Whatever Happened To Slade

Whatever Happened to Slade is the sixth album by the British rock group Slade. It was released March 21, 1977, but did not enter the charts.

Slade's popularity was waning as were their record sales. They recognized this (thus the album's title). By 1977 the glam movement had died, along with its founder Marc Bolan, frontman of T.Rex, who was killed in a car crash that year, and - in a figurative sense - the careers of Mud, Gary Glitter and The Sweet also died. In Britain, where Slade had traditionally been most popular, the fashion of the day was punk rock. With this record, Slade firmly stood its ground as a straight Rock group (gone were the "glam" statements of the early decade).

The album was met with critical praise and support from the English punk uprising. Nevertheless, the record was a commercial failure and the band's financial woes continued. For many years, the album was a much sought after collector's item amongst fans. Today, however, the album is available via CD and download.

This album was a popular trade amongst American musicians developing what would be known as "grunge" as both Billy Corgan (Smashing Pumpkins) and Kurt Cobain (Nirvana) have cited the album as influential.

The album was voted #1 of the top three Slade albums in the Slade Fan Club Poll of 1979. In the same poll, the album was voted #2 of the top three Slade album covers.