Don Powell

Born: 10 September 1946 (age 78); Bilston, West Midlands, England
Website: http://www.donpowellofficial.com/

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.

{snip}

Noddy Holder

Neville John "Noddy" Holder MBE (born 15 June 1946) is an English musician and actor. He was the lead singer and rhythm guitarist of the English band Slade, one of the UK's most successful acts of the 1970s. Holder co-wrote most of Slade's material with bass guitarist Jim Lea and is known for his unique and powerful voice.

{snip}


Holder in his stage gear, in 1973, with Dave Hill behind him

{snip}

Jim Lea (musician)


Lea appearing with Slade on AVRO's TopPop in 1973

Born: 14 June 1949 (age 75); Wolverhampton, Staffordshire, England
Website: www.jimleamusic.com

James Whild Lea (born 14 June 1949) is an English musician, most notable for playing bass guitar, keyboards, piano, violin, and guitar, and singing backing vocals in Slade from their inception until 1992, and for co-writing most of their songs.

Slade



Slade in 1973. Left to right: Jim Lea, Don Powell, Noddy Holder, Dave Hill

Website: slade.uk.com

Slade are an English rock band from Wolverhampton. 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 & Albums names them as the most successful British group of the 1970s based on sales of singles. They were the first act to have three singles enter the charts at number one; all six of the band's chart-toppers were penned by Noddy Holder and Jim Lea. As of 2006, total UK sales stand at 6,520,171, and their best-selling single, "Merry Xmas Everybody", has sold in excess of one million copies. According to the 1999 BBC documentary It's Slade, the band have sold over 50 million records worldwide.

Dave Hill

David John "Dave" Hill (born 4 April 1946) is an English musician, who is the lead guitarist and backing vocalist in the English glam rock group, Slade. Hill is known for his flamboyant stage clothes and hairstyle. The music journalist Stuart Maconie commented "he usually wore a jumpsuit made of the foil that you baste your turkeys in and platforms of oil-rig-derrick height. All of this though paled in comparison with his coiffure, a sort of demented tonsure with a great scooping fringe. He even had one outfit around 1973 famously called his 'Metal Nun' suit but later styles were much toned down."

‘Mr Jolly’ Slade guitarist Dave Hill opens up about his years of depression

WITH his trademark hairstyle, flamboyant outfits and outrageous on-stage persona, to his millions of fans guitarist Dave Hill always seemed to be the life and soul of the party.

By CAROL DAVIS

PUBLISHED: 08:57, Tue, Nov 28, 2017 | UPDATED: 09:31, Tue, Nov 28, 2017

“I’m always smiling and people tell me I look as though I never have a bad day,” says Dave, 71, best known as one of the founding members of Seventies glam rock group Slade.

Yet despite selling millions of records – their classic Christmas anthem Merry Xmas Everybody has charted every year since 1973 – Dave has battled depression on and off for more than 10 years.

His newly released autobiography, So Here It Is, which charts more than 50 years in the music industry, also reveals his struggle to recover from the stroke he suffered four years ago and then an accident which badly damaged his arm.

Dave, who lives near Wolverhampton with wife Jan, first experienced depression 10 years ago after surgery for a double hernia. ... “I was really in a dark hole and on medication,” admits the father of three grown-up children – Jade, Bibi and Sam – and grandfather of three.

{snip}



Dave Hill in the 1970s

‘Dave Hill of Slade’

PUBLISHED AUGUST 8, 2013



Dave Hill of Slade

Musikladen

Der Musikladen (German: The Music Shop) was a West German music television programme that ran from 13 December 1972 to 29 November 1984. The show continued the 1960s Beat-Club under a new name, and in turn was replaced by Extratour.

"Merry Xmas Everybody"



B-side "Don't Blame Me"
Released 7 December 1973

"Merry Xmas Everybody" is a song by the British rock band Slade, released as a non-album single in 1973. The song was written by lead vocalist Noddy Holder and bassist Jim Lea, and produced by Chas Chandler. It was the band's sixth and final number-one single in the UK. Earning the UK Christmas number one slot in December 1973, the song beat another Christmas-themed song, Wizzard's "I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday", which reached fourth place. It remained in the charts for nine weeks until February 1974.