"Little Sheila" is a song by English 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 1985 as the fourth and final single from the band's twelfth studio album, ''

Rogues Gallery A rogues' gallery (or rogues gallery) is a police collection of mug shots or other images of criminal suspects kept for identification purposes. History In 1855, Allan Pinkerton, founder of the Pinkerton National Detective Agency, established a ...

''. The song 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 was produced by

John Punter John Punter (born 27 January 1949) is a former English record producer and recording engineer. He has worked with many bands and musicians, such as Japan, Procol Harum, Roxy Music, Doctors of Madness, Sad Café and Slade. His career in music span ...

. In North America, "Little Sheila" was released by

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

as the album's only single. The song received strong airplay in the US, and reached number 13 on the ''Billboard''

Top Rock Tracks Mainstream Rock is a music chart in '' Billboard'' magazine that ranks the most-played songs on mainstream rock radio stations in the United States, a category that combines the formats of active rock and heritage rock. The chart was launched in ...

chart and number 16 on the '' Radio & Records'' AOR Tracks chart. "Little Sheila" was also the band's last entry on the '' Billboard'' Hot 100, where it reached number 86. In Germany, the song was issued by

RCA The RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded as the Radio Corporation of America in 1919. It was initially a patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse, AT&T Corporation and United Fruit Comp ...

as the fourth and final single from ''Rogues Gallery''.

Music video

The song's music video was directed by

Nick Morris Nick Morris is a British film maker better known for directing music videos in the 1980's. Career Nick Morris began writing and making amateur films at school, one of which was shown at the NFT. His professional career began in the 1980s with ...

and produced by Scott Millaney and Fiona O'Mahoney. It achieved breakout rotation on MTV. The video features the band performing the song as part of a stage play, ''The Tragedy of Little Sheila'', which follows the story of the titular character. The video is broken down into five acts: * Act one – The Dark and Stormy Night * Act two – Alone in Dollar City * Act three – The Decline of Sheila * Act four – A Strange Encounter * Act five – Saved by the Law Guitarist

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 ...

borrowed his old trademark "Superyob" guitar from

Adam and the Ants Adam and the Ants were an English rock band formed in London in 1977. The group existed in two incarnations, both fronted by Adam Ant, over the period 1977 to 1982. The first, founded in May 1977 and known simply as The Ants until November of t ...

' guitarist

Marco Pirroni Marco Francesco Andrea Pirroni (born 27 April 1959, London, England) frequently credited simply as Marco, is a British guitarist, songwriter and record producer. He has worked with Adam Ant, Sinéad O'Connor, Siouxsie and the Banshees and man ...

for the video.

Critical reception

Upon its release in the US, Nancy Erlich of '' Billboard'' commented, "Proto-metallists are still bashing away, raucous and good-natured as ever." The radio programming guide '' The Friday Morning Quarterback Album Report'' remarked, "Predictability and consistency typically present themselves in the form of a double-edged sword – thus any new Slade offering required far more intellectualizing than one might initially realize. After much thought and debate, our experts have concluded that when it comes to power pop dynamics Mr. Holder's unique vocal presentation does in fact make the critical difference. We, therefore, unequivocally advocate prompt and thorough rotation for 'Little Sheila'." ''

Creem ''Creem'' (often stylized in all caps) is a monthly American music magazine, based in Detroit, whose main print run lasted from 1969 to 1989. It was first published in March 1969 by Barry Kramer and founding editor Tony Reay. Influential crit ...

'' noted that Slade "can still knock off the catchy rock ditty, playing hooky as usual with 'Little Sheila'".

Formats

7-inch single (North America) #"Little Sheila" – 3:56 #" Lock Up Your Daughters" – 3:28 7-inch Single (Germany) #"Little Sheila" – 3:54 #"Time to Rock" – 4:08 12-inch Single (Germany) #"Little Sheila" (Extended Version) – 4:31 #"Time to Rock" – 4:08

Personnel

Slade *

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

– lead guitar, backing vocals *

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 th ...

– drums Production *

– production ("Little Sheila") * Jim Lea – production ("Lock Up Your Daughters", "Time to Rock") Other * Image Bank – photography on RCA sleeve * Mainartery – sleeve design of RCA sleeve

Charts

References

{{authority control 1985 songs 1985 singles Slade songs CBS Records singles RCA Records singles Songs written by Noddy Holder Songs written by Jim Lea Song recordings produced by John Punter