User Reviews

The British Glam Rock kings of the 1970's never quite made the impact they should have in the states. Probably David Bowie is the only one of the bunch that most Americans have even heard of. The Sweet had only a few hits. Marc Bolan only managed one Top 40 record. Now that's a shame. Roxy Music was a cult group. Status Quo is virtually unheard of; a one-hit wonder whose only hit was their first single from 1967, "Listen to the Flower People," er, I mean, "Pictures of Matchstick Men." Slade shifted some LPs, but had no hit singles. But they did make this film, which can finally now be seen here in the USA on DVD. Interesting to watch from the American perspective, but anyone who's at all a fan of such British cultural touchstones as The Beatles or Monty Python should find plenty to enjoy here.

The group acquits themselves as actors quite well in this somewhat true-to-life tale of a rock band's rise and fall in England. The story starts in the mid/late 1960's, which helps to separate the real life Slade from the fictional Flame.

Although somewhat of a gritty drama, there are a large number of hilarious anecdotes (which all supposedly really happened, though not to Slade but to different bands) about the singer getting stuck on stage in a coffin (Spinal Tap pod incident, anyone?), the attack on the pirate radio station, and dealings with posh types on a train and shopping for a Rolls-Royce at a snooty dealership.

Overall, one of the better rock and roll films, if one of the lesser heralded ones. Worth watching for rock music fans or fans of 60's/70's pop culture. Just listen carefully, fellow Americans! You'll have a hard time sussing out some of the dialog with those Midlands accents. In fact, Noddy Holder said that when the film showed in St. Louis in the 70's, it was actually subtitled! Too bad that option is not provided on this DVD, but other than that, I don't have much to complain about here.

This is a real slice of 70's. (Slade in) Flame tells the story of a semi mythical band that crawls out of the midlands of England and makes it into the myth of Rock and Roll. I found the album back in my salad days, and finally found the movie on DVD in my washed up years. There are pluses and minuses, as with any real slice of life film. On the plus side, the story of a band that makes it and self destructs really summarizes the mythos of the era, and realistically and sympathetically portrays the pressures and glories of fame. On the negative side, the accents are so thick you really wish there were subtitles. Notionally in English, it's in REAL English, and as an American, it might as well be Swahili.

The flick is full of authentic and believable characters. The small time manager, the pirate DJ, and the hippy dippy groupies all make the film seem as real as your own life. If you've seen Spinal Tap, you'll see more than a handful of scenes - a singer trapped in a coffin, high class and moneyed fops dealing with the low class entertainers, and the horrors of ridiculous costumes and friends knifing friends. If you like Uriah Heep, UFO, or any band who played a festival at Wolverhampton, this id worth the accents. If you think rock and roll is too loud, pass. But this is rock at its most basic. Loud, dirty, and important for the most unimportant reasons possible.

Forming in Wolverhampton, England, in the late sixties and coming from working class background's they originally called themselves The Vendors, after a while changing to Ambrose Slade, and finally to Slade.

The four-piece line up was to be Noddy Holder - Singer, Jim Lea - Bass, Dave Hill - Lead Guitarist and Don Powell - Drums.

Being managed and produced at the height of their career during the early 1970's by Chas Chandler, bass player to the Animals, and founder of Jimi Hendrix. After having several number one hits in England, their next phase in their career were to be the Movies.

For greater realism and to better their research, the band took the writer Andrew Birkin and the films director Richard Loncraine on tour with them to America. During Messer's Loncraine and Birkins tour of duty, they had gathered enough material to help them with their story. In fact, the vast majority of this movie is based on actual incidents that have happened to other Rock 'n Roll band's in their careers.

Released in the English Cinema's in January 1975, this is a dark and truthful translation of the Rock 'n Roll lifestyle. Deliberately shown this way to dispel the myth of the hype and glamour that the Business would want us to believe. Reselling the image as dishonest, disloyal, dirty and dangerous. Flame does a very good job here of testing your own loyalties, to be confronted with home truths that we would rather ignore, show business propaganda confronts a rude awakening.

