After conquering the British pop charts with a string of hit singles in the early 1970's (songs with lovingly misspelled titles like "Cum On Feel The Noize" and "Mama Weer All Crazee Now" were among the band's six # 1 British hits), those loveable glam-rockers Slade were talked into making a movie.

With their fans expecting some crazy wackiness ala The Beatles, the boys in the band decided instead to make a serious film about the music business in which they would play a fictional foursome called Flame.

The film was a moderate hit in England and a quick flop in the USA (the band wouldn't have any U. S. Top 40 hits until the 1980's when tunes like "Run Runaway" and "My Oh My" finally cracked the upper realms of the U. S. pop charts).

The film "Slade In Flame" is very British (language, accents, etc.), so much so that when released in the U. S. it included subtitles so American audiences could understand what the four "yobboes" from Wolverhampton, England, were saying in their native spoken dialogue (as the saying goes, "We are seperated by a common language").

If you pay attention, the guys actually are pretty easy to understand, at least to me, but the average American may not be aware of the different meanings some words have in the two countries (an elevator is called a "lift" in England, for instance).

The film was such a flop stateside that it never made it to a theater near me in 1975 when it was released in the U. S. It never was released in the U. S. on videotape. It has, however, been available in a videotape format that is not playable on U. S. video players for many years now (the British use a different video system than the United States does so British videos can't be played on American systems).

Finally, though, the film has been released on DVD in the U. S. by the good folks at Shout! Factory (http://www.shoutfactory.com), meaning I can finally see the movie for the first time (I was 17 when the film came out in 1974, so I wasn't going to let 30 years of waiting to finally see the film and a bit of aging years stand in the way of buying this 2004 U. S. release).

The cast:

The members of Slade --- lead singer/guitarist Noddy Holder, bassist Jim Lea, lead guitarist Dave Hill and drummer Don Powell --- had been together as a band, under different band names, for some eight years when they made "Slade In Flame" in 1974 (they would remain a band for some 25 years before splitting in the early 1990's).

It's impressive to note that this film was the band's members very first film as actors (the lads were offered a second film after this one, a comedy, but turned it down). Noddy Holder (he later starred in British TV's "The Grimleys" and he was also knighted by the Queen of England a few years ago for his entertainment work) is the most effective of the group as an actor, even in his first acting role.

Also in the film are Tom Conti (Tony Award winner for "Whose Life Is It Anyway?" and an Oscar nominee for "Reuben, Reuben"), Johnny Shannon (whose many credits include Mick Jagger's film "Performance") and Alan Lake (whose credits include The Dave Clark 5 film "Having A Wild Weekend"). This is also Conti's first film role.

The crew:

"Slade In Flame" was the first directing gig for Richard Loncraine, who later won an Emmy as one of the directors of HBO's "Band Of Brothers" mini-series and who was also Emmy-nominated for the TV movie "The Gathering Storm."

The original screenplay is by Andrew Birkin, Oscar-nominated for the 1983 short film, "Sredni vashtar." He has also won the Silver Berlin Bear from the Berlin International Film Festival in 1993 for the film "The Cement Garden."

The executive producers are a Chas Chandler and John Steel, both former members of the rock group The Animals ("House Of The Rising Sun"). Chandler was Slade's manager and producer at the time. Chandler previously had been manager/producer of guitarist Jimi Hendrix.

The story:

Like Tom Hanks' "That Thing You Do" more than 20 years later, this is a film about a fictional rock band (Hanks used actors to play his fictional group). Though the band looks and sounds like Slade, the group's members insist the story is about a fictional rock band called Flame, with Slade's members as actors portraying the band.

The easiest route for Slade would have been to make a wacky film like "A Hard Day's Night." Instead, Slade, at the urging of Holder, decided to make a film that is at once dark and yet refreshingly honest in its portrayal of the music business.

The film isn't a Slade bio pic. The fictional band, Flame, portrayed by Slade in the film shows us numerous true events that the rockers had heard over the years on the road that had happened to other bands --- to "keep it real," Slade and executive producer Chas Chandler (the ex-Animal and ex-manager of Hendrix) tossed these stories to the film's screenwriter, who in turn used the best stories for the film's fictional bands.

The acting:

Noddy Holder and Jim Lea play off each other in scenes of anger that seem all too real at times. As the songwriting team within Slade, the two players were often at odds --- they use this internal competition in the film very effectively.

Guitarist Dave Hill comes across as a loveable, always grinning (he has a natural, very toothy George Harrison ("A Hard Day's Night") look on screen) lad, while drummer Don Powell is equally loveable as the band's comedian buffoon. Powell's performance is remarkable --- he was suffering from short-term memory loss due to a car accident the previous year, yet he delivers his lines very well (Holder tells us in bonus footage that Powell would learn lines for one take, but have to re-learn the lines for each additional take due to his memory loss).

Holder has the best performance of any band member in the film, in my opinion. In one hilarious opening scene, he is the lead singer of a band called The Undertakers whose lead singer likes to start his performances by singing from a closed coffin.

