Live at Reading (EP)

"Live at Reading"
Single by Slade
Released 26 September 1980
Format 7" Single
Genre Rock
Length 13:14
Label Cheapskate Records
Writer(s) Noddy Holder; Jim Lea; Bonfire; Cochran; Dexter; Hill; Powell; Sheeley
Producer(s) Slade
Slade singles chronology
"Six of the Best (EP)"
(1980)		 "Live at Reading (EP)"
(1980)		 "Xmas Ear Bender (EP)"
(1980)

"Live at Reading" is rock band Slade's second extended play (EP) from 1980. The three tracks that appeared on the album were taken from Slade's live performance at the Reading festival on 24 August 1980. Ozzy Osbourne, during his Blizzard of Ozz tour, cancelled his set at the Reading Festival at short notice. The band stole the festival and quickly became popular again.[1] As a result, this EP peaked at #44 in the UK and remained in the charts for 5 weeks.[2]

The EP features the Holder and Lea penned "When I'm Dancin' I Ain't Fightin'" along with a cover of "Born to Be Wild" and three merged tracks: "Somethin' Else", "Pistol Packin' Mama" and "Keep a Rollin'". The track "Somethin' Else" was a 1959 song by the rockabilly musician Eddie Cochran, who wrote it himself, with a co-writer credit to his girlfriend Sharon Sheele, although Sheele isn't given a writing credit on the E.P. "Pistol Packin' Mama" was written in 1942 by country musician Al Dexter and originally performed by Bing Crosby and the Andrews Sisters. On the E.P., Dexter's name is incorrectly titled 'Bexter'. "Keep a Rollin'" was written by Slade themselves.

When I'm Dancin' was later covered by The Wall and The Dummies which was a project of Slade's bassist Jim Lea.[3]

Background

In a 1986 interview for the Slade fan club, Dave Hill described his experience of the Reading Festival: "One heck of an experience, 'cos I wasn't going to do that gig. Slade manager Chas Chandler talked me into it, which I will always say was one of the best things he ever did for me. I thought we were going to get booed off, and I was any way getting involved with my wedding business. I remember Tommy Vance came into the dressing room and said "You're going to go down great". We said, "Well we hope to do okay", 'cos we're not the sort of band that pre-judges things, although we do have an inner confidence in ourselves. We walked on stage and there was this roar from the crowd. I thought "that's pretty good". We went into the first number (Dizzy Mamma) and I could see the reporters looking at us. I was dreading the end of the first number, as that is the point at which we can usually tell how a show is going to go. As it happens, I think we went straight into "My Baby Left Me", so we didn't really wait or a reaction. The confidence came when there was a reaction, as it built and built, sort of got bigger and bigger. I mean getting that lot to sing "Merry Xmas Everybody" was amazing. I could see Chas at the side grinning. Tommy Vance played the recording of Slade at Reading the other week and I thought that was great. I got excited listening to that. I was lying in bed listening to it and going "crikey, there's bits out of tune, there's bits of fun and it sounds great". I took my mind into Reading and imagined us playing." [4]

In 1980, Noddy Holder was interviewed for the Slade fan club newsletter, he was asked about how the idea for an extended play came along. "Well, it was just a matter of fact really. The BBC recorded the whole of the Reading Festival, we went down amazingly well. Tommy Vance played 40 minutes of our set on his show and got a fantastic response from it - thus it was public reaction really that prompted us to release something from the Reading Festival."[5][6]

Also in the interview, Holder spoke about the reaction of the track "When I'm Dancin' I Ain't Fightin'", before and after the Reading Festival. "You've seen the reaction on "When I'm Dancin' I Ain't Fightin'" now - when we first brought the track out on the "Six of the Best EP", it didn't see the light of day as far as charts were concerned - but now it's on the Reading EP and all the crowds are singing it! The turning point has been that we have been doing our songs in a live manner - and it seems to be working. I don't know whether it's good or bad that we have to do this, but the live thing has always been our main strong-point. "Get Down and Get With It" was our first hit because it had basically a live feel to it, the same applies to "When I'm Dancin' I Ain't Fightin'" from Reading.[7][8][9]

In a November 1980 Sounds magazine interview with Holder and Lea, Sounds magazine stated the EP "deserves your attention." They also described "When I'm Dancin' I Ain't Fightin'" as "smashing sledgehammer pop in the grand old tradition."[10][11]

The interview also mentioned the EP again, "The entire show was recorded by the BBC for broadcasting on the Friday Rock Show. Forty-five minutes of Slade's set was aired. Slade just had to release something from it, they had so many requests. 'When I'm Dancing' and 'Born To Be Wild' were the selected songs, an arrangement was struck with the Beeb and the EP appeared on Lea's own Cheapskate Records label. It's currently jostling around the top forty as well as making a fleeting though high appearance in our own HM chart."[10][11]

Track listing

  1. "When I'm Dancin' I Ain't Fightin'" (Holder/Lea)
  2. "Born to Be Wild" (Bonfire)
  3. "Somethin' Else, Pistol Packin' Mama, Keep a Rollin'" (Slade/Dexter/Cochran/Sheeley)

Chart performance

Chart (1980) Peak
position		 Total
weeks
UK Singles Chart[12] 44 5

Personnel

Additional personnel

References

  1. ↑ Slade's remastered album We'll Bring The House Down booklet
  2. ↑ http://www.officialcharts.com/artist/30945/slade/
  3. ↑ "SLADE @ www.slayed.co.uk". Crazeeworld.plus.com. Retrieved 2011-08-10.
  4. ↑ "SLADE @ www.slayed.co.uk". Crazeeworld.plus.com. Retrieved 2011-08-10.
  5. ↑ http://sladefanclub.weebly.com/uploads/7/6/6/0/7660950/4397002_orig.jpg
  6. ↑ Slade Fan Club Newsletter November–December 1980
  7. ↑ http://sladefanclub.weebly.com/uploads/7/6/6/0/7660950/7694077_orig.jpg
  8. ↑ Slade Fan Club Newsletter November–December 1980
  9. ↑ http://sladefanclub.weebly.com/uploads/7/6/6/0/7660950/7960210_orig.jpg
  10. 1 2 "Related Links". Timesup.dsl.pipex.com. 2005-10-29. Retrieved 2011-08-10.
  11. 1 2 Sounds Magazine 15 November 1980 - Back From The Dead - Steve Keaton meets Noddy Holder and Jim Lea of Slade
  12. ↑ http://www.officialcharts.com/artist/30945/slade/
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