SLADE in April

SLADE re-issues are coming thick and fast with the next batch being released on either 9 or 16 April (different sites have different dates so I'll wait for the 'official' email from Union Square before planning my next SLADE Day) .

The next is a batch of four albums:

Whatever Happened To SLADE?
We'll Bring The House Down
Till Deaf Do Us Part
Rockers

'SLADE in Flame', the DVD + CD soundtrack is also due in April but I haven't seen anything about that yet.

'Whatever Happened To SLADE?' was the last SLADE record I bought in the week of its release and it was a loyalty purchase. It was 1977 and SLADE had been in America for most of the previous two years, punk had exploded and this was their 'return' album with a much heavier, hard-rock sound. I loved it! I played this alongside 'Never Mind The Bollocks' and was happy. There are some great tracks on 'Whatever' but I never saw them played live. I loved the cover as well, with skinhead SLADE contrasting with late '70s SLADE and Nod looking like a thug.

And then, to my everlasting shame, I fell from the true faith. I left home for college in Oxford and Cardiff and then moved to London. I only started buying SLADE albums again in the '90s when they were released on CD, and that was selectively. It was only in the last four years that I started exploring SLADE's catalogue after 'Whatever' and found music to love. They were always a powerful band and although I lost faith in them, they never lost faith in their fans and kept on delivering the goods that I eventually discovered 20-odd years later.

I'm not sure what the thinking behind the 'Rockers' album is, but it's a compilation double CD of some of SLADE's tracks from across their career. I wonder if it's based on their live sets over the years? None of the big singles are on it (except for a live version of 'Get Down And Get With It'). It'll be interesting to listen to it.

I am proud to declare myself a SLADE fan. They always were so much more than a glam rock flash in the pan - and what a glorious few years they had back then. Now that spring has arrived with warm weather and sunshine, I've transferred my SLADE badge from my coat to my jacket.