               SKINHEAD FASHION CIRCA 1969/70

SLADE were initially reluctant to go with this makeover,but faced with an anonymous future on the collage circuit they embraced the chance of appealing to this untapped audience.The group were duly marched to the barbers, dressed in the relevent clothes and attended a hastily arranged photo session.

NODDY HOLDER

JIM LEA

DAVE HILL

DON POWELL

Initially the gamble seemed to pay off.The press started covering the group and they made their first TV appearence performing their current 45 ''Wild Winds Are Blowing''



Despite the attention the new look had got them,the record and two following singles didn't shift in great numbers and they failed to gain acceptence with the majority of skinheads

''We played in Bornmouth one night and it was full of skinheads.We went on stage and they just saw right through us''
DON POWELL

Undeterred the group paid attention to building up their live following and in November 1970 an LP ''PLAY IT LOUD'' was released

                       
                             OUTTAKES FROM THE ''PLAY IT LOUD'' cover photoshoot

SKINHEAD was an aspect of WORKING CLASS STREET FASHION and as such was constantly evolving.First the look moved closer to the earlier look of the MODS.Three button TONIC SUITS,heavy welted BROGUE SHOES,COLOURFUL TIES and ARGYLE KNITWEAR were worn with slightly LONGER HAIR.This development was dubbed SUEDEHEAD.Then came ROUND COLLOR SHIRTS,CHECKED 'RUPERT' TROUSERS,SPOON TOED SHOES and HAIR GROWN OVER THE COLLAR.The overall appearance now contrasted greatly with the look at the start of the decade and became known as SMOOTHIE.

                                            SUEDEHEAD / SMOOTHIE FASHION CIRCA 1970/71

DAVE HILL acknowledged how their dalliance with skinhead culture influenced the future image and sound of the band:

''I developed a hairstyle which came from that skinhead thing where I had very long hair but with a very short fringe.If you think about the bovver boots developing into bigger boots and us having an audience where there all going {stamps feet} all this stamping lark''

JAMAICAN IMMIGRANTS greatly influenced the sartorial style of the SKINHEADS.Trousers worn at 'HALF-MAST',PORK PIE HATS and even the CROPPED HAIRSTYLE itself were borrowed from the the jamaican 'RUDE BOY'.REGGAE was also their music of choice and while this left SLADE somewhat out in the cold with a vast number of skins,those who did follow the band provided a lively contrast to the 'sit down' PROGESSIVE ROCK crowd.The skins were well accustomed to call and response REGGAE tunes like the ''SKINHEAD MOONSTOMP'' and this would have quite an effect on the band and inspire the recording of their breakthrough song: A cover of a little known LITTLE RICHARD number ''GET DOWN AND GET WITH IT''.NODDY remembers playing it live:

''We started doing it and the skinheads used to love that bit at the finish where you put your hands in the air and take your boots off and all that''

The song was released complete with an overdub of STAMPING BOOTS in May 1971 and started to climb the charts.Noddy's raucous vocals and the gruops powerhouse performance made the record stand out and visually they had added some quirky elements to their basic street fashions.Noddy wore a distinctive oversized CHECKED FLAT CAP and SCARF in the style of the British newspaper comic strip character ANDY CAPP.Dave inspired by the new 70's pop sensation MARC BOLAN glammed up in androgynous MULTICOLORED COATS and KNEE LENGTH BOOTS.the GLITTER ROCK image they would be known for had begun to take shape.

The record peaked at number 16 and was the first of 17 consecutive Top 20 hits for the band.The follow up single ''COZ I LUV YOU'' went to NUMBER ONE in November and the band went on to define the GLAM ROCK era become one of the top selling acts in UK POP history.

