''Slades Greats'' is a compilation album 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 ...

. It was released by Polydor on 12 May 1984 and reached No. 89 in the UK charts. The compilation, a revised re-issue of the 1980 compilation ''

Slade Smashes! ''Slade Smashes'' is a compilation album by the British rock band Slade. It was released 1 November 1980 and reached No. 21 on the UK charts. The album was issued by Polydor in the wake of new interest in the band following their successful appe ...

'', was released following the band's late 1983-early 1984 success with the singles " My Oh My" and "

Run Runaway "Run Runaway" is a song by the British rock band Slade, released in 1984 as the third single from the band's eleventh studio album ''The Amazing Kamikaze Syndrome'', and the lead single from the album's US counterpart ''Keep Your Hands Off My Pow ...

". ''Slades Greats'' contains sixteen tracks, all of which were hit singles from the 1970s. The track-listing is the same as on ''Slade Smashes!'' but with the exclusion of four songs; "

Gypsy Roadhog "Gypsy Roadhog" is a song by the British rock band Slade, released in 1977 as the only single from the band's seventh studio album ''Whatever Happened to Slade''. It was written by lead vocalist Noddy Holder and bassist Jim Lea, and produced by ...

", " In for a Penny", "

Give Us a Goal "Give Us a Goal" is a song by the British rock band Slade, released in 1978 as a non-album single. It was written by lead vocalist Noddy Holder and bassist Jim Lea, and produced by Chas Chandler. A football-themed song, it failed to chart on the ...

" and " My Baby Left Me/That's Alright Mama".

Background

In November 1980, the band's former label Polydor released ''Slade Smashes'' in the wake of new interest in the band following their performance at the 1980

Reading Festival The Reading and Leeds Festivals are a pair of annual music festivals that take place in Reading and Leeds in England. The events take place simultaneously on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday of the August bank holiday weekend. The Reading Festiv ...

. The album was a success in the UK, reaching No. 21 and gaining a Gold certification in December for selling 200,000 copies. Later in December 1983, the band reached No. 2 with their single "My Oh My" and No. 7 with "Run Runaway" in February 1984. The success of these two singles prompted Polydor to re-issue a revised version of ''Slade Smashes!'', re-titled ''Slades Greats''. Released in May 1984, the compilation, issued on vinyl and cassette, was released in the UK, across Europe and beyond, including New Zealand, Mexico and Canada. It reached No. 89 in the UK.

Track listing

Critical reception

Upon release, ''

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 ...

'' said: "For many moons, Slade were the ultimate in down-to-earth rock 'n' roll knees-ups, and to my mind (and there are few finer), their definitely boisterous brand of Big Grin pop-with-balls has never been bettered, nor ear drums so merrily battered. So any album spanning 16 Slade smashes has gotta be a trusty must, right? Well yes, except the last time I reviewed this album was four years ago when it was called ''Slade Smashes!'' and came with exactly the same tracks in exactly the same running order only with an extra two songs on each side. In other words, Polydor are trying to wring a few bob out of their back catalogue now the noise boys have moved on to labels and chart successes new. So long-standing Slade slaves should fink before you buy. This is an album of more use to entirely new fans who've got a lot of catching up to do. You lucky sods."

Chart performance

Personnel

;Slade *

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 ...

– 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, piano, violin, 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 the ...

– drums ;Additional personnel *

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 ...

- producer

References

{{Authority control 1984 compilation albums Slade compilation albums Polydor Records compilation albums