Wotchadoin' Thursday?

Well? Just what are your plans for Thursday? Yes, Thursday this week. Thursday 16 January at 8.30pm to be precise. Ok, I'll tell you what you're doing - you're switching on BBC Four because ...

SLADE IN FLAME is on telly for the first time in an age of ages (if indeed it's ever been on telly before?). You know you need to watch it.

It's part of BBC Four's Pop Season and is followed by 'Pop on Trial' featuring "tracks from glam icon Marc Bolan, funkmeisters Parliament, punk pioneers The Sex Pistols and disco diva Donna Summer, and a 1971 performance of David Bowie singing Queen Bitch". That'll be worth seeing for Bowie alone - I've never seen him sing 'Queen Bitch'!

So, SLADE IN FLAME, one of the great rock films of all time with one of the best soundtracks which is also one of my top five SLADE albums, with the glorious 'How Does It Feel?' as the theme song. Featuring Tom Conti, Alan Lake, Johnny Shannon (reprising his trademark 'nasty' from 'Performance'), a young Tommy Vance and even a short clip of the mightly Emperor Rosco in his hippy finest. What a line-up, and directed by Richard Loncraine with his first film. And topped off with those great thesbians, SLADE, who was robbed at the Oscars. You know it.

I remember going to see it at the big Odeon in the centre of Newcastle when it was first shown in 1975 and sneaking in my cassette recorder to tape the songs to keep me going until the album came out.

If you've seen it then you'll know the joy to come. If you've never seen it before then it's not what you might expect. Get some popcorn and coke or a beer, switch on and relax into it, feet tapping to those great songs and admire the fashion statements.