Yes. Slade did some exceptional stuff. The well known singles ("Mama Weer All Crazee Now" "Get Down & Get With It" "Run Runaway" "Cum On Feel The Noize") are actually their best stuff, one of those moments where popular taste intersected with artistic merit. Subtle they're not, but for foot-stomping chant-along fun, they have few equals.

I was a huge Slade fan, I was in my early-mid teens when they were in their heyday, so was exactly the right demographic. The only album of theirs I bought, though, was Slade in Flame, which was also the name of a film they were in. I remember not liking it much when I played it, but a few years later I put it on one night and it blew me away.

Noddy Holder has one of the all-time great rock voices.

"Baby baby bay-behhhh"

It makes me giggle to think of my cat Slade wrawking out. (He was named after Chris Slade, the linebacker, and he talks like an English schoolboy.)

I don't know about classic non-commercial albums, but I do know that it's not Christmas Day in my house without Noddy Holder shouting "it's Chrisssssssssssssssssssss-mas!".

You have Noddy Holder round personally to shout that? You could save a load of money by sampling it of whatever advert they've sold the song to that year, instead. I used to love that track, but over the years it's descended into the same pit of hell as Roy Wood's seasonal "classic"

Holy crap, I'm going to listen to some Slade right now. I thought for awhile the lead singer was Dr. Who when I was younger.

A few years ago, just after his autobiography came out, I interviewed Noddy Holder for a radio show. He was a fantastic bloke - really down-to-earth, wise about the industry, very funny. Kind of like your perfect uncle. I've always been fond of Slade since then.

He also offered me a job, bless 'im. But it was in Manchester :(