We have it all here, a band heading from rags to riches, the double-dealing, well-heeled, and well-connected Manager, in the form of Tom Conti, his first movie. The greedy and highly psychotic back street agent, the hard tour that eats away at the bands heart and soul, which has them turning inside out and finally imploding into bitterness and resentment. Saving the best till last, we have the music, this movie has a great soundtrack that do Slade justice, having to write a completely new album to go along with Flame. It contains one of their finest songs to date: Far Far Away, reaching number two in the British charts in 1974.

There is a wonderful bit part by the late British D.J. Tommy Vance (1940 - 2005) as Ricky Storm.

Slade in Flame is not so much a parody but more of a Rock 'n Roll History lesson; it brings home the hardcore realities of the ivory-tower elite and the exploitations of what is Big Business. Showing the naivety of a Rock 'n Roll Band that want fortune and fame, but in the end pay the highest price, themselves.

The backdrop to this film was so bleak and gritty that one would not have been surprised to have spotted Jack Carter (in his black raincoat) passing by in the background.

With Alan Lake, Tom Conti and Johnny Shannon there to do the real acting, despite the serious nature of the film, Slade's thespian talents were little more important than the Beatles's were in Hard Days Night or the Monkees in Head. Despite that, Noddy Holder and Jimmy Lea (who were the brains behind Slade anyway i.e. they wrote all the songs) both aquit themselves extremely well; successfully creating credible, interesting and well rounded characters. Dave Hill simply played himself (not that that was a problem, as he was, to all intents and purposes, cast as himself anyway). I defy anyone to decipher a complete sentence mumbled by drummer Don Powell, but that oddly adds to his character's charm.

This successful hybrid between Get Carter and Stardust is truly a lost gem, that, despite it's rediscovery and favourable reassessment in the 90's, has still not received the popular recognition it deserves.

Who knows, if this had been a major success (as opposed to a major flop) on it's initial release, would it have been that long before we saw The Sweet doing a bullion job in The Sweeny?

The rating (7+ at the time of writing) on IMDB might lead you to expect an undiscovered classic. In fact, it is a modest low-budget effort which has stood the test of time pretty well.

The film concentrates on the more mundane aspects of the rock and roll lifestyle: the rehearsals, the on-stage jealousy, the back-stage bickering, having to deal with "the men in suits" who want to package the band like a packet of fish fingers. We also see lots of "it's grim oop north" staples, such as terraced houses, pigeon lofts, dirty canals and a steel foundry. Given the budget, this was a wiser move than attempting to capture Slade in all their foot-stomping grandeur at the height of their fame.

From a technical viewpoint, the sound is a bit iffy and the lighting in many scenes seems designed to conceal rather than illuminate. Tom Conti sleepwalks through his first big-screen role, but then his character (high powered marketing executive with no interest in pop music) is fairly one dimensional, anyway. Johnnie Shannon, however, as the low-life agent who dumps the band and then tries to get his hooks back into them when they make it big, is excellent as the thug with a friendly face.

Surprisingly, the members of Slade make a decent fist of the acting, and the soundtrack contain two bona fide classics among the more bog-standard 12-bar fare. Don Powell has a couple of decent slapstick moments, Noddy and Jim have some good confrontation chemistry going, and Dave Hill plays an annoying buck-toothed twot with a stupid haircut ...

Though it is probably no better than a decent episode of "Aud Wiedersehen, Pet", its saving graces are its gritty authenticity and the songs. I particularly enjoyed the machine gun assault on the pirate radio station in the Thames Estuary (Radio City) - it impressed my kids no end when I told them this actually happened in real life and it was later confirmed by Noddy Holder in the "extra features" interview.

Just obtained this on dvd, with an informative behind the scenes attachment - what a bargain @ £7.99.