Tom Conti's record company executive is on the money. When the members of Flame are finally offered a record deal because their concerts are drawing thousands of kids to small venues, the band asks him, "Have you even heard us?" Conti does nothing to massage their egos --- he tells them he could be selling any product, because all he's interested in is selling a product, so what the band sounds like is unimportant.

Johnny Shannon's performance as an agent is properly menacing. The band is his meal ticket and he'll have the band due anything, including visit a pirate radio station at sea, to sell records (and he seems to enjoy getting his points across by pulling Holder's long hair in the film).

Alan Lake's performance as an ego-driven lead singer is a cross between a wedding singer and Gary Glitter (without the glam-rock sparkles). You also have to love a drunken character named Jack Daniels!

The film:

The film was shot on location over a period of eight weeks (total production time cost the band some 18 months out of the music limelight as Slade was in pre-production and post-production, including writing the film's music and making a sountrack album to support the film's release).

The wide-screen format helps the film, which has been digitally restored from the original prints (some scenes are rather grainy, but do not detract from the film's appearance, in my view). The colors are vividly reproduced (as Flame, the guys in Slade wore some stunning, colorful outfits in the film).

The concert footage is as authentic as any on film, with Slade's enthusiastic teen-aged fans holding up the "Flame" banners that dot the crowd scenes and chanting "we want Flame" in place of calls for "Slade." I don't think you could portray the same genuine passion in an audience of extras in a film that you obtain from people genuinely in love with a band.

Recommendation:

While not as good as The Beatles' in "A Hard Day's Night," the film is equal to "The Commitments" and "That Thing You Do," in my opinion, and better than The Monkees' "Head" (a somewhat likeable, if bizarre, 1968 feature film).

The plot is pretty common now in films, but in 1974 when the movie was being filmed the story would have been new. Instead of a "rags-to-riches," rock music solves all problems film, "Slade In Flame" offers us an inside look at the business side of things. Rock music as nothing more than a commodity to be sold was a novel concept then, but seems increasingly the way the business has gone in the last few decades, and the film wins points for its honesty here.

The film's appeal will be mostly with fans of the band. It is a time capsule of 1974 every bit as much as "American Graffitti" was time travel trip to 1962, and there is appeal in that as well. Some scenes are visually stunning.

The main problem for American audiences may be the heavy British accents in the film, but if you like a good rock 'n' roll tale or were a fan of glam-rock (T. Rex, David Bowie, The Sweet), this may be your type of film. I enjoyed the film very much, but I'm a huge fan of Slade as well.

Still, the British accents won't be a problem for movie-goers exposed to Monty Python's Flying Circus over the years (some of the humor in "Slade In Flame" is of the Python-ish variety, I might add).

The soundtrack music --- a mixed bag. At their best (such as the Top 20 British hits from the film, "How Does It Feel?" and "Far Far Away") the band is outstanding, but some of the tunes are pretty weak even by 1974 standards. But, hey, I'll take any type of rock music over disco any day.

The 50-minute bonus interview with Noddy Holder is priceless and highly entertaining --- Holder is never boring and his behind-the-scenes stories are to be adored.

Other critics' comments on "Slade In Flame":

"The Times" (United Kingdom) said, "A lost treasure... This cult classic arrives on DVD with its reputation intact as one of the best and bleakest rock films made."

MOJO magazine, a British music publication, hailed the film's British release last year as "one of the Top 10 DVDs of 2003."

Dave Simpson of "The Guardian," another British publication, said the film is "more stunning than almost any other rock film."

On the web:

"Beginnings/Play It Loud" combines two early Slade LPs onto a single CD with bonus tracks. The 26 tracks have a total running time of over 77 minutes: http://www.epinions.com/content_338701356676

"The Genesis Of Slade," an hour-long CD featuring the four bands that eveolved into Slade: http://www.epinions.com/content_168815332996

Slade's 2004 U. S. CD release, "Get Yer Boots On: The Best Of Slade": http://www.epinions.com/content_136564870788

Noddy Holder's wonderful book autobiography, "Who's Crazee Now?": http://www.epinions.com/content_93046476420

My review of the band's British CD, "Wall Of HIts": http://www.epinions.com/content_115527356036

Tour dates (the band no longer has Noddy Holder or Jim Lea): http://users.swing.be/amazingslade/slade_special_events_tour_dates.htm

Official Slade (current group) website: http://users.swing.be/amazingslade/aar02aug03/slade_pictures_01.htm

Official Slade message board: http://pub9.ezboard.com/bslade69487

A list of dozens of Slade websites: http://users.swing.be/amazingslade/slade_links.htm

You might also enjoy these music videos:

The original Alice Cooper Group in the 2005 DVD release "Good To See You Again, Alice Cooper (Live: 1973 Billion Dollar Babies Tour)": http://www.epinions.com/content_215177793156

"Getting The Knack" by The Knack --- a DVD documentary: http://www.epinions.com/content_165075979908

"Badfinger" by Badfinger --- a VHS documentary: http://www.epinions.com/content_57594973828

Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Good for a Rainy Day
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 13 and Older