Flame

Just obtained this on dvd, with an informative behind the scenes attachment - what a bargain @ £7.99.

The movie may well be regarded by many as old and therefore irrelevant. That would be a harsh judgement as it does, on a critical re-viewing, stand the test of time. To put it in perspective, Slade were Kings of their day, although this film was made toward the end of their useful life, at the fag end of glam (forget the Reading gig comeback - it was never as good as the first time around in true 70's style). In a nutshell, it is the story of a band "Flame" played by the members of Slade and it documents the transition from irreverent songsters to chart toppers, assisted along by a parasitic agent (aren't they all?) who latches on to them, promotes them as a cash cow and then dispenses with the problem by caving in to a former manager from their amateur days (played brilliantly by Johnny Shannon).

The songs from the film are not bad either: "Far Far Away" is still memorable, but all of them are totally eclipsed by the single release "How Does It Feel" - their first in this fame period not to make the top ten. That still stuns me as it is by far the best thing they ever did, and they had plenty of quality to underpin it (Buy "Sladest" or "Old New Borrowed & Blue" - all on CD). Slade in Flame uses the Black Country's darkness (pardon the pun) to its full effect and the story of individual personalities does unfold and develop with credibility - particularly Stoker & Paul. I also agree with Chris Murray re Don Powell - he had a scene down by the canal with an old mate from the foundry, inviting him to a swish recording industry party - that was a good scene and Don Powell did well as he was still recovering from a near death car crash at the time - he had to learn everything moments before it was filmed as he had no memory retention (gladly he fully recovered). Overall, the acting is good, the direction is tight and although the sound is poor (they had to subtitle it in English for the USA release as the accents were so broad) there is a charm to the film. Its a good tale well told.

What a brilliant film! This film is a must to watch, not only if you are a Slade fan, but if you like to take a sneak-peek into the seedy and gritty world of pop/rock 'n' roll. The hard cutting realism of the life of a working band rising to short fame during the 70's. The film encapsulates the lives of the band and individual band members that come from ordinary every day life, working through working mens clubs to concerts and star status. you get a shear sense of being there and what it means to work in those circles, (It's not all, 'Glitter 'n' Glam). It's a cut throat world between band and managers, eat or be eaten. There are some great songs in the film to, which everyone from that era will remember. It's not surreal, the film holds up well along with 'That'll be the day' and 'Stardust' and compliments them. Buy it you will not be disappointed. Well done Nod, Jim, Dave & Don, lets have a revival or a sequel eh! Allan.

The rating (7+ at the time of writing) on IMDB might lead you to expect an undiscovered classic. In fact, it is a modest low-budget effort which has stood the test of time pretty well.

The film concentrates on the more mundane aspects of the rock and roll lifestyle: the rehearsals, the on-stage jealousy, the back-stage bickering, having to deal with "the men in suits" who want to package the band like a packet of fish fingers. We also see lots of "it's grim oop north" staples, such as terraced houses, pigeon lofts, dirty canals and a steel foundry. Given the budget, this was a wiser move than attempting to capture Slade in all their foot-stomping grandeur at the height of their fame.

From a technical viewpoint, the sound is a bit iffy and the lighting in many scenes seems designed to conceal rather than illuminate. Tom Conti sleepwalks through his first big-screen role, but then his character (high powered marketing executive with no interest in pop music) is fairly one dimensional, anyway. Johnnie Shannon, however, as the low-life agent who dumps the band and then tries to get his hooks back into them when they make it big, is excellent as the thug with a friendly face.

Surprisingly, the members of Slade make a decent fist of the acting, and the soundtrack contain two bona fide classics among the more bog-standard 12-bar fare. Don Powell has a couple of decent slapstick moments, Noddy and Jim have some good confrontation chemistry going, and Dave Hill plays an annoying buck-toothed twot with a stupid haircut ...

Though it is probably no better than a decent episode of "Aud Wiedersehen, Pet", its saving graces are its gritty authenticity and the songs. I particularly enjoyed the machine gun assault on the pirate radio station in the Thames Estuary (Radio City) - it impressed my kids no end when I told them this actually happened in real life and it was later confirmed by Noddy Holder in the "extra features" interview.

Forming in Wolverhampton, England, in the late sixties and coming from working class background's they originally called themselves The Vendors, after a while changing to Ambrose Slade, and finally to Slade.

The four-piece line up was to be Noddy Holder - Singer, Jim Lea - Bass, Dave Hill - Lead Guitarist and Don Powell - Drums.

Being managed and produced at the height of their career during the early 1970's by Chas Chandler, bass player to the Animals, and founder of Jimi Hendrix. After having several number one hits in England, their next phase in their career were to be the Movies.

For greater realism and to better their research, the band took the writer Andrew Birkin and the films director Richard Loncraine on tour with them to America. During Messer's Loncraine and Birkins tour of duty, they had gathered enough material to help them with their story. In fact, the vast majority of this movie is based on actual incidents that have happened to other Rock 'n Roll band's in their careers.

Released in the English Cinema's in January 1975, this is a dark and truthful translation of the Rock 'n Roll lifestyle. Deliberately shown this way to dispel the myth of the hype and glamour that the Business would want us to believe. Reselling the image as dishonest, disloyal, dirty and dangerous. Flame does a very good job here of testing your own loyalties, to be confronted with home truths that we would rather ignore, show business propaganda confronts a rude awakening.

We have it all here, a band heading from rags to riches, the double-dealing, well-heeled, and well-connected Manager, in the form of Tom Conti, his first movie. The greedy and highly psychotic back street agent, the hard tour that eats away at the bands heart and soul, which has them turning inside out and finally imploding into bitterness and resentment. Saving the best till last, we have the music, this movie has a great soundtrack that do Slade justice, having to write a completely new album to go along with Flame. It contains one of their finest songs to date: Far Far Away, reaching number two in the British charts in 1974.

There is a wonderful bit part by the late British D.J. Tommy Vance (1940 - 2005) as Ricky Storm.

Slade in Flame is not so much a parody but more of a Rock 'n Roll History lesson; it brings home the hardcore realities of the ivory-tower elite and the exploitations of what is Big Business. Showing the naivety of a Rock 'n Roll Band that want fortune and fame, but in the end pay the highest price, themselves.

This is a real slice of 70's. (Slade in) Flame tells the story of a semi mythical band that crawls out of the midlands of England and makes it into the myth of Rock and Roll. I found the album back in my salad days, and finally found the movie on DVD in my washed up years. There are pluses and minuses, as with any real slice of life film. On the plus side, the story of a band that makes it and self destructs really summarizes the mythos of the era, and realistically and sympathetically portrays the pressures and glories of fame. On the negative side, the accents are so thick you really wish there were subtitles. Notionally in English, it's in REAL English, and as an American, it might as well be Swahili.

The flick is full of authentic and believable characters. The small time manager, the pirate DJ, and the hippy dippy groupies all make the film seem as real as your own life. If you've seen Spinal Tap, you'll see more than a handful of scenes - a singer trapped in a coffin, high class and moneyed fops dealing with the low class entertainers, and the horrors of ridiculous costumes and friends knifing friends. If you like Uriah Heep, UFO, or any band who played a festival at Wolverhampton, this id worth the accents. If you think rock and roll is too loud, pass. But this is rock at its most basic. Loud, dirty, and important for the most unimportant reasons possible.