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. Also, it’s a Slade film, but Slade aren’t playing Slade? They’re a band called Flame? No wonder everyone was perplexed. And the title can’t have helped. I am still trying to make sense of it.
The film is set in the Midlands somewhere and, over the opening credits, we get the first banging song, ‘How Does It Feel’. Then we’re introduced to two rival bands, both comprised of rough lads who work by day selling tea sets down the market (or similar) and play unappreciative dives by night. They’re getting nowhere fast when one band ejects its lead singer (Alan Lake) and proceeds to draft in the front man from the other band, Stoker (Noddy Holder). He joins Barry (Dave Hill), Charlie (Don Powell) and Paul (Jim Lea). So now they are Slade. Except they’re Flame.
Mark Kermode hailed it as ‘the Citizen Kane of British pop movies’
Their agent, Ron Harding (Johnny Shannon), is exploitative and villainous. (The name ‘Ron Harding’ is not a million miles from ‘Don Arden’, the brutal agent who, incidentally, is the father of Sharon Osbourne. His Wikipedia entry is a must-read, as is Alan Lake’s.) However, they get their big break when a talent scout recommends them to a high-powered London advertising executive (Tom Conti), who packages and markets them with the same methods he would sell cigarettes. They do become rich and famous, but at what cost?
It’s a familiar tale, as old as the hills, if not older. We know the beats: young lads dream of making it big, do make it big, but are destroyed by a business that only sees them as cash cows. Nevertheless it is told with a raw energy, and includes some excellent staged concerts, some rather touching scenes and, on top of all that, it is always worth reminding ourselves of Dave Hill’s hair.
Still, the film is flawed. The characters are, perhaps, insufficiently developed, plus it’s certainly of its time. No woman is safe from having her bottom pinched or skirt lifted, for example. But Slade in Flame is far from a disaster and even if it were it would still be one more film than Sweet ever made. Or Wizzard, for that matter.
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