Thanks for update Ian. Your dedication and hard work is much appreciated.

Now the illustrations (provided by my writing partner) are going in, the file sizes are getting huge, so the book is split into 7 word documents:

Intro - 1969
1970 - 74
1975 - 77
1978 - 84
1985 - 1999
2000 - 2018
solo work post Slade - end

Your hard work and your writing partners is very much appreciated and so look forward to the book

I printed a few pages off today, while at college, to illustrate treated images in print. It looks pretty good to me (though I say it myself).

keep up the good work ian

The Q&A has provided some nice quotes.

It’s a bumper Slade filled December
Thankyou Ian

I've had a little time off from writing, due to a frantic rush of band work and Christmas and a bit of flu earlier in the month.

After seeing the new Year in and making a brew, I will be setting off on reviewing everything written so far (happy to sign off up to the end of 1975 as it stands, but I may have some fresh stuff to add, so we'll see). Then I am going to work on the rest of it in order until it is finished. I have a target end date in mind.

My writing partner has provided a lot of illustrations and historical info.

It's getting there.

Thanx for the update Ian

Kev read

You could call it 50 years as Slade

I have a brilliant title for it. I suggested it to Salvo at one point for the Slade box 4CD set (which wasn't actually in a box), but it was too late.

I am cracking on with it and did several hours today, dealing with 1981/2.

Any suggestions for who I could get to do a foreword?

admin wrote: January 7th, 2019, 11:43 pm... Any suggestions for who I could get to do a foreword?

Possibly a little tricky, but Chris Charlesworth would be a good contender.

As would DJ Mike Read.

Out of left field, Ben Elton would surely write a pretty clever intro, and he is on the record as being a massive Slade fan back in the day

Gary bushnell always gave them a brilliant write up for there gigs around the late 70s early 80s

Kev read

Mark Kermode

Noel gallagher

Those red bits are where it's driving the spellcheck in Word mad.

Gaz top (can't remember his real name).
Assume one of the band wouldn't oblige?

It would maybe be difficult to get one of the band to do the foreword, as this book is not going to be authorised. There is, however, nothing at all contentious in it, nothing they can object to. No dirt.

I am not sure about getting the band input that I could have done with, that would have made sure that they would have managed to get a book that THEY wanted too. But as it is not authorised, they do not earn from it, so there is no incentive at all to contribute, except for goodwill.

Following Don's accident, I don't want to bug him. I nearly had a meet with him in early December, but that got cancelled.

Jim's input could be quite considerable with a couple of hours of Q&A, but he has walls around him.

Nod has worked hard for years and has earned his privacy and I have always totally respected it. He doesn't live that far from me and he could have made a nice contribution, if I could have got two hours sit-down with him.

I simply can't be bothered speaking to Dave Hill anymore.

My co-writer has provided lots of details and illustrations and continual food for thought for the book, while I have got on with writing it, but he has lots of personal stuff going on at the moment and he has had to take a back seat while I got on with writing this book and he sorts the far more important things out that he needs to. His being 'in' with various band members was extremely useful, but I can't really count on that now.

A sit with JWL would likely yield the best insight on the songs. Too late in the game but it would be interesting to know who played which instruments on each recording.

mds wrote: January 8th, 2019, 8:04 pm... it would be interesting to know who played which instruments on each recording.

I think that during the Chas Chandler years, the band recorded songs as they would have played them live. CILY being an exception, because if it was recorded "live" in the studio as Chas and the band liked to do, either Dave or Nod would have played bass, unless Jim's violin was overdubbed. My guess is that Dave played bass on the CILY recording, as he did on both the Grenada 'Set of Six' footage and the version on the Wall of Hits video.

And it's on the record that Jim played guitar on Everyday as Dave was off on his honeymoon. As for later material, when Jim took increasing control in the studio, that's another story. For some reason I've always felt that it was Jim playing guitar on My Oh My.

The 'who played what' on each song would add pages and pages to the book and make it more expensive.

The rule of thumb before Old new borrowed and blue was that each of the band played their own parts on record.

From that album onwards, Jim would add guitar parts as guides and leave them in place, but down in the mix. On You boyz, Nod is not even credited with guitar. They were not going to play the songs live.

As for what Dave played and when, only the band know for sure.
Certainly some songs do not contain Dave: My baby left me / Everyday / Radio wall of sound / Universe / etc etc.

admin wrote: January 8th, 2019, 11:44 pm The 'who played what' on each song would add pages and pages to the book and make it more expensive.

Understood. When you say JWL provided a "guide" lower in the mix does that imply that H was just copying Jim's leads? I especially like the lead work on Nobody's Fools and WHTS always thought it was Dave who came up with them.

Jim said it recently and it is difficult to say what parts are his.

I imagine a lot of guitar was played by him from late 82 onwards, including some solos.

mds wrote: January 9th, 2019, 1:39 am... When you say JWL provided a "guide" lower in the mix does that imply that H was just copying Jim's leads? I especially like the lead work on Nobody's Fools and WHTS always thought it was Dave who came up with them.

I can't remember where I read it - possibly Nod's book or even further back than that - but I clearly recall reading somewhere that when Slade were in America during their extended stay there, and preparing to record the Nobody's Fools LP, Jim and Dave spent a lot of time together practising - and in particular practising La Jinx. I could be totally wrong, but aside from the Dobro on that album, my guess is that Dave played the lead guitar parts on that album.

What Ian has said about Jim providing guide tracks for Dave on records post ONB&B does make a lot of sense when you listen to SIF, NF and WHTS in comparison to Slayed? in regard to the arrangements of the songs. But equally when you listen to a song such as Gudbuy T'Jane for example, Dave really does excel at placing some great fills and riffs in all the right places, and to my ears, it does sound spontaneous and fresh. In fact you could say the same thing about the entire Slayed? album.

Matt's right though; it certainly would be fascinating to learn definitely exactly who played what on all of the recordings (especially the heyday era records).

Jim has said Dave played all of the lead guitar parts on WHTS.

I think there would be an issue with getting any of the band to talk about what was played by whom in the studio. "And Dave went to the shop and made lots of cups of tea" wouldn't go down well as a musician's credit on a LP sleeve.

It's the last three albums where the detail gets foggy.

Hopefully dave played the lead intros to what we're slade classics the soul plus one yes jacks plus she's got the lot plus in ain't love brill slade songs/classics

Kev read

Kev Read wrote: January 10th, 2019, 1:02 pm Hopefully dave played the lead intros to what we're slade classics the soul plus one yes jacks plus she's got the lot plus in ain't love brill slade songs/classics

Kev read

Jim has said Dave played all of his guitar parts on WHTS.

He definitely played all the guitar parts live !!!