Slade
Slade in Flame (Shout! Factory) Though they never broke big in America, Slade were major stars in the UK during the Seventies. This 1974 film, set in the pirate-radio era of the mid-Sixties, recasts Slade as Flame, a hard-luck Midlands act struggling against small-time crooks and cynical promoters to make it in the music biz. Based in part on the experiences of former Animal/Jimi Hendrix manager Chas Chandler, the industrial backdrop of this morality play makes Flame’s slim chance seem that much more distant. Exuding all the glory of an empty nightclub in the middle of the day, this may be the least romantic rock movie ever.
This article appears in December 24 • 2004.
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Greg Beets was born in Lubbock on the day Richard Nixon was elected president. He has covered music for the Chronicle since 1992, writing about everyone from Roky Erickson to Yanni. Beets has also written for Billboard,Uncut, Blurt, Elmore, and Pop Culture Press. Before his digestive tract cried uncle, he co-published Hey! Hey! Buffet!, an award-winning fanzine about all-you-can-eat buffets.
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