Slade

One of Britain's best-loved bands for their magnificently catchy songs, ridiculous stage costumes, and a raucous humour personified by sandpaper-throated front man Noddy Holder, Slade mixed anarchy and pop and dominated the UK charts through the 1970s. Starting out as the N'Betweens and then Ambrose Slade, they didn't achieve success until they dumped their skinhead look and cultivated a colourful image built on zany outfits and misspelt song titles. Their first hit came with a rock'n'roll cover, Get Down And Get With It, but their chart domination was built thereafter on original rockers written by Holder and Jim Lea - including the classic glam rock hits Coz I Luv You, Gudbuy T'Jane, Cum On Feel The Noize and the joyous anthem, Merry Christmas Everybody. In 1973 the band starred in the classic Slade In Flame movie, the same year that drummer Don Powell survived a major road crash (in which his girlfriend was killed). And when the hits stopped coming after the punk revolution of the late 1970s, Slade was adopted as cult heroes by heavy metal fans after a gig at the 1980 Reading Festival. In 1991 they effectively split, although Powell and Hill re-formed as Slade 2 with a new line-up that continues to tour.