Wall of Hits DVD

The "Wall of Hits" Polygram DVD from 1991 is a treasured item among fans. It runs 55 minutes and includes 14 Slade tunes as well as the band's comments on them.
1. "'Coz I Luv You" is taped live at the German "Beat Club" show in 1971. Jim tells that on their way to the show their ferry got stuck in a force 11 gale. A headline in the Daily Express said, "Slade lost at sea", and Jim's sure that a lot of people would have been glad if the headline had been true. The footage from the show has the guys seeming a bit surprised by their success. They have fun but they concentrate very much on the music.
2. "Gudbuy T'Jane" is taped at the Rainbow Theatre in 1972. Jim tells the old story of how Nod changed Jim's title "Gudbuy T'Jane" to "Hello T'Jane", but that he was out-voted so the song kept Jim's original title. More interesting is it that Jim reveals that he actually nicked the drum intro from the intro to the German TV-show "Hits A Go-Go". The actual concert footage is great, showing the guys on stage when they were really big. This is actually the only concert footage on the whole DVD.
3. "My Friend Stan" is taped in the studio shortly after Don's car crash in 1973. To me this song is a highlight on the DVD with Jim and Nod goofing around and Don "hitting" Dave's head to keep him in sync in the chorus.
4. "Them Kinda Monkeys Can't Swing" is an extract from Slade's film "Flame" from 1974. With his dry wits Don's making fun of his amnesia when commenting on the clip, "I can't remember anything at all." Someone in the background says: "The story of your life," and Don continues, "What's my name?" Also Jim is really funny making a perfect impersonation of actor Tom Conti, revealing that when Conti ruminate with his lines it is because he can't remember them. As for the song itself: watch it in "Flame" instead, as some of the song is cut away in this edition.
5. "Far Far Away" a semi-psychedelic promo video from 1974. Don's quite fun, though.
6. "Thanks For the Memory": promo-video from 1975. Dave reveals that John Bonham, Led Zeppelin-drummer, would have loved to play this song. Funny, as Bonham tried to kill Jim the very same year with a metal top cane because Jim had compared Led Zeppelin to The Stones, and in Bonham's opinion Zeppelin was bigger than any other band on earth. On the DVD Jim tells that the keyboard part in this song is rather complex and although he wrote it he wasn't sure that he could play it that well. Slade had different session players try doing it, but none of them could get near it, so Jim ended up doing it himself. He thinks that it sounds a bit dodgy, though. This video is another highlight on the DVD. Notice Dave and Jim in the chorus. This chorus reveals that the song is really about V.D. Nod's "Thanks for the ball" is here commented by the chorus that sings about a trip to the doctor to have the nuts checked. Once again it is funny, knowing that in order to get on a TV show, Slade once had to change the lyrics from "have a love smell on your sheet" to "have some honey with your meat" (as if that should make things better!). Nobody obviously noticed the chorus!
7. "Let's Call It Quits", a promo-video from 1976 taped in a room full of mirrors. Don remembers it for its slow tempo: "I remember nearly falling asleep in the studio when we recorded it." He does actually look rather bored in the video whereas Jim seems to get a kick out of the lyrics: "It's big enough for two." The mirrors aren't too flattering, though. It's okay if you have a firm arse like Jim, but seeing Dave from behind in those dungarees is not a pretty sight.
8. "Nobody's Fool", promo-video from 1976 with 2 black chorus girls and many back projections. Don, Jim and Dave are neatly arranged with the girls for the choruses, and Dave is actually dancing with one of them at one point whereas Jim keeps more to himself. It's all very commercial and contrived. To me it has also always seemed weird to see Slade perform with other people on stage. It's not really Slade, then. But they sing well, those girls, only Don complains. You can actually see him shout, "Louder!" from behind the drums.
9. "My Baby Left Me": black and white promo-video from 1977 that turns into colour and split screen before going back into black and white again. Dave tells about why and how he shaved his head bald during this period and that he used to come down to breakfast with bits of paper stuck to his head to stop the bleeding after the shavings. He does an impersonation of Chas Chandler and says that his wife fell out with him due to his baldness. The tune is another highlight on the DVD. Hard, heavy, with Dave's meticulous guitar solo, Jim doing Elvis shakes and Don looking exactly like he does today when playing the drums at Slade 2 concerts.
10. "Give Us a Goal" was taped at the Brighton football grounds in 1978. Nod and Dave tell how lousy the Slade members were at playing football and Don tells that he found it nice of the football club to offer them the grounds for the promo, but later he found out that Chas Chandler actually got free season tickets for using it. Jim reveals that doing a football song was Nod's idea and that Jim himself was never really convinced that it was the right thing to do. I have to go with Jim. This is a really great rock tune, but totally spoiled by the football lyrics. The melody is so strong, though, that this is another highlight on the DVD.
11. This version of "Merry Xmas Everybody" is taped at a Dutch TV-show in the early eighties. The set was built around a bar and the guys had been hanging out there for two hours before they were on. So to put it mildly they are not totally sober. Don completely freaks out on the drums here, causing Jim to laugh so hard that he almost collapses. During the song the audience and acts including female German singer Nena and The Pretenders' Chrissie Hynde invade the stage with Slade scarves. Jim seems to have a great time with Chrissie Hynde, who is his favourite female singer. This is probably the funniest video on the DVD.
12. "My Oh My", Slade's biggest hit in the USA in 1984. Jim reveals that the promo video cost a fortune and that no one saw it so it was a flop. Let's face it, the video is rather pathetic and the thought that no one would notice that the truck driver is actually a girl until she takes of her helmet is outright stupid.
13. "Run Runaway" was filmed at Eastnor Castle in Herefordshire in 1984, complete with bagpipes and a kilt-clad marching band. Nod tells that the director, Tim Pope, was a nut case, but both Dave and Nod himself try their best to look like nutters, too. Jim's really freaking out on the violin and all in all it is a fun video.
14. "Radio Wall of Sound" is a 1991 promo-video. It is dark, hard and wet, featuring Jim on vocals and Mike Read as the DJ. It comments on Marc Bolan and his "Telegram Sam" as well as Queen and their "Bohemian Rhapsody". Don's really great on drums here and Jim shows a bit of his talents as a showman.
All in all this DVD is not one to miss if you're a real Slade-fan, but to me the comments from the band are actually better than most of the videos chosen. Too many of their hits are missing and some of the promo-videos are rather uninspired. It's always great seeing the guys, though.