The movie may well be regarded by many as old and therefore irrelevant. That would be a harsh judgement as it does, on a critical re-viewing, stand the test of time. To put it in perspective, Slade were Kings of their day, although this film was made toward the end of their useful life, at the fag end of glam (forget the Reading gig comeback - it was never as good as the first time around in true 70's style). In a nutshell, it is the story of a band "Flame" played by the members of Slade and it documents the transition from irreverent songsters to chart toppers, assisted along by a parasitic agent (aren't they all?) who latches on to them, promotes them as a cash cow and then dispenses with the problem by caving in to a former manager from their amateur days (played brilliantly by Johnny Shannon).

The songs from the film are not bad either: "Far Far Away" is still memorable, but all of them are totally eclipsed by the single release "How Does It Feel" - their first in this fame period not to make the top ten. That still stuns me as it is by far the best thing they ever did, and they had plenty of quality to underpin it (Buy "Sladest" or "Old New Borrowed & Blue" - all on CD). Slade in Flame uses the Black Country's darkness (pardon the pun) to its full effect and the story of individual personalities does unfold and develop with credibility - particularly Stoker & Paul. I also agree with Chris Murray re Don Powell - he had a scene down by the canal with an old mate from the foundry, inviting him to a swish recording industry party - that was a good scene and Don Powell did well as he was still recovering from a near death car crash at the time - he had to learn everything moments before it was filmed as he had no memory retention (gladly he fully recovered). Overall, the acting is good, the direction is tight and although the sound is poor (they had to subtitle it in English for the USA release as the accents were so broad) there is a charm to the film. Its a good tale well told.

Being a huge fan of Slade growing up, i didn't get into the glam clothing but i had the shoes, i had heard about this film but had never seen it. i finally just got a copy of it> I'm in Australia there doesn't appear to be any so i got it imported. I knew that it wasn't going to be a glam rock cops or anything and certainly not Spinal Tap. But this bleak and rather realistic look at the rock world has some charm. I like noddy holder in it. Look out for the accidentally realism as Holder plays a character named Stoker one of the actors addresses him as Noddy. Don Powell was suffering from memory loss after a car accident he was still recovering from which explains his mumbling but he is very funny in it and Jum Lea plays a steady role as the reluctant pop star.Dave well he's Dave. But who cares about their acting its SLADE and the MUSIC ROCKS Its a piece of history and worth the search to have it in your collection

I watched this film for the first time in around 30 years last night and was amazed at how well it stands up today.It is gritty,funny and has a good storyline.The direction by Richard Loncraine is crisp and the acting is pretty good throughout.

As the band Flame,Noddy,Jimmy,Dave and Don do a fair job as actors.Not Oscar winners but not bad at all.Tom Conti does well in his first major role as the oily manager and Johnny Shannon is convincing as their gangster like first manager.The best performance comes from Alan Lake as Jack.He is very good in every scene he is in and should have received more recognition for this role.

The film moves along at a good pace,never drags and will surprise many people with it's edginess and at times grim reality.I have seen quite a few music based films and this is most definitely right up there with the very best.It is now quite respected and this is deserved.It really should reach a much wider audience as it is a very good attempt at showing that it is not all a bed of roses when you achieve success.The soundtrack is great and there are also a couple of scenes that without a doubt influenced the makers of 'Spinal Tap',see if you can spot them.Well done Slade.They took a big risk by making a movie like this and although their career went downhill afterwards,this is a film they can be very proud of.

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.

There is something depressing about certain UK films from the 70's its really hard to see the appeal. Slade In Flame is the fictional story of the rise of the band Flame played by the real life UK band called Slade, known these days for a Christmas song. I am always keen to watch 70's movies and this one has been on the radar for quite some time, its only recently been given the HD treatment. But was it worth the wait?

I would say no. The first thing to mention is the very weird atmosphere this film has. Its not a comedy, but there are a few stabs at it throughout, its not quite a musical but there is plenty of music, I suppose its meant to be a drama but there is basically no emotional meat on the bones so you really don't care about anyone or what happens to them throughout. The music is terrible, its depressing glam rock which all sounds the same and Noddy's voice sounds bizarre throughout. Not just the speaking voice but when singing, who knows what processing has been done on it. There is an overall glum feeling throughout the film which is a real drag, especially when Slade are seen as a fun band. Its not an engaging or particularly enjoyable watch and it has the type of downcast ending some 70's movies are known for. Did they think they were being clever? Slade can't really act which is an issue as they are in the movie 90% of the time. It seems the only people who could possibly give this a thumbs up are Slade fans from that era. Because to the casual viewer its a real drag. Its also enough to put anyone off joining a band for life, which is odd seeing as the band are still around today. Why so negative Noddy?

