Slade in Flame was glam-rock band Slade’s first foray into film – and also their last. It was a flop on its release in 1975 and that would have been that, end of story, gone and forgotten, except it has been rediscovered in recent years, with critic Mark Kermode even hailing it as ‘the Citizen Kane of British pop movies’. That, I think, may be something of an overstatement but it’s still a highly watchable 90 minutes, does offer some banging tunes, and Noddy Holder, who plays the lead, does not embarrass himself on the acting front. (The other band members play lesser roles, perhaps mercifully.)
Newly remastered by the BFI for its 50th anniversary, the film is currently out in cinemas and will be available on Blu-Ray/DVD from 19 May. First, some background: Slade were at the height of their fame, with six number ones under their belt, when it was decided the next step would have to be a film. They were clear about what they didn’t want to do. They didn’t want to involve speeded-up slapstick (the Beatles) or embark on a summer holiday (Cliff Richard). Instead, they wanted a dark, nitty-gritty take on the music industry. ‘Let’s bite the hand that is feeding us,’ one must have said.
They deployed Richard Loncraine as director and Andrew Birkin as writer and took both on tour with them so any script would ‘ring true’. But the result confused the fans. They didn’t see Slade as dark, nitty-gritty social realists. They were ‘Merry Christmas Everybody’ and ‘Cum on Feel the Noize’ while stomping around in platforms and what appeared to be frighteningly flammable, flamboyant get-ups.
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