Can it really be a staggering 44 years this weekend since Slade’s Reading Festival rebirth? Apparently so, the Black Country’s finest spectacularly seeing off the critics in what proved to be the inspiration for an 11^th-hour career resurrection, acceptance from a hard-nosed hard rock crowd paving a way for what turned out to be three final years of live shows for Nod, Jim, Dave and Don, that appearance the launchpad for a bolted-on couple of phases of the band, with more hits and more unforgettable live shows.

At the age of 15 I was lucky enough to see one of those shows, the band in full pomp at Hammersmith Odeon in December 1982, the classic line-up only touring once more in the UK from there. That marked my lucky seventh live outing since the summer of 1980, while Friday night was, (give or take a few I’ve failed to record) No.499, and it was somewhat poignant that it involved all-female four-piece Slady, a band that for my eyes and ears carry the true spirit of Slade all these years on, and of whom I heartily recommend a night or two in the company of.

It was great to see Noddy back on stage after his recent health problems last summer in Salford with Tom Seals and his big band. I’ve also had the pleasure of long chats in recent years with Dave, Don and Jim, and it’s lovely to see them all still working on various projects. But when it comes to full-on live spectacles that take you back to the beating heart of Slade, look no further than a cracking act with roots in South Wales, Southend-on-Sea, East Sussex and West Norfolk, on this occasion pointing towards the Magnetic North (a trip to a gig on the Fylde coast at St Annes Music Festival following) at a launch night for their latest single.

In my case that only involved a 15-mile round-trip from my Lancashire base, at a watering hole new to me in the heart of Preston’s university quarter, the Vinyl Tap on Adelphi Street not far off equidistant from three more venues that have played an important part in my gigging years around the city – The Ferret (‘saved’ last year from closure by a heart-warming Music Venue Trust-backed community campaign), The Adelphi, and currently dormant ex-uni hub 53 Degrees. And the Tap is another winner on this evidence, the kind of pub outlet sorely needed by emerging and established acts and punters alike.

True, in this case, the clientele was largely older, but there was enough youth in the headliners’ line-up to fool most of us that we were back in Slade’s early Seventies pomp, an impressive turnout welcomed on board a veritable time machine on a night when the girls’ infectious treatment of such classic songs brought miles of smiles, their love of performing, meticulous appreciation for the finer points of a grand back catalogue, and a storming live show plain for all to see, hear and taste.

Must I paint you a picture, as Billy Bragg asked? Well, here we have four consummate professionals who not only look the part but also nail the sound and (yep, that word again) spirit of the originals, bringing out the best of that wonderful Holder/Lea repertoire (the occasional Powell classic also featured) and live electricity of the band themselves in those halcyon days.

I’ll start with self-dubbed Gobby Holder, aka Danie, who really rules the roost (admit it, you said that in a Neville Holder style, right?) and was on fine form, that amazing voice (a Welsh thing, right?) leaving first-timers and regulars alike open-mouthed, the lady towering over us in killer platform boots, Nod’s trademark red shirt, braces, check trousers and mirrored top hat get-up (and get-with-it) wonderfully conveyed. At times, I worry for that vocal treatment (for instance, she seemed to have nowhere to go on ‘Born To Be Wild’, having opened on such a high note that the glass ceiling needed gaffer-taping back together within a minute), but she saw the night out in style.

Then there’s Jem Lea (Wendy), to her right and our left, ever dependable, laying down such stonking basslines that make you realise – not as if many of us needed reminding – how beautifully constructed Jim’s songs are. And as well as those cracking harmonies and backing vocals, she also steps up to the mic for the undervalued ‘When the Lights Are Out’, the Slade single that got away.

It’s something of a cliché to talk about engine rooms in bands, but Jem’s underpinning task is made far fluent through Slady’s stand-in Donna Powell (Kēra), the youngest of the quartet (I’d venture) in her element back there in Don-esque waistcoat, the smiles on band faces somewhat infectious, even catching out the more jaded live show veterans and miserable gits among us. And then there’s Davina Hill (Dawn), again playing a part to perfection – visually and sonically, bringing new life to H’s guitar parts and injecting plenty of her own innate stage presence into the mix. Much more than just a six-string denizen in eye-catching silver catsuit. Sparkling, to be sure.

As for that set-list, I never wrote a word all night, so bear with me, but with their musical prowess and stage allure where could they go wrong? ‘Take Me Bak ‘Ome’ set us on the right track, and from there, hearts regularly skipped random beats, with many highlights. ‘Coz I Luv You’, ‘Look Wot You Dun’, ‘Mama Weer All Crazee Now’, ‘Bangin’ Man’, ‘Skweeze Me, Pleeze Me’… the latter’s tweaked lyrics placing us firmly into a brave new century, Gobby letting it be known, ‘When a girl’s meaning ‘Yes’, she says, ‘Yes’ (not ‘No’)!’

On we went, the magic of Slade Alive brought to life on ‘Hear Me Calling’, ‘Know Who You Are’ and the afore-mentioned Steppenwolf cover. Hell, they even made ‘We’ll Bring the House Down’ and ‘Run Run Away’ sound cool. Some feat, that. I’ve a feeling, scribbling this now, there was ‘Move Over’ and ‘Just a Little Bit’ too, but maybe I dreamt that. The power of Guinness Zero, perhaps. And of course, B-sides were always important for Slade, so we got an outing for self-penned ‘Dig Me’, from their take on ‘Cum on Feel the Noize’, much of the calibre of those classic original flipsides. And somewhat as a tribute to Reading ’80 there were teases about ‘Merry Xmas Everybody’ being played on an August Bank Holiday weekend, before the band instead launched into its B-side, ‘Don’t Blame Me’.

Another personal highlight was ‘Gudbuy t’Jane’, their sign-off before a nailed-on encore featuring the new single and ‘Get Down and Get With It’. And while I might have got some of that out of order, that’s not important. Long may they continue to rock it, roll it, and reign over us. Nod bless our Slady.  

Slady’s Gobby Holder and Jem Lea, aka Danie and Wendy, feature in this scribe’s Wild! Wild! Wild! A People’s History of Slade. You probably knew that, but wait… you’ve not yet got a copy? Well, now’s the time to remedy that, messaging me or ordering direct via the publisher’s link.

You can also order Slady’s new single here, following them online via Facebook, Instagram, and their own website, seeing where they’re at next (next up, I understand, is The Betsey Trotwood in London EC1 on Sunday 8th September, Gobby and Davina rocking out live acoustic Slade tunes in the company of fellow Slade author Daryl Easlea. And you can catch the promo video for the new single, shot at The Marquis in Covent Garden, here.