What a brilliant film! This film is a must to watch, not only if you are a Slade fan, but if you like to take a sneak-peek into the seedy and gritty world of pop/rock 'n' roll. The hard cutting realism of the life of a working band rising to short fame during the 70's. The film encapsulates the lives of the band and individual band members that come from ordinary every day life, working through working mens clubs to concerts and star status. you get a shear sense of being there and what it means to work in those circles, (It's not all, 'Glitter 'n' Glam). It's a cut throat world between band and managers, eat or be eaten. There are some great songs in the film to, which everyone from that era will remember. It's not surreal, the film holds up well along with 'That'll be the day' and 'Stardust' and compliments them. Buy it you will not be disappointed. Well done Nod, Jim, Dave & Don, lets have a revival or a sequel eh! Allan.

When Wolverhampton rockers Slade were at the top of their tree in the early Seventies, it seemed only natural that they would branch out and make a movie. The original idea was to make a sci-fi spoof called The Quite A Mess Experiment, scuppered by the fact that Dave Hill was eaten by a monster in the first half an hour.

Into their collective laps fell a script by Andrew Birkin about a band called Flame. It seemed like a perfect vehicle, although for the band, much of the script didn't ring true. So Birkin and director Richard Loncraine went on tour with the lads.

The revised script came back and was much more on the ball. The result is a rarely seen music drama, one of the bleakest and most intriguing in history which is a fascinating alternative to the Beatles offerings and the David Essex movies of the period.

Slade in Flame is s fictional tale of the pop group Slade playing as a band called Flame. Although a lot of the on the road stories are clearly based in fact. It's a great romp of a movie , the classic working class lads slog their collective guts working every dive in the uk, before they make it big. Sadly they become disillusioned with fame and jack it all in.

Although filmed in the 1970s, this film is entirely relevant to the 21st century audience. It is the story of how marketing overtakes the music. Nothing could be closer to the story of Flame than today's reality TV talent shows. Although different in temperament, the character played by Tom Conti could just as easily be Simon Cowell.

While there are parallels with today, the music remains outstanding and offers a small window on the Slade discography, illustrating the wide range of styles to which they were able to extend themselves. The film also offers a glimpse of the tawdry world of England in the stagflation era of the 1970s. The dying industrialisation of the Midlands, and the pre-Thatcherite business world of London and the cut-throat world of music at that time. It is interesting to note that monthly sales of a hit single today would be equivalent to a day's sales in the 1970s!

A great film, slightly spoiled by the less-than-perfect sound quality. Time for a Slade reunion methinks ;-)

At the height of their popularity in 1974, their then manager, Chas Chandler (former bass player of The Animals and former manager of Jimi Hendrix), suggested Slade do a film. Perhaps trying to emulate the success of The Beatles with A Hard Day's Night and Help at the height of Beatlemania, it seemed a logical step that The Black Country's answer to Merseyside's Fab Four should follow suit.

By the early 1970s, Slade had conquered the UK, the country was in the mist of Slademania and they had become the natural successor to The Beatles, with six number one singles, and two number one albums in the UK all by the close of 1974. Yet, unlike John, Paul, George and Ringo, Noddy, Dave, Jim and Don had not conquered the US. Slade hadn't had an early epitomising TV appearance like performing on the Ed Sullivan Show that made The Moptops an overnight success in the US. So maybe Chandler felt that if Slade made a film, it would help them to get them a number one over there – a prize that had eluded them so.

