"The Bangin' Man" is a song by the British rock band

Slade Slade are a rock band formed in Wolverhampton, England 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 Singl ...

, released in 1974 as a non-album single. It was written by lead vocalist

Noddy Holder Neville John "Noddy" Holder (born 15 June 1946) is an English musician, songwriter and actor. He was the lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the English rock band Slade, one of the UK's most successful acts of the 1970s. Known for his disti ...

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. H ...

. It reached No. 3 in the UK, remaining in the charts for seven weeks. The song was certified UK Silver by BPI for sales over 250,000 that same year.Slade Fan Club Newsletter August - September 1974

Background

After the release of " Everyday" as a single in March 1974, the band soon returned to the studio to record a follow-up. Returning to a more rock-based sound, "The Bangin' Man" was released in June 1974. It reached No. 3 in the UK, giving the band their twelfth UK hit. "The Bangin' Man" was written while the band were touring Australia. The song's lyrics refer to Slade's tour manager Graham "Swinn" Swinnerton, who had the job of waking each band member up in their hotel rooms, ready to head on to the next destination of their tour.

Release

"The Bangin' Man" was released on 7" vinyl by Polydor Records in the UK, Ireland, across Europe, Scandinavia, Yugoslavia, America, Australia, New Zealand and Japan. The B-side, "She Did It to Me", was exclusive to the single and would later appear on the band's 2007 compilation ''

B-Sides The A-side and B-side are the two sides of vinyl records and cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a single usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or ...

''. Although the song was a non-album single elsewhere, "The Bangin' Man" was included on the United States Warner Bros. Records release of ''

Slade in Flame ''Slade in Flame'' (also known as ''Flame'') is a 1975 musical film starring the British rock band Slade. It was directed by Richard Loncraine and written by Andrew Birkin with additional dialogue by Dave Humphries. The film includes supporting ...

'' in 1975.

Promotion

No music video was filmed to promote the single. The band performed the song on the UK ITV show ''Supersonic'' and the German TV show ''Disco''. The band also performed the song on the Dutch AVRO TV show ''

TopPop ''TopPop'' was a Dutch television programme. It was 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 ...

''. The song was not performed on the UK music show ''

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

'' due to a BBC strike.

Critical reception

Upon release, ''

Record Mirror ''Record Mirror'' was a British weekly music newspaper published between 1954 and 1991, aimed at pop fans and record collectors. Launched two years after ''New Musical Express'', it never attained the circulation of its rival. The first UK Album ...

'' described the song as a "dramatically direct commercial song" with "plenty of space for guitar work". '' Sounds'' commented: "Slade are getting very good at getting the details right these days. All the playing is excellent; strong direct drumming, forceful bass and some lead guitar that would knock spots off some of our guitar heroes, and Noddy is singing better than he has ever before." In a retrospective review of ''Slade in Flame'', Geoff Ginsberg of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

said the song was "definitely one of Slade's best, and worth seeking out on a greatest-hits CD."

Track listing

;7" Single #"The Bangin' Man" - 4:10 #"She Did it to Me" - 3:16

Personnel

;Slade *

- lead vocals, rhythm guitar * Dave Hill - lead guitar, backing vocals * Jim Lea - bass, 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, from 1966 until he was dismissed by Dave Hill in 2020. Early life Powell was born in Bil ...

- drums ;Additional personnel *

- producer

Charts

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bangin Man 1974 singles Slade songs Songs written by Noddy Holder Songs written by Jim Lea Song recordings produced by Chas Chandler 1974 songs Polydor Records singles