‘I had to train with pigeons!’ Slade legend reveals wild truth behind the ‘Citizen Kane of rock movies’
Slade legend Noddy Holder has revealed the behind the scenes secrets to the film “Slade in Flame” as the iconic rock movie returns to cinemas to celebrate its 50th anniversary.
Originally released in January 1975, Slade in Flame stars Noddy Holder (as Stoker), Jim Lea (Paul), Dave Hill (Barry) and Don Powell (Charlie) as the fictional band Flame.
In an interview with GB News, Holder revealed that the film is completely “authentic” and “true to the band.”
He said: “They sent us the script originally, and we said, Oh, bands don’t behave like this in real life. So we decided to take them to America on tour for a month so they could see what it was really like behind the scenes of a rock band.
“We told them stories things we knew from other bands as well as our own experiences and they amalgamated all of that into the film. So, every scene in the film is true.”
He added: “I had to learn how to handle pigeons. I had to learn how to play the spoons. Because I play the spoons in one scene. I had to learn how to balance and juggle crockery.
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“Because there’s a scene on a market where I sell crockery on a bar, a boy on a market, and I’m juggling crockery. So I had to learn all that. Learning lines was awkward.
“The thing we didn’t realise is that we just did not have the bandwidth. We though that all this will be a piece of cake. We had to get up first at six in the morning, which was alien to us, and be on the set at seven.
“We didn’t realise you do a master shot but then they have to reset the lights and the cameras to do your closeups.
“So you have to do it all again exactly as you did in the master shot, so everything could be edited together. We didn’t realise any of this.”
Despite critical acclaim, “Flame” initially received a mixed reception from Slade’s fanbase when it was released in 1975.
“The critics were great to it, but the fans didn’t like it,” Holder admitted.
Fans were left shocked by the films surprisingly bleak atmosphere, but the Slade legend explained that the band knew what they were doing.
“It was too heavy duty for the fans because it wasn’t a comedy film like they expected from a Happy-Go-Lucky band like we were,” he explained.
“We did it on purpose. We didn’t want to make the other part five had done. Catch us if you can. Hard days.”
The Slade Fame remake will be back in cinema’s from May 1.