Interview: Noddy Holder
Slade's new album Party Hits is out now
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Monday, 23, Nov 2009 02:47
Noddy Holder and Slade are back for Christmas with a new album packed with hits and cover versions designed to get everyone dancing through the festive season.
To celebrate the release, Lee Davis spoke to the evergreen Mr Holder about the album, his school years and the glory days of Slade.
The new album, Party Hits, features 20 tracks, with all of Slade's greatest songs including Cum On Feel The Noize and Merry Xmas Everybody, originally released during the dark days of a recession-struck Britain in 1973.
In fact, recession has played its part in the decision to release Party Hits. As Noddy said: "2009 is a lot like 1973. There's economic turmoil.
"When Merry Xmas Everybody first came out in '73 the country was in economic turmoil.
"The miners were on strike, the bakers were on strike, the gravediggers were on strike, electricial workers were on strike 'cos the telly went off every night at ten o'clock.
"It was a real doom and gloom time and we brought Merry Xmas Everybody out at that time, and lyrically, it was very optimistic - "look to the future, it's only just begun," because things really couldn't get any worse.
"And this year, seeing as the country's going through exactly the same economic climate, people needed something to cheer 'em up so we put together this hits compilation."
Despite the inclusion of a number of Slade's most memorable songs, Noddy stresses that it's not a greatest hits collection.
Party Hits also contains covers and a good selection of rock 'n' roll tracks which the band played in the late 60s when they first formed.
"The rest of the album is album tracks of our own that we wrote ourselves, really raucous tracks. It's a real mixed bag. It's to cheer people up after a heavy, hard year.
"We've even put a real heavy rock version of the Okey Cokey on there and we've got Me Oh My, which was a big hit for us in the 80s, and we've put a swing version of that on the album. It's like a Las Vegas swing/Rat Pack version.
"It's all upbeat, dancing, partying stuff. We thought it was the right time to do it," reveals Noddy.
Click here to read the inthenews.co.uk review of Slade's Party Hits.
With an album so full of Slade's most famous songs, had Noddy had the chance to include any of his favourite tracks?
"I like all the hits obviously but I do like the rockier covers as they remind me of the times in clubs and ballrooms around Christmas when we'd be playing and driving through the night in the snow to the next gig," he replied.
"And things like I'm A Rocker by Chuck Berry, which will always be a big favourite of mine.
"They bring a nostalgic feeling to me 'cos I remember when we used to do 'em in the clubs and people used to go crazy 'cos we used to do 'em as loud, bashy versions and everybody would get up and dance."
He added: "I think the album will hit a lot of new fans. There's always a new generation coming up. A lot of kids don't relate me to Slade, they relate me to Bob The Builder or they relate me to Max And Paddy or The Grimleys."
This year marks the fortieth anniversary of Slade but the band actually formed in 1966 as the N'Betweens, before becoming Ambrose Slade in around 1969.
However, when the band met Chas Chandler, the man who discovered Jimi Hendrix, he suggested the band change their name to Slade.
With the new name in place thanks to manager/producer Chandler, things started to take off for Noddy, Dave Hill, Jimmy Lea and Don Powell.
But before we focus on Slade's glory days of the early 70s, it's time to turn the clock back to Noddy's childhood.
"I was born in Walsall in the heart of the black country, the industrial area," says Noddy.
At this point of the interview Noddy said he was 63 but after seeing him on a One Show appearance, I commented that he didn't look his age.
Giggling loudly, Noddy said: "You sweet-talking man you," before adding: "It's all that vodka, it's pickled me."
After that he collapsed into giggles. Once Noddy had regained his composure, he told me about his schooldays: "I went to school at the very first comprehensive school in the country, just on the outskirts of Walsall in Bloxwich.
"In those days you had what was called the 11+, an exam. If you passed your 11+ you went to grammar school, if you didn't pass you went to what was called secondary modern.
"I passed my 11+ and went to grammar school, then the comprehensive system came in that year and my comprehensive school was a trial.
"They moved everybody from the grammar school and the secondary modern school in there as well so everybody got mixed up - grammar and secondary modern together."
He went on: "I always thought it was a fantastic system, the comprehensive system.
"Previous to that system if you were 11, you went into the grammar school stream or the secondary modern stream, which at the age of 11 is not the time to choose."
It was at school that Noddy formed his first band. Although his first taste of showbiz came at the tender age of seven when he sung I Believe on stage in Walsall.
"I was only seven and this little soprano, and I brought the house down. I got a taste for it then. I wanted to be a performer!"
Learning guitar when he was 11 or 12, Noddy set about forming his first band at school when he was 13.
He said: "We used to play the youth clubs and pubs, and two of the lads I had in the band I still see today and we still get together a couple of times a year in the Midlands. We go for a curry then get the guitar out at the hotel and have a knock-up, playing jazz and R 'n' B, the blues."
Noddy played in various bands leading up to 1966 and his own band split up after a trip to Germany for various reasons.
