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"Still the Same" is a song from rock band Slade which was released as the leading single from the 1987 album ''You Boyz Make Big Noize''. The song was written by lead singer Noddy Holder and bassist Jim Lea. It was produced by John Punter. ==Background== Following the band's moderate success with the 1985 album ''Rogues Gallery'', the band started recording their next album in 1986. The band hoped that the album, if it could become a commercial success, would catapult the band to where they felt they belonged. The song "Still the Same" was chosen as the album's leading single, where it was released in February 1987. The key decision was to avoid the Christmas period of 1986, as the band's 1973 festive hit "Merry Xmas Everybody" had often given Slade the image of being a Christmas only band. As a result, Slade usually exploited the seasonal attention by releasing new product. Although this benefited the band in some ways, Slade's connection with the festive season had not allowed Slade to develop the commercial and artistic credibility that they felt they deserved. This led the band and their record label, RCA Records, to hold back "Still the Same" from release until two months after Christmas. The song was chosen by the record company as a single, as they hoped the track's anthemic sing-a-long style would reproduce the success of "My Oh My" - a power ballad hit the band had in 1983. Released over a year since the last Slade single "Do You Believe in Miracles", which caused rumours of the band's split, "Still the Same" failed to become a big hit, largely due to lack of radio play, and peaked at #73 in the UK, lasting a total of four weeks in the Top 100. This immediately raised the question of whether the single would have done better at Christmas, although, despite the radio-friendly sound, the song's lyrical message was not a happy message. Writer Chris Ingham, who wrote the notes for Slade's remastered CD releases via Salvo, described the song as being ''"about a couple's inability to evolve"'', and as a result was not festive fare.〔Slade's 2007 Salvo remastered album You Boyz Make Big Noize booklet〕 The song has been reported as being personal to Holder, with the lyrics dealing with his own marriage to Leandra Holder, which ended in 1984 largely due to his touring commitments with Slade. The song's producer John Punter had worked with the band since 1983, when he produced the two hit singles "My Oh My" and "Run Runaway". He produced the majority of material on the ''Rogues Gallery'' album and would also produce the ''You Boyz Make Big Noize'' album track and future single "Ooh La La in L.A." as well. In the Slade International Fan Club Newsletter of April–June 1987, fan club editor Trevor Slaughter spoke of the song's lack of success, noting ''"Well, what a great pity it was that Slade's last single only reached #73 in the UK charts. "Still the Same" had a weekly chart progression of 91, 74, 73 and 86, which by Slade's standards was very disappointing. The single did do a little better in some of the other charts though."'' The newsletter highlighted that the song peaked at #14 on the Sounds magazine's Hot Metal 60 Chart, with Slaughter stating "Not bad considering it was a ballad." As reported from a Slade fan in West Germany, the song went straight to #2 on the German "NDR 2" radio station - one of the country's most popular. Later in the Slade International Fan Club newsletter of July–September 1987, it was revealed by Slaughter that in Germany the latest single "Ooh La La in L.A." had reached number two in the playlist charts, with "Still the Same" at number four. However both songs did not make a chart appearance on the German Singles Chart. Holder had revealed this originally in a fan club interview published within the same newsletter, when he was interviewed on 24 June 1987 at the Crest Hotel in Walsall. With the latest album released throughout Europe, Holder was asked what sort of a reaction he'd had from the media. Holder stated ''"Well, we've had some good reviews and we've had a couple of so-so reviews. The reviews we've had in the press have been on the whole very favourable. We've had a good feedback from Europe as well, particularly Germany and Scandinavia. In Germany at the moment, "Ooh La La in L.A." is at no. 2 on the radio playlist, and "Still the Same" is at no. 4, so things certainly seem to be doing well over there."''〔 Within the Slade International Fan Club Newsletter of April–June 1987, Slaughter detailed the reason for the single's lack of radio one airplay, as the single was B-Listed and not A-Listed on the radio's playlist. He stated ''"As so many of you have written in to tell us, the main reason that the record didn't go higher in the UK charts is because it just didn't get the Radio One airplay. Some of you have suggested that we organise a petitioning of the Radio One DJs in the same way Dave Kemp did in 1980 with Slade's "Alive at Reading '80". Unfortunately, this introduction of the playlist at Radio One makes this idea a complete waste of time. It is no longer the DJs who decide which records should be 'A' listed, but an independent panel of the producers of the various Monday-Friday 'Strip shows', covering Mike Smith through to Bruno Brookes. Of the 100+ new releases each week, only ten records are 'A' listed, and are designated 'Chartbusters'. "Still the Same" was only 'B' listed, so didn't pick up very much airplay on Radio One at all. All we can do is hope that RCA have made a better choice for the next Slade single, and that the Radio One playlist panel pick it up as a 'Chartbuster'."''〔 On 27 March 1987, guitarist Dave Hill was interviewed at Music Works Studio by fans Trevor Slaughter and Nomis, where the band were recording the future single and title track "You Boyz Make Big Noize". This interview was published in the Slade International Fan Club Newsletter of April–June 1987. In the interview Hill was asked to speak about the single and the possible reasons why it didn't get higher in the UK charts. Hill revealed ''"Yeah, "Still the Same" is basically being regarded as a flop in terms of what was expected of it. I think the record company were mostly disappointed, as it was more them than the group who chose it. It was always up for a single though, right from the demo stage. We have a situation at Radio One at the moment where they now run this playlist. There have also been a few changes in the people who run the programmes. We brought this record out, in not the usual Christmas period, which on the face of it seemed to me to be a feasible idea as an attempt to get away from the 'Slade only exist at Christmas time' situation. On listening to opinion since though, it seems to have been regarded as another "My Oh My" type of song, which perhaps should have come out at Christmas. Everyone can say what they like now, and if it was a hit, they'll all be saying what a great idea it was. When "My Oh My" was released, it was just as slow to take off, but as soon as we got the radio play, it rocketed. "Still the same" did virtually the same as "My Oh My" chart-wise in its first few weeks, but at the point where "My Oh My" picked up the radio play, "Still the Same" was dropped completely, especially by Radio One."''〔 In the same interview Hill was asked about the present position on the upcoming release of the new album and next single. He stated ''"Well, the album was supposed to be released towards the end of April, but in view of the fact that "Still the Same" wasn't a hit, RCA may wait a little longer until the next single peaks before releasing the album. As you know, Roy Thomas Baker has produced two songs, "Love is Like a Rock" and "That's What Friends Are For". "That's What Friends Are For" looks to be the next single, mainly because there's a certain person up at RCA who is going wally over it."'' In the same interview again, Hill was asked if he could talk through each song on the album, and for "Still the Same" he stated ''"The last single, which in my view deserved to go much higher in the charts than it did."''〔 On 13 February 2008, an interview with Powell took place by Lise Lyng Falkenberg, the writer of Powell's biography ''Look Wot I Dun: Don Powell of Slade''. The interview consisted of fan questions asked from Ian Edmundson's unofficial Slade fan forum, where one fan from Bournemouth had asked ''"If you could have a hit record again, what style would you prefer to record ballad or rock and why?"'' Powell replied ''"Rock. Because that's really where we come from. I enjoy the ballads, especially "My Oh My", "Still the Same" and a few of those, but I would prefer a rock song."'' 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Still the Same (Slade song)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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