Slade co-founder and lead guitarist Dave Hill, who celebrated his 80th birthday this year, released “Play It To the Crowd”, single of his upcoming solo debut album “Dirty Foot Lane”, which will be out next October 30. According to him, the song was written during the Covid-19 pandemic.
“I wanted to capture what I’d missed most during lockdown — the buzz of performing live and the connection between the band and the audience. It’s a two-way process. I wanted the song to sound and feel like a live performance, as though you’ve just walked into a packed arena and — bang — the band starts playing. That excitement is something you can’t replace,” he said.
The song was written by Hill with his longtime musical collaborator John Berry. It was also co-written by producer, songwriter, and musician Rob Childs, with additional contributions from Django Holder. After Slade came to an end in 1992, Hill decided to carry on under the name Slade II. Drummer Don Powell later rejoined him, remaining with the band for many years before being fired in 2020. These days the band is called Dave Hill’s Slade and has scheduled tour dates this year.
Slade guitarist Dave Hill releases new song “Play It To The Crowd”
“Dirty Foot Lane” tracklist
- Thanks For The Good Times
- Back In The Air Again
- Dust My Axe
- She Had A Troubled Heart
- Sweet And Tender
- Fast Train
- Only Fools And Horses
- Play It To The Crowd
- Reasons To Succeed
- Dirty Foot Lane
Next Slade II tour dates
August
- 7 – TraumHits Open Air – Leinefelde-Worbis – Germany
- 22 – Rewind Festival: South 2026 – Henley-on-Thames – United Kingdom
September
- 5 – I Love the 70’s – Minehead – United Kingdom
- 8 – Burgarena Finkenstein – Latschach – Austria
- 12 – I Love the 70’s – Bognor Regis – United Kingdom
- 25 – Festhalle Sempach – Sempach – Switzerland
December
- 1 – O2 Academy Glasgow – Glasgow – United Kingdom
- 2 – O2 City Hall Newcastle – Newcastle upon Tyne – United Kingdom
- 8 – O2 Academy Leeds – Leeds – United Kingdom
- 9 – O2 Academy Liverpool – Liverpool – United Kingdom
- 12 – O2 Academy Oxford – Oxford – United Kingdom
- 13 – Tramshed – Cardiff – United Kingdom
- 16 – O2 Academy Bournemouth – Bournemouth – United Kingdom