Slade In Flame

This 1975 music film, starring the one and only SLADE, is as flamboyant as it is gritty. Gritty in so far as the first half is set in an unspecified ‘steel town’ somewhere in the Midlands, complete with drab surroundings and dead-end jobs… especially if one harbours ambitions of becoming a successful rock musician. As the story progresses and both the locations and lifestyle become more glamorous, the band comes to realise that success provides no silver bullet against the fickle music industry and its many traps. SLADE IN FLAME has just been released in Dual Format edition (DVD/Blu-ray).

The opening scene takes us to a wedding in the aforementioned steel town, where a band for hire plays ditties you just know they would otherwise not choose to play. It’s a job, mate! The band is fronted by singer Jack Daniels (oh, how very original… not), played by Alan Lake, who was Diana Dors third and final husband - a troubled soul who spent time in the slammer for his involvement in a pub brawl, before committing suicide in 1984 following Dors’ death of cancer. In the bonus material, Slade frontman Noddy Holder (who was himself diagnosed with esophageal cancer back in 2018 and given 6 months to live but is still with us), reveals some very insightful anecdotes about the making of the film and about Alan Lake in particular. The other musicians are Barry (Slade’s lead guitarist Dave Hill) and Paul (Slade’s bassist Jim Lea). Due to a silly and rather sexist prank courtesy of Barry, the party soon descends into an almighty brawl. Cut and we see Paul, still in his party outfit, walk into a steel factory taking up his day job before a friend gives him a lift home at the end of the shift. It’s really interesting that along the way, we can see the drab surroundings and council estate high rises. The band’s manager cum booking manager is Ron Harding (Johnny Shannon) who - oh there’s a surprise - seems more interested in races and gambling. The band also hires a new drummer in Charlie (Slade drummer Don Powell).

As if playing working mens clubs and seedy bars weren’t bad enough, Daniels’ band have to compete with another band called ‘Roy Priest and The Undertakers’ whose horror-themed stage show is clearly modelled on Screaming Lord Sutch and the same can be said for eccentric Undertakers’ frontman Stoker (a nod to Dracula-author Bram Stoker, no doubt), played with relish by Noddy Holder. Part of their stage act involved Stoker rising from a coffin on stage and when Jack Daniels, who is only too aware that Stoker has a considerably more powerful singing voice, decides to lock Stoker in his coffin using a padlock just before their gig, the stage is set for pandemonium. Meanwhile, Daniels’s band, plus Barry’s girlfriend Angie (Sara Clee) drive off to a greasy spoon café but are soon followed by the Undertakers, who manage to free Stoker from his padlocked coffin and yes, he’s yelling for blood… Daniels’ blood, to be precise! After another car chase which ends in an accident and a car going up in flames, our troublesome band members find themselves in the slammer, where Paul - by default - gets the chance for a proper chat with Stoker and it leads to him becoming the new frontman, what with Daniels’ fired and the Undertakers disbanded. The band now call themselves FLAME. Soon, they also hire a roadie named Russell (Anthony Allen) who happens to be a mate of Barry’s.

As the new formation struggles on, fate takes a turn for the better when, during a performance, they are spotted by talent scout Tony Devlin (Kenneth Colley) who arranges a meeting with smooth operator Robert Seymour (Tom Conti), who runs a successful London talent agency. Seymour doesn’t make a secret out of the fact that he is not exactly a fan of Flame’s music (and that’s an understatement) but like every agent worth his salt, he knows that he can make the band lots of money and of course, his percentage is not to be sniffed at either. After an elaborately staged publicity stunt at a pirate radio station at sea, the band’s record sales hit new heights but it’s all far from smooth sailing: not only do cracks start to appear within the band due to an ever increasing touring and recording schedule but during a party, old manager Ron Harding unexpectedly turns up to inform new manager Robert Seymour that the band is still contractually bound to him… There isn’t necessarily a happy ending but there’s plenty of great music, fine performances and of course, Slade in top form!

Bonus ncludes new audio commentary with director Loncraine and Mark Kermode / a 2025 interview with actor Tom Conti / a 2002 interview with Noddy Holder (54 min) conducted by broadcaster Gary Crowley / The Making of ‘Slade in Flame’ / ‘This week: Men’s Fashions’ (1973) / Trailers / promo-Images / illustrated booklet (first pressing only).