Till Deaf Do Us Part - Background

Background

Following Slade's post-Reading '80 resurgence, no one was happier to see Slade back in the charts and filling venues than manager Chas Chandler. However, by this time the band and manager had not seen eye to eye for a while. Having already been relieved of his record producing duties in 1979 and with the band making their own decisions and a massive argument with bassist Jim Lea and his brother Frank about the organisation of their co-owned Cheapskate Records, Chandler knew his days with the band were numbered. The final straw was the debacle surrounding their May 1981 single Knuckle Sandwich Nancy. The band were confident that the high-speed, drum-heavy record was a fitting follow on from the similarly toned January 1981 hit We'll Bring the House Down, though Chandler and RCA disagreed. The single was half-heartedly released and flopped. The band blamed Chandler and split from him completely. Apparently bearing little ill-will, Chandler negotiated Slade's new deal with RCA on very favourable terms, selling his share of Cheapskate.

Now producing and managing themselves, Slade released Lock Up Your Daughters which peaked at #29 in the UK and entered the top 3 in Europe. December 1981 saw Slade's RCA debut and first album of all new material since 1979's Return to Base. Regardless of only peaking at #68, a few new songs became part of Slade's live set. This included the perfect opener Rock N Roll Preacher which took place of Slade's longtime opener Hear Me Calling.