"Gudbuy T'Jane" is a song by the British rock band

Slade Slade are an English rock band formed in Wolverhampton in 1966. They rose to prominence during the glam rock era in the early 1970s, achieving 17 consecutive top 20 hits and six number ones on the UK Singles Chart. The ''British Hit Singles ...

, released in 1972 as the second single from their third studio album ''

Slayed? ''Slayed?'' is the third studio album by the British rock group Slade. It was released on 1 November 1972 and reached No. 1 in the UK. It remained on the chart for 34 weeks and was certified Silver in early 1973. The album was also the band's m ...

''. It was written by lead vocalist

Noddy Holder Neville John "Noddy" Holder (born 15 June 1946) is an English musician. He was the lead singer and rhythm guitarist of the English band Slade, one of the UK's most successful acts of the 1970s. Known for his unique and powerful voice, Holder co ...

and bassist Jim Lea, and produced by

Chas Chandler Bryan James "Chas" Chandler (18 December 1938 – 17 July 1996) was an English musician, record producer and manager, best known as the original bassist in The Animals, for which he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994. He ...

. It reached No. 2 in the UK, remaining in the charts for thirteen weeks. The song was certified UK Silver by BPI in 1973. In the United States, the song reached No. 68. It was also included on the band's 1973 compilation album ''

Sladest ''Sladest'' is a compilation album by the British rock band Slade. It was released by Polydor on 28 September 1973 and was certified UK Silver by BPI that month. It remained in the charts for 24 weeks. The album was certified UK Gold by BPI in No ...

''.

Background

During 1972, Slade recorded their third studio album ''Slayed?'', with the lead single "

Mama Weer All Crazee Now "Mama Weer All Crazee Now" is a song by the British rock band Slade, released in 1972 as the lead single from their third studio album ''Slayed?''. It was written by lead vocalist Noddy Holder and bassist Jim Lea, and produced by Chas Chandler. ...

" being released in August that year. The song topped the UK chart and "Gudbuy T'Jane" followed as a single in November, by which time ''Slayed?'' had already been released earlier in the month. "Gudbuy T'Jane" reached No. 2 in the UK. The song reached No. 1 on the ''

New Musical Express ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

'' Chart, and was also Slade's most successful single of the 1970s in the United States, where it reached No. 68. The idea for "Gudbuy T'Jane" came to Lea while the band were on an American tour. He first had the idea for the song while sitting by a pool in San Francisco, and then completed the song in the toilet on the plane flight home. Holder, who finished the lyrics, originally changed "Gudbuy T'Jane" to "Hello T'Jane", however Lea felt his original idea sounded better. The titular character was based on a real-life woman who demonstrated a sex machine on an American TV show on which the band appeared. When recording the song, the band settled on their second take. They attributed the loose feel of the recording to the fact they had not played the song until the day of its recording. In a 1980 interview with ''

Sounds In physics, sound is a vibration that propagates as an acoustic wave, through a transmission medium such as a gas, liquid or solid. In human physiology and psychology, sound is the ''reception'' of such waves and their ''perception'' by the ...

'', Lea said of the band's past hits: "I didn't even like some of those old ones. We all hated "Gudbuy T'Jane" when we made it. It was knocked up in half an hour at the end of one of our studio sessions." In a 1981 fan club interview, drummer

Don Powell Donald George Powell (born 10 September 1946) is an English musician who was the drummer for glam rock and later hard rock group Slade for over fifty years. Early life As a child, Powell joined the Boy Scouts where he became interested in the ...

cited "Gudbuy T'Jane" as one of his favourite Slade songs.

Release

"Gudbuy T'Jane" was released on 7" vinyl by Polydor Records in the UK, Ireland, across Europe, America, Canada, Scandinavia, Yugoslavia, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Argentina, Brazil, Singapore and Japan. The B-side, "I Won't Let It 'Appen Agen", had appeared on ''Slayed?'' as an album track.

Promotion

Two music videos were filmed to promote the single, both of which were filmed by Caravelle. The first portrayed the band as scientists in an observatory, sporting white coats and clipboards. The second film was recorded at the Rainbow Theatre in London on the afternoon before the band's concert there. Performing the song on the stage, the video shows the band's clothes and instruments covered with "I've Been Slayed" stickers. Later during the actual concert, footage of the audience was filmed during the band's performance of their opener "Hear Me Calling" for use in the video. In the UK, the band performed the song on the BBC music show ''

Top of the Pops ''Top of the Pops'' (''TOTP'') is a British Record chart, music chart television programme, made by the BBC and originally broadcast weekly between 1January 1964 and 30 July 2006. The programme was the world's longest-running weekly music show ...

''. The band also performed the song on the German TV show ''Musikladen'' and the Dutch AVRO TV show ''

TopPop ''TopPop'' is the first regular dedicated pop music television series in the Dutch language area. The Netherlands broadcaster AVRO aired the programme weekly, from 22 September 1970, to 27 June 1988. Presenter Ad Visser hosted for its first fift ...

''.

Critical reception

Upon release, ''

Record Mirror ''Record Mirror'' was a British weekly music newspaper between 1954 and 1991 for pop fans and record collectors. Launched two years after the ''NME'', it never attained the circulation of its rival. The first UK album chart was published in ''Re ...

'' commented on the song's "instant power and drive", Holder's "usual gruff efficiency" and the "hustling bass-percussion rhythm".

Danny Holloway Danny is a masculine given name. It is related to the male name Daniel. It may refer to: People * Danny Altmann, British immunologist *Danny Antonucci, Canadian animator, director, producer, and writer *Danny Baker (born 1957), English journal ...

of ''

'' said the song was a "rigid rocker" with a "simple little drum intro as the guitars join in, followed by a ferocious bass line". In a review of the compilation album ''

'', Paul Tinelli of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

included the song as one of the band's "finest moments" and described it as an "arena rocker that would get kids up off their seats".

Track listing

;7" Single # "Gudbuy T'Jane" – 3:31 # "I Won't Let It 'Appen Agen" – 3:15 ;7" Single (US promo) # "Gudbuy T'Jane" – 3:31 # "Gudbuy T'Jane" – 3:31 ;7" Single (Singapore E.P.) # "Gudbuy T'Jane" – 3:31 # "Look At Last Nite" – 3:06 # "Mama Weer All Crazee Now" – 3:45 # "I Won't Let It 'Appen Agen" – 3:15

Chart performance

Personnel

;Slade *

– lead vocals, rhythm guitar *

Dave Hill David John Hill (born 4 April 1946) is an English rock musician. He is the lead guitarist, a backing vocalist and the sole continuous member in the English band Slade. Hill is known for his flamboyant stage clothes and hairstyle. Early life B ...

– lead guitar, backing vocals * Jim Lea – bass, backing vocals *

– drums ;Additional personnel *

– producer

References

{{authority control 1972 songs 1972 singles Slade songs Songs written by Noddy Holder Songs written by Jim Lea Song recordings produced by Chas Chandler