I have at last seen this movie for the first time due to its showing on BBC4. At 90 minutes, and containing a fair amount of (very good)Slade / Flame performance footage, the story struck me as somewhat underdeveloped. Only Johnny Shannon's character - brilliantly played - feels reasonably rounded. I wanted to know more about Conti's character as well, and we get the smallest snippets of info about the band, although, surprisingly, it's Don Powell's character we learn most about. As for the band, Holder is a natural, and Jimmy Lee, with quite a bit of acting to do, has a decent bash at it. Dave Hill plays himself (as others have said) and Don Powell turns out to to be a decent comedian even if his dramatic chops are less convincing. A note of warning - the broadcast sound was terrible, with a fair amount of the band's dialogue (and Emperor Rosco's in the concert scene)inaudible. Decent film that might have benefited from 15 or 20 minutes further development.
Review of Slade in Flame
