"Wheels Ain't Coming Down" is a song by the British rock band Slade, released in 1979 as the opening track from their eighth studio album ''

Return to Base ''Return to Base'' is the eighth studio album by the British rock group Slade. It was released on 1 October 1979 by Barn Records, and did not enter any national album charts. At the time of the album's release, the band's success had waned and ...

''. 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 produced by Slade. In 1981, the song re-appeared on the band's follow-up album '' We'll Bring the House Down'' and was released as the second single from it in March, which reached No. 60 in the UK.

Background

"Wheels Ain't Coming Down" was released as the opening track on ''Return to Base'', which was a commercial failure in 1979; a period when the band's popularity was low. The song also appeared on the 1980 extended play ''

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'', which also failed to chart. In 1980, the band's fortunes were revived after a performance at Reading Festival. To capitalise on the new interest in the band, the album ''We'll Bring the House Down'' was released in March 1981, which featured a number of tracks re-used from ''Return to Base'', including "Wheels Ain't Coming Down". Following up the Top Ten hit " We'll Bring the House Down", the band decided to release "Wheels Ain't Coming Down" as a single in March 1981. It reached No. 60, lasting three weeks on the chart. "Wheels Ain't Coming Down" tells the tale of a near-death flying experience suffered by Holder and Lea when travelling to Los Angeles. In a 1981 interview with ''Daily Star'', Holder recalled: "Jim and I were on the way to a radio station when the captain told us he could not get the wheels down to land. We were diverted to another airport for a crash landing. It's not a great feeling knowing you might have only 45 minutes left in life. We drank all the booze there was going. Happily the pilot brought the plane down safely."

Release

"Wheels Ain't Coming Down" was released on 7" vinyl by

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in the UK only. The first 20,000 copies of the single were issued with a picture sleeve. The B-side, "Not Tonight Josephine", was previously the B-side to the 1979 single " Sign of the Times".

Music video

A music video was filmed, however it was never shown at the time of single's release. It was directed by Eric Boliski. The video was filmed on the afternoon of 10 March 1981 at the Southampton Gaumont, prior to the band's concert there that evening. Fans of the band first saw the video on a bootleg DVD that was produced as part of the 'One More Time' DVD. Uber fans Mark Richards and Steve Knight forwarded the Video tape on to Slade In England where David Graham re edited and cleaned up the VHS tape. A DVD was produced and distributed amongst those Slade fans in the know.

Critical reception

In a review of ''Return to Base'', '' Wolverhampton Express and Star'' described the song as a "power-packed churning song with a catchy hook line". Geoff Ginsberg 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 ...

ranked the song among the band's best work. He described it as "infectious to the degree that humming tcould become a chronic problem". Upon release as a single in 1981, ''

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 ...

'' felt the song had an "uncharacteristic musical sophistication" for Slade. ''

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'' described it as "dull, heavy-handed melodrama", adding there is "lots of whizz-bang sound effects but precious little inspiration". ''

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 ...

'' said the song was a disappointing follow-up to "We'll Bring the House Down": "After a few hearings you realise it's just plain bad". ''

Melody Maker ''Melody Maker'' was a British weekly music magazine, one of the world's earliest music weeklies; according to its publisher, IPC Media, the earliest. It was founded in 1926, largely as a magazine for dance band musicians, by Leicester-born ...

'' said the song was "more tautly constructed" than its predecessor and "not so insanely vigorous". They added that the chorus is "maddeningly infectious".

Track listing

;7" Single #"Wheels Ain't Coming Down" – 3:37 #"Not Tonight Josephine" – 3:03

Chart performance

Personnel

– lead vocals, rhythm guitar, producer, arranger *

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, producer, arranger * Jim Lea – bass, backing vocals, producer, arranger *

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, producer, arranger

References

{{Authority control 1981 singles Slade songs Songs written by Noddy Holder Songs written by Jim Lea 1979 songs Song recordings produced by Jim Lea Song recordings produced by Noddy Holder Song recordings produced by Dave Hill Song recordings produced by Don Powell