On the ferry to Germany, Noddy met his future bandmates Don Powell and Dave Hill. They were going to Germany with their own band, the N'Betweens, although Noddy said that the duo was considering splitting their band up.
"They said: 'Do you fancy joining our band when we get back to Britain?' and I said 'No, I don't.'"
After Noddy's own band had separated, he bumped into Don and Dave who they said they were looking for a guitarist for their outfit.
"Y'see, I played lead guitar and sang in my own band but they were looking for a guitarist more than anything else as they still had a singer.
"But Don knew I could sing 'cos he'd seen my band a coupla times, so they wanted me as a guitarist-cum-singer.
"They already had Jimmy Lea as a bass player. He was still at school when they auditioned him.
"Anyway, we had our first rehearsal together and it clicked. We had something going on!"
Once the original singer left after not getting on with Don and Dave, the band became a four-piece and a friend of the group, who eventually became their tour manager, suggested that Noddy should be the vocalist.
That was in 1966 but it took a number of years of touring and playing before the band, re-named as Slade courtesy of Chandler, had their first hit in 1971.
It was Chandler who said the band should try their hand at songwriting. As a result Don Powell and Jimmy Lea paired up. Dave Hill did some writing too as well as joining up with Noddy.
Again, Chas Chandler supplied the impetus for the band writing a pop song.
"Chas wanted a three-minute pop song. It was me and Jim who got together, so he came over to my mum's house.
"We had a cheese sandwich and a cup of tea. He got his acoustic guitar and we knocked up Cuz I Love You in 20 to 25 minutes.
"It was something we used to tune up to in the dressing room, but in 25 minutes we'd got the basis of the song."
He continued: "We took it to Chas. We didn't know if we had a hit or not. We played it to him on a cassette and he said :'It's fantastic' and 'I don't think you've written your first hit, I think you've written your first number one', and we said: 'Oh, get away with yer"'"
This gave Noddy and Jimmy a fantastic surge of confidence and their songwriting partnership was born.
Noddy takes up the story: "And we kept everything going on from there and what became the Slade sound. We'd found our niche."
The band hit the big time in the glam rock-dominated early 70s, just four young guys from the Midlands travelling the world first class.
"You could take the lads out of the black country but you couldn't take the black country out of the lads. It was one helluva party for the next few years, it all became hazy," said Noddy.
"We were meeting Paul McCartney and Elton John. One of our biggest rivals at that time was Marc Bolan and T-Rex, but we used to get on with him really well.
"He said to us, when we had our first hit: 'You'll never overtake me'. But we did in the end. We had this rivalry going and one day we're coming out of the Top Of The Pops studio and Don, our drummer, had this huge white Bentley and Bolan had a huge white Bentley, too.
"And they looked alike, parked next door to each other. So as Bolan and us came out of the studio door, racing through all the fans, myself and Dave jumped into Bolan's Bentley, mistaking it for Don's.
"So there was Bolan unable to get into his own bloody Bentley, and there were me and Dave sitting there in comfort in the back of the Bentley but that's rock 'n' roll for ya!" laughs Noddy.
A music industry veteran, Noddy isn't too keen on the influence of TV talent shows such as The X Factor. "I don't think they're a good thing for the music industry but they're a good thing for TV," he explained.
"To me, The X Factor is no different to Opportunity Knocks and New Faces. There's always been those sort of talent shows on TV.
"Now for young kids, I do think they sort of spoil young kids' dreams. These kids think they're going to be overnight sensations, but for as many dreams as it might make, it shatters just as many.
"You've always had acts that come from TV talent shows, even way back in the 70s; comedians, singers, so it's nothing new."
He added: "I'm from the old fashioned school of music. I like people to do their groundwork but there's not as much scope for kids to do that these days.
"It's good TV but it does dominate the charts around Christmas, making the number one a bit of a foregone conclusion, which is a bit of a shame.
"But people will tire of exactly the same format, things'll change at some point, I'm sure."
Noddy went on: "It doesn't give bands a chance. Y'know, people with some individuality, it's all very much middle of the road.
"People who are quirky, with a different sort of voice, different sort of music, don't really get a look-in on those sort of shows."
As a counterpoint to the plethora of X Factor-spawned acts out there, I asked Noddy was there the possibility that he'd hit the road with Slade once more.
"No, no. Dave and Don still tour as a Slade unit but myself and Jimmy, no," he answered.
"I don't think the original line-up will ever get back together again. Not even for a one-off.
"I mean, we haven't played together for about 18 years so it would take a long time to get back into the swing of it. I'm not in the frame of mind to get back on the road. I was on the road on for 30 years. I love playing but all the airport lounges, dressing rooms, I don't want all that at my age. It doesn't hold any attraction for me.""
Even though Noddy won't be hitting the road anytime, the amiable Slade frontman plans on enjoying a huge family Christmas, donning his chef's hat, as he said: "I'm sort of Marco Pierre White for the day, doing turkey with all the trimmings."
Lee Davis