A PROMO FILM FOR ''GET DOWN AND GET WITH IT''



                                                           SLADE 1971

                                       
                                           SLADE FULLY GLAMMED UP IN 1972

SLADE quotes from:
''SLADE FEEL THE NOISE'' the official biography 1984
''IT'S SLADE'' BBC TV documentary 1999

GLAM MEETS MOTOWN - ''UP IN A PUFF OF SMOKE''

POLLY BROWN first came to the attention of the British public singinging with the group Pickettywitch who scored two big hits in 1970 with "That Same Old Feeling" and "(It's Like A) Sad Old Kinda Movie".

When the group struggled to match that early success songwriter/producer GERRY SHURY recorded a solo LP with Polly in 72.Dispite highlighting her wonderful voice {Shurly described it as "A cross between Diana Ross and Dionne Warwick"} the record lacked any material strong enough to make a HIT 45.

Then in 1974 Shurly hit gold when he wrote and produced ''UP IN A PUFF OF SMOKE''.The record posessed a strong MOTOWN like melody that recalled THE SUPREMES hits of the sixties and was propelled by a comtempry 'whompa whompa' GLAM BACKBEAT and bubbling SYNTHESIZER.Incredibly for a record which was seemingly perfect for the dancefloors of the early DISCO era it failed to crack the TOP 40 charts in the UK and stalled at number 43!

In the USA the story was different and the record was warmly recieved on the dance floor.It reached number 3 on the US DISCO CHART and went on to 16 in THE BILLBOARD HOT 100 in March 1975

''TWEEDLE DEE TWEEDLE DUM'' - HIGHLAND POP CORRIDO

THE MIDDLE OF THE ROAD were a Scottish pop group that scored a number of chart hits
across Europe in the beginning of the 70's.Their records were written and recorded in
Italy under the direction of producer GIACOMO TOSTI and the resulting latin tinged
EUROPOP sound fittted their name perfectly.Their debut 45 ''CHIRPY CHIRPY CHEEP
CHEEP'' {released in 1971} was an infectious slice of BUBBLEGUM POP and with the aid
of singer SALLY CARR's dolly bird image the group gained enough attention to reach the
NUMBER ONE spot in the UK and achieve further success on the continent.

The same year they enjoyed further euro wide success with a title that belied the
inventive nature of the composition: ''TWEEDLE DEE TWEEDLE DUM''.The number was based
on the CORRIDO BALLAD song tradition,a MEXICAN FOLK form that utilises a WALTZ
like rhythm to convey a story of rural frontier folk heroism.The form was enjoying a
fresh spell of popularity at this time and a number of NEO CORRIDO songs were recorded
by LOUNGE POP singers in Europe.Hits in the style included:


''THE YOUNG NEW MEXICAN PUPPETEER'' by TOM JONES
''I DID WHAT I DID FOR MARIA'' by TONY CHRISTIE
''TEN GUITARS'' by ENGLEBERT HUMPERDINK
and ''TAMPICO'' by HEINO

For the song in question writers WALLY STOTT and G & M CAPUANO cleverly referenced
the groups scottish origin in the lyrics and came up with a tale of INTER-CLAN WARFARE
that set it apart from the other EURO CORRIDO songs I mentioned.They also put an anti
war subtext into the lyrics and added a COUNTRY ROCK guitar riff and 4/4 BACKBEAT
that gave the song an extra kick.Producer TOSTI crafted the song around a couple of exuberant hand clapping PROTO DISCO breakdowns and the resulting disc was pure DENIM DISCO gold!


Do you recall some years ago ?
Up in the mountains that were white with snow
inside a cavern McDougal he was plannin'
there's gonna be a showdown with somebody he knows.

Well he's been there a year or so
something will happen very soon I know
I hear him playin' his bagpipes every mornin'
I think that it's a warmin'he's gathering the clan.

Soon you'll hear the sound of people shouting
you will see the claymores in their hands
if you knew the reason for their fighting
you would never understand.

Oh Tweedle Dee
Oh Tweedle Dum.
The tune McDougal always used to hum
While he was fightin' his rival clan McGregor
Dishonour he would never
the tartan of his clan.