"Rock 'n' Roll Bolero" is a song by English 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 on 6 October 1978 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 was produced by Slade. The song failed to make an appearance in the UK Singles Chart.

Background

"Rock 'n' Roll Bolero" featured the return of Jim Lea's electric violin; the first time on a Slade single since " Coz I Luv You" in 1971. "Rock 'n' Roll Bolero" was originally recorded on 28 and 29 June 1978 under the working title "I've Been Rejected". The band then re-recorded the song under its final title at Portland Studios in London on 3, 4 and 5 July 1978. It was the first single the band had produced themselves, instead of by their manager and producer of nine years,

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 ...

. In a radio interview conducted backstage at the

Watford Watford () is a town and non-metropolitan district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Hertfordshire, England, northwest of Central London, on the banks of the River Colne, Hertfordshire, River Colne. Initially a smal ...

nightclub Baileys in September 1978,

spoke of the song and the band's decision to produce the song themselves, In a 1979 fan club interview, Lea spoke of the song's reception, "The comment on 'Rock 'n' Roll Bolero' is that it was different for Slade, but it was ordinary compared to everything else that was going around at the time. But I really dig the record myself! You see, when we walk on stage we can rip the arse off straight rock, but we can't do the same with 'Rock 'n' Roll Bolero'. It's great on record, but it's us thinking, it's not us being ourselves."

Release

"Rock 'n' Roll Bolero" was released at a time when Slade, having returned to the UK from the United States in 1976, found themselves out of favour in the UK music scene, particularly with the explosion of

punk rock Punk rock (also known as simply punk) is a rock music genre that emerged in the mid-1970s. Rooted in 1950s rock and roll and 1960s garage rock, punk bands rejected the corporate nature of mainstream 1970s rock music. They typically produced sh ...

. The single was another commercial disappointment and was Slade's fourth since 1976 not to enter the UK Singles Chart. It was released to coincide with the band's October–November UK tour.

Critical reception

Upon its release, Steve Gett of ''

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 ...

'' commented, "A more mellow Slade here: gone are the raucous Noddy Holder vocals and the crashing guitars. The fact remains that they're in dire need of a hit and this could be the one." John Pidgeon of ''

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. In January 2001, it was merged into "long-standing rival" (and IPC Media sister publicatio ...

'' remarked, "Same as ever, apart from the Syn-drum, sole concession to modernity. How can a group who strung so many hits together a few years back fade so completely? It wasn't them who changed, so it must be us." Tony Parsons of ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...

'' noted that Slade "these days occupy the sad netherworld of pop's wasteland" and continued, "Slade seem subdued, Noddy himself is so mellowed that I look forward to the band covering '

Happy Xmas (War Is Over) "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)" is a Christmas song released in 1971 as a single by the Plastic Ono Band with the Harlem Community Choir. It was the seventh single released by John Lennon outside his work with the Beatles. The song reached numb ...

', and any song that rips off

Ravel Joseph Maurice Ravel (7 March 1875 – 28 December 1937) was a French composer, pianist and conductor. He is often associated with Impressionism in music, Impressionism along with his elder contemporary Claude Debussy, although both composer ...

for their hookline-punch has just got to be a load of cobblers." Mike Pryce of the '' Worcester Evening News'' wrote, "Groping in the dark for another hit. Slade have come up with this totally forgettable song that they'll probably want to forget." 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 ...

, in a retrospective review of the bootleg album ''Gospel According to Noddy!'', praised the B-side, "It's Alright Buy Me", as "unbelievably catchy and just cooks".

Formats

7-inch single (UK, Germany and Belgium) #"Rock 'n' Roll Bolero" – 4:04 #"It's Alright Buy Me" – 3:20 7-inch single (France) #"It's Alright Buy Me" – 3:20 #"Rock 'n' Roll Bolero" – 4:04

Personnel

Slade *

– lead vocals, rhythm guitar * Dave Hill – lead guitar, backing vocals * Jim Lea – electric violin, 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 Production * Slade – production ("Rock 'n' Roll Bolero") *

– production ("It's Alright Buy Me")

References

{{Authority control 1978 songs 1978 singles Slade songs Songs written by Noddy Holder Songs written by Jim Lea Song recordings produced by Jim Lea Song recordings produced by Noddy Holder Song recordings produced by Dave Hill Song recordings produced by Don Powell Barn Records singles