With the announcement of the film, the fans and public alike waited in anticipation. With Slade being perceived as a 'good times' band, many felt the fun and frolics would follow them to the silver screen. Instead, the band decided to a U-turn, and go against its public image as The Monkees had done with Head in 1968 when the US's answer to The Beatles, The Monkees, decided not to have 90 minutes of zany humour but instead a surreal adventure parodying themselves. It would be many years before Head received cult status.

The film Flame is about the rise of the band (Flame) from the Midlands in 1966, and all the trappings of fame. Charlie – drummer (Don Powell), Paul – bass (Jim Lea), Barry – lead guitar (Dave Hill), Stoker – lead vocals and rhythm guitar (Noddy Holden), are semi professional musicians performing at weddings and working men's clubs; Paul and Barry are performing covers with Jack Daniels (Alan Lake, who married the late and great Diana Dors), whilst Stoker is playing with a novelty band, The Undertakers. There is no love lost between these bands, in fact a great deal of rivalry. However, after a few personnel changes, Daniels is sacked and replaced by Stoker and Flame is born. After a few successful gigs, the band catch the attention of Robert Seymour (Tom Conti), an investment banker who sees music as a great opportunity to make some hard and fast cash via music.

Yet Flame are handled by no messy agent Ron Harding (Johnny Shannon), whose office is above a Bingo hall and seems to be always short changing the band, which results in both parties going their separate ways.

When Paul shows Stoker Seymour's letter of intent in Stoker's pigeon loft, Stoker merely shrugs his shoulders, and says they are the same as Harding's agency, and the difference is that have they "got better note paper". However the rest of the band, persuade Stoker, and they sign to Seymour, who invites them to his prestige offices in London. When Seymour is telling Flame about how he wishes to package the band, Paul drolly replies, "I'm not a bloody fish finger". Short and sweet sentences from the band, yet, they both sum up perfectly the ruthless and marketing over music culture that is so paramount in many record companies.

Moreover, this overall concept of Flame is an insight into the trappings of the music industry, yet also the film illustrates how music is a great escape for a working class lad, whose only other options include the local steel mills or market trading. So the film does have a sense of optimism which is short lived when Flame starts to swing with the sharks. Moreover, their troubles are worsened when it appears they are still under contract to Harding. Both parties had failed to terminate the contract and now the wheeler dealer wants a piece of their big pie as Flame are becoming a huge chart success. However, Seymour will do anything to stop this. As a viewer, we observe the growing tension of the band which leads to a dramatic and poignant crescendo at an after-show party at The Grand Hotel Brighton (an iconic hotel from The Who's Quadrophenia), which is like the fall of the Roman Empire as the film comes to a close when Stoker is confronted by their former manager in the morning and Stoker ends the film with the statement "we have all had enough". Long pause, then the credits roll, and we are left with a lingering thought about the brutal world of the music industry.

When 70's Glam Rock champions Slade where asked to appear in a movie, several script options came their way. It was not until Manager Chas Chandler and John Steel came across Flame that the ball started rolling (and Rocking). Original songs where written by usual Slade Songsters Noddy Holder and Jim Lea. Slade spent the latter end of 1974 filming around Leeds and London. The Movie premiered in 1975 accompanied by the hit record "Far, Far Away". The Movie shows the rifts building within the group and the behind the scenes wrangles of Management. Snatched from obscurity, Pub and Club band 'Iron Rod' are discovered just as their relationship with seedy Manager Ron Harding is ending. They are given a make over "Im not a bloody fish-finger" moans Paul (Jim Lea). But Flamboyant Barry(Dave Hill) and reluctant singer Stoker (Noddy Holder) are keen for glory. Drummer Charlie (Don Powell) provides the on screen laughs. New Manager Robert Seymour (Tom Conti) employs ex-Singer Jack Daniels (Alan Lake) to steal the group's contract from Harding, but Daniels gets discovered by Hardings heavies and is beaten up. Harding threatens Seymour with more violence unless his contract turns up. Seymour returns the group to Harding on the same night that Paul walks out on the group. harding goes to the groups hotel room where Stoker informs him "We've all had enough Ron", and the film finishes to the strains of "How does it feel?". Great concert scenes filmed at the Marquee club in 1974 featuring members from the Slade Fan Club. An Album 'Slade in Flame' was released to tie in with the film, and an accompanying book by Andrew Birkin are available. See it just to relive the Glam days of flares and glitz of the early 1970's. Keep On Rockin'

