A December show in the Midlands for Slade is something of a tradition and for the past 30 or so years, pandemic excepting, a winter tour has always been on the cards to tie in with ‘Merry Xmas Everybody’. 2023 sees its’ 50th Anniversary so there’s been no escaping it in recent weeks with all four original members appearing across the media talking about it. With all that fuss then, there seems to be some injustice that what is the (almost) hometown show is relegated to the smaller Academy 2 room, especially when they have played bigger venues on this tour.

First up though are Sons Of The Seventies. It may seem an odd choice to have a covers band as the support but they do a suitably good job in warming up the crowd as they rattle through a diverse bunch of classics from T Rex, Zeppelin, Deep Purple and The Eagles. Largely they’re the most obvious choices to get the crowd singing along and a finale of ‘My Sharona’ and ‘Ballroom Blitz’ help to ensure the Academy is in good voice for the main act.

As the strains of the Thunderbirds theme tune summons the band on stage, Dave Hill receives a rapturous welcome and they quickly settle in to a raucous ‘Take Me Bak ‘Ome’ which then segues neatly into ‘Lock Up Your Daughters’ with keyboard player Russell Keefe handling the vocals. The singing duties are shared throughout with John Berry who seems more suited to the more melodic ones like ‘Everyday’ and ‘Far Far Away’.

There is, of course, the old adage that Slade are for life, not just for Christmas and as they work their way through a set of classics you’re reminded just how massive Slade were; a dozen top 5 singles with almost half hitting the number one spot are squeezed into the 80 minute performance. But after boisterous takes on ‘Mama Weer All Crazee Now’, ‘Cum On Feel The Noize’ and the arm swaying ‘My Oh My’ there’s only ever going to be one way to end the night and that’s with Dave Hill telling everybody to be good to each other and wishing a happy Christmas to all before bringing the house down with ‘Merry Xmas Everybody’. A fabulous evening that sends the smiling crowd off into the night having been thoroughly entertained. No doubt we’ll see you again next year Dave.

Setlist:
Take Me Bak ‘Ome
Lock Up Your Daughters
Look Wot You Dun
Everyday
Coz I Luv You
Run Runaway
My Friend Stan
Far Far Away
The Bangin’ Man
My Baby Left Me / That’s Alright Mama
Gudbuy T’Jane
Mama Weer All Crazee Now

Encore:
My Oh My
Cum On Feel the Noize
Merry Christmas Everybody