| "Rock 'n' Roll Bolero" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Slade | ||||
| B-side | "It's Alright Buy Me" | |||
| Released | 6 October 1978 [1] | |||
| Genre | Rock | |||
| Length | 3:50 | |||
| Label | Barn | |||
| Songwriter(s) | ||||
| Producer(s) | Slade | |||
| Slade singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"Rock 'n' Roll Bolero" is a song by English rock band Slade, released in 1978 as a non-album single. It was written by lead vocalist Noddy Holder and bassist Jim Lea, and was produced by Slade. The song failed to make an appearance in the UK Singles Chart.
"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. [2] [3] It was the first single the band had produced themselves, instead of by their manager and producer of nine years, Chas Chandler.
In a radio interview conducted backstage at the Watford nightclub Baileys in September 1978, Noddy Holder spoke of the song and the band's decision to produce the song themselves,
"It's the first single we produced ourselves. We felt we were [in] a bit of a stalemate and we had a chat with Chas [Chandler] who has produced our records for the last nine years. We talked it over and Chas said to us, 'It's about time you started producing yourselves [and] get into the production side of it.' What we wanted to do was to make a record, the next single, [which would] give people a shock and I think that's what we've achieved with 'Rock 'n' Roll Bolero'. I think people are going to say 'that don't sound like Slade', but it's a commercial sound and it's very different for us. We've used a lot of violin on it and things like that, and it's just not us." [4]
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." [5]
"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. The single was another commercial disappointment and was Slade's fourth since 1976 not to enter the UK Singles Chart. [6]
Upon its release, Steve Gett of Record Mirror 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." [7] John Pidgeon of Melody Maker 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." [8] Geoff Ginsberg of AllMusic, 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". [9]
7-inch single (UK, Germany and Belgium) [10]
7-inch single (France) [11]
Slade
Production
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 & Albums names them 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 more than 50 million records worldwide.
Slayed? is the third studio album by the British rock group Slade. It was released in November 1972 and reached No. 1 in the UK. It remained on the chart for 34 weeks and was certified Silver in early 1973. The album was also the band's most successful of the 1970s in the US, peaking at No. 69 and remaining in the charts for 26 weeks. In Australia, the album reached No. 1 and went Gold, knocking the band's live album Slade Alive! to No. 2. Slayed? was produced by Chas Chandler.
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Slade Alive, Vol. 2 is the second live album by the British rock band Slade. It was released on 27 October 1978 and did not enter the charts. Titled as the follow-up to the band's commercially and critically successful 1972 album Slade Alive!, the performances on Slade Alive, Vol. 2 were taken from the band's autumn 1976 tour of the United States and their spring 1977 UK tour. The album was produced by Chas Chandler.
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"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 it was 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.
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