Not the greatest production ever made; even so, it holds together pretty well. I was surprised at how well the band members did in playing their parts; Don Powell (drums) as Charlie, Jim Lea (bass) as Paul, Noddy Holder (vocals/guitars) as Stoker and Dave Hill (guitars) as Barry. Of course there were also some professional actors involved and they all did a pretty good job too; Tom Conti as Robert Seymour, Alan Lake as Jack Daniels, Johnny Shannon as Ron Harding, Kenneth Colley as Tony Devlin and Anthony Allen as Russell.

I really liked the gritty feel of this one, very reminiscent of films of the late 60's, early 70's. I have to admit to being a fan of the band and the film features two of their very best songs; "How Does it Feel" and "Far Far Away"; which is bound to swing my vote (slightly). A very interesting film giving an insight into the way bands were manipulated and eventually torn apart by unscrupulous people. I very much enjoyed it and I think it deserves more recognition. I also watched the documentary that comes with the DVD and I can see why certain band members were a little worried about how it would be received. They shouldn't have, it's a fine piece of work and well worth a look.

SteelMonster's verdict: HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

My score: 8.4/10

IMDb Score: 6.8/10 (based on 219 votes at the time of going to press).

MetaScore: NO DATA: (Based on 0 critic reviews provided by Metacritic.com at the time of going to press).

Rotten Tomatoes Score: No Score Yet… (based on 1 reviews counted at the time of going to press).

Rotten Tomatoes 'Audience' Score: 40/100 'Want to See' (based on 28 user ratings counted at the time of going to press).

You can find an expanded version of this review on my blog: Thoughts of a SteelMonster.

A chance meeting of two amateur groups, a car crash and a management company keen to make quick money off any fresh product all come together to form the band Flame and see them go from very humble roots into something of a nationwide success in a very short period of time. However as they soon learn, the higher the climb, the farther there is to fall.

I wasn't sure how this film was going to be but I recorded it off television because I vaguely remember it being referred to by Mark Kermode back when he used to do the cult corner section on Mark & Lard's radio show. I couldn't remember if anyone said it was good or not – only that it was a "cult", which is not often a glowing recommendation as "cult" generally implies that it has no broad appeal but rather will alienate the majority of viewers and just leave a hardcore of fans. Heck many "cult" films are poor affairs that are embraced for their rubbishness as much as anything – for all I knew I could be watching the "S Club: Seeing Double" of its day! Watching it is a strange experience because it has a certain amount of charm, rough humour, retro appeal, commentary on fame and so on to just about hang together. The problem is that it is a matter of "just about" because it doesn't totally pull off any or all of these aspects in a way that is consistent and satisfying. I'm sure there is a real chunk of fan appeal in seeing the band and having them play some tracks across the film and that for many viewers this will cover it but, speaking as someone who really only knows their "classics" this wasn't there for me. The other aspects make for distracting fare but it is unavoidable that it doesn't hang together and feels like less than the sum of its parts. It is not as funny as "Hard Day's Night" although it does have a touch of that style of humour; nor does it deliver a killer commentary narrative on the construction of the band in the public eye – it is there but not developed to the point where it is sharp or that interesting.

Slade themselves are fine in their various roles - fine but of course not great. Shannon's lowlife is convincingly menacing as he is small-time but Tom Conti doesn't bring much to the party with a rather obvious turn that offers little but his famous face. Visually the film feels old and quite tired, with poor angles. Maybe it was meant to be realistic but for me it just came over as drab and lacking visual invention. Flame doesn't crash and burn though (sorry, that's a sh1t line) but it doesn't fly either. It has appeal in many regards but cannot follow through satisfactorily in any of them. The end result is a film with plenty of flickers of interest but ultimately fails to come together and now stands almost solely on the fact that it is "the Slade pop-film".