The bitter rows & tragedy that saw Slade go from biggest band in UK to cranking out Merry Xmas Everybody to tiny crowds
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WHEN Slade recorded Merry Xmas Everybody they were described as the biggest British band since The Beatles as they toured the United States. And while that, to quote the lads and their like for misspelled song titles, might sound all crazee now, the West Midlands glam rockers did come closest to equalling the Fab Four’s achievement of 22 Top Ten records in a single decade.
![[After an explosive early career, Slade struggled to fill stadiums in 2023]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/photo-don-powell-dave-hill-867125458.jpg?strip=all&w=632)
Their 17 Top 20 hits included six No1s — with Merry Xmas Everybody achieving double platinum status for its two million sales. But ahead of the 50th anniversary of the beloved festive song becoming a Christmas chart topper in 1973, the Slade of 2023 were struggling to fill venues in Britain.
![[Vocalist Noddy Holder turned down several big-money offers to return]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/noddy-holder-attends-men-pride-862635952.jpg?strip=all&w=709)
Last year, they played at the 800-capacity Engine Rooms, in Southampton, and the 1,400-seat Hall By The Sea in Margate, Kent. And we reported at the time that some of the £38 tickets had been slashed to £5 to try to get punters in. The problem is that a long-running feud means that glitter-loving guitarist Dave Hill is the only original member left from the four-piece classic line-up.
![[Drummer Don Powell, 77, no longer speaks to Dave Hill after reportedly being sacked by email]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/ae683dbb-871c-4127-a392-14b5bc8e0c00.jpg?strip=all&w=710)
Drummer Don Powell no longer speaks to Dave after reportedly being sacked by email, key songwriter Jim Lea left the music business to become a psychologist and vocalist Noddy Holder turned down several big-money offers to come back, saying it would not be worth the grief.
![[Bassist Jim Lea left at the same time as Noddy, to study psychology and open a business]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/NINTCHDBPICT000867163594.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
He told The Big Issue magazine: “When we had business meetings, within half an hour we argued about the same things we’d argued about the day we split. “So the thought of being at least two years on the road, which is what it would take to make real big money, I thought, ‘Well, we’re never going to last that long’.
![[Dave Hill, 77, is the only original member left from the four-piece classic line-up]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/a8350946-16bc-4616-b19d-3efd53fecb60.jpg?strip=all&w=642)
