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Slade's silver screen debut...
Slade - you either love them or hate them, but if you’re a fan this DVD is
essential viewing. Issued in the USA, it’s well worth picking up, because
the music at least ends up pretty good, and the gags are good too.
Set in the late 60s, the story depicts band life on the road, drawing on the
many experiences of manager and former Hendrix manager and Animal Chas
Chandler. There are also some parallels with the embryonic Slade, who were
known at the time as The ‘N Betweens.
The basic story follows two struggling (and actually quite piss poor) bands
playing a mixture of god knows what. They could be playing a wedding one
night and a bingo hall the next, while holding down day jobs. There’s the
usual banter and rivalry; the scene where Noddy Holder (lead singer of The
Undertakers) is locked in his coffin on stage by Dave Hill’s rival band is a
nod towards one of Screaming Lord Sutch’s mishaps, a scene rightly sent up
by Spinal Tap and it brings a few deserved laughs here.
Blink and you miss the bands’ break up and amalgamation, but you suddenly
get some decent music and the band start their road to success, gigs,
records and etc.
Add on a Noddy interview as part of the package and it’s a package well
worth searching out.
*****
Review by Joe Geesin
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