Song: How Does It Feel
Artist: Slade
Year: 1975
For most people, the enduring image of Slade is one of ludicrously dressed glam rockers replete with high-stacked boots, hulking mutton chops and, in Dave Hill’s case, the wondrous achievement of simultaneously having four hairstyles on the same head. However, their 1975 single ‘How Does It Feel’ remains an outstanding ballad and one that completely confounds the laddish, hard rocking flamboyance mostly attributed to the Wolverhampton group.
A vastly different approach for the band at the time, Noddy Holder and Jim Lea’s beautiful piano driven, sub six minute epic was too much of a departure for many fans expecting another ‘Sqweeze Me, Pleeze Me’; it peaked at a disappointing number 15 in the UK and was the band’s lowest chart position in four years. Featuring flutes, melancholy reflections from Holder and brass from British R&B/funk band Gonzalez, ‘How Does It Feel’ proves that sometimes fans just don’t know what’s good for them.
By Scott Hammond