Cum On Feel The Noize - Background

Background

"Cum On Feel the Noize" entered at the top slot in both the UK and Irish charts, which was quite a rare feat at the time and was the first occasion this had happened since The Beatles' "Get Back" in 1969. The track stayed at #1 for 4 weeks. The song went on to spend four weeks at the top of the chart in March 1973.

Upon release, the single sold 500,000 copies in only three weeks of release. As a result, the pressing factory were completely out of stock for a few days.

In December 1983, a UK re-issue of the song was released via Polydor on 7" and 12" vinyl, due to the success of the Quiet Riot version. The single peaked at #98 for a total of two weeks in the UK. The 7" single was backed by the two 1972 Slade hits "Take Me Bak 'Ome" and "Gudbuy T'Jane", whilst the 12" vinyl version added Slade's 1971 hit "Coz I Luv You" to the three 7" vinyl tracks.

According to Noddy Holder's autobiography, the single had half a million preorders on the days leading up to the release. Typical of Slade's releases at the time, it fared less well in the USA, where it would only peak at #98 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song actually inspired New York rock band Kiss to write their popular signature rock anthem "Rock and Roll All Nite".

This was the first Slade track in which the band attempted to recreate and write about the atmosphere at their gigs. Originally, the song was titled "Cum On Hear the Noize"; Holder revised the title when he recalled, "how I had felt the sound of the crowd pounding in my chest", though other sources state that it was Jim Lea who suggested the change in words. Holder's 'Baby baby baby' introduction was actually just a microphone test.

Dave Thompson, from allmusic described the song as "a deafening roar in the classic Slade mould".

In a December 1984 interview with Record Mirror, the magazine tested Lea's memory by asking him to recall the story behind certain hits. For Mama Weer All Crazee/Cum On Feel the Noize, Lea stated "I was at a Chuck Berry gig in '72 and everybody was singing his tunes. He kept stopping and letting the crowd sing and it wasn't just a few people, it was everyone. I thought it was amazing and thought - why not write the crowd into the songs, and so of course, the next one was 'Take Me Bak 'Ome' then 'Gudbuy T'Jane' but then we got round to 'Mama Weer All Crazee Now' and 'Cum On Feel the Noize' and all the chants were written into the tunes."

In a early 1986 Slade fan club magazine interview, guitarist Dave Hill spoke of the song's lyrics. "The song was based around audiences and things that were happening to us. They were just experiences. Obviously, when you are on the road, you are writing about being on the road, you're writing about what's going on."

In a late 2006 interview with the Classic Rock magazine, Holder was asked for some tracks that have 'rocked his world over the years'. Holder included Cum On Feel the Noize, stating "I thought Oasis did a great version of it. When it was out they invited me to go and see them play when they did their home gig in Manchester. I went to the show, and they encored with Cum On Feel the Noize. It was a great buzz for me to see 40,000 kids, from a new generation, going mad to a tune that I'd written 20 years before. It's probably our most covered song around the world. Probably the most unusual was the Japanese Cliff Richard who did it in Japanese. But the biggest-selling version was by Quiet Riot, who took it to No.5 in America 10 years after we did it. And on the back of that track Quiet Riot's Metal Health album sold six million copies."

In the September–December 1986 Slade fan club magazine, the poll results were announced for the 1986 opinion poll based on Slade’s material. For the best single of the 1970s, Cum On Feel the Noize placed at #1.

In an early 1999 issue of Q Magazine, a poll listed the top 100 singles of all time. Cum On Feel the Noize came in at 96th place. The accompanying text stated “In 1973, Slade - the ‘70s Oasis - were on a roll, Cum On Feel the Noize being their fourth number one on March 10. More than any of their previous singles, this seemed to encapsulate the band’s party-time ethos and Wolverhampton cheek (“So you think my singing’s out of time?/Well it makes me money”). A classic performance from the sandpaper-throated Noddy Holder, the finest primal rock ‘n’ roll howler after Lennon. Best played very, very loud.” An addition of bonus information was also included, "Best bit: (0.01) Holder’s cry of “Baby baby baaaybaah!” Still guaranteed to flood the dance floor. Where to get it now: Wall of Hits, Polydor. You said: “My first single, and still makes me feel young.” M. Maguire, West Paisley."

In an early 2005 edition of Q Magazine, a top 100 poll was issued titled ‘100 Greatest Guitar Track Ever!’. Cum On Feel the Noize was featured at #62, with the accompanying text stating “Available: Sladest (Polydor, 1973). Written to celebrate the feeling of being the biggest band in Britain; produced to sound like a live wall-of-noise stomp-along. Solo: (0.03, 2.16) Two clanging, pre-Sonic Youth fanfares.”