Keep Your Hands Off My Power Supply
Encyclopedia
Run Runaway
"Run Runaway", a celtic-flavoured rock-jig featuring some elliptical lyrics and the return of Jim Lea's fiddle. RCA saw the potential of the track and appointed John PunterJohn Punter
John Punter is an English music producer and recording engineer. He has worked with many bands and musicians, such as Japan, Procol Harum, Roxy Music and Slade. His career in music spanned over 30 years and many different genres...
to work on the track. The album version is extended to give more time for the Linn drum gallop. This track became the first hit in the US for Slade after years of trying to crack the American market, peaking at #20. The track is also a recommended track by allmusic.
My Oh My
"My Oh My" came as Lea had always wanted to write a big, folksy ballad and when he presented his melody idea to Holder, the lyrics to My Oh My were created. The melody came from an idea that Lea had while listening to Hill and Holder tuning up in the dressing room before a gig at a University in Wales. This track became a huge hit in the UK, peaking at #2 and #37 in the US. The track is also a recommended track by allmusic.High and Dry
"High and Dry" was originally covered by female rock band GirlschoolGirlschool
Girlschool are a British heavy metal band originating out of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal scene in 1978 and frequently associated with contemporaries Motörhead. They are the longest running all-female rock band, still active after more than 30 years...
which was produced by both Holder and Lea. Chris Ingham stated "High and Dry is known for showing notable Holder vocal, once memorably described by Melody Maker
Melody Maker
Melody Maker, published in the United Kingdom, was, according to its publisher IPC Media, the world's oldest weekly music newspaper. It was founded in 1926 as a magazine targeted at musicians; in 2000 it was merged into "long-standing rival" New Musical Express.-1950s–1960s:Originally the Melody...
's Jim Arundel as "a blistering yell that's akin to Little Richard
Little Richard
Richard Wayne Penniman , known by the stage name Little Richard, is an American singer, songwriter, musician, recording artist, and actor, considered key in the transition from rhythm and blues to rock and roll in the 1950s. He was also the first artist to put the funk in the rock and roll beat and...
undergoing throat surgery by blowtorch without an anaesthetic". High And Dry is also for its unapologetic commemoration of insensitive womanising; "you want equality", goes the lyric, "you won't get none of that from me". How that fits with Slade's declaration in My Oh My that they "believe in woman" is difficult to say, but a politically correct Slade wouldn't be Slade at all."
Slam the Hammer Down
"Slam the Hammer Down" opens the original album with a shouted soliloquy by Holder from a helicopter. Chris Ingham from Rock's Backpages stated "The track features an elaborately motor racing/sex metaphor." The track was issued as a promo in the US only. The single peaked at #92 in the US.In The Doghouse
"In The Doghouse" featured brass instruments for the first time in a Slade track for years. Chris Ingham stated "In The Doghouse celebrates the carefree indiscretions of youth." Noddy Holder later recalled "there was plenty of good stuff on that album...we could have, theoretically, had another single...it would have been a hit", Holder was probably talking about In The Doghouse.Keep Your Hands Off My Power Supply
"Keep Your Hands Off My Power Supply" appeared as a b-side to Slade's 1983 hit My Oh My. The title was used for the American version of The Amazing Kamikaze Syndrome. The song also appeared on the American release. Chris Ingham wrote "the track is a song about a drunk driver strongly advising his amorous passenger not to grope him while he's being followed by the police. The chorus is as fast as anything Slade ever recorded while the production typifies Slade's sound in the mid-80s." The track is also a recommended track by allmusic.Cheap 'n' Nasty Luv
"Cheap 'n' Nasty Luv" is described by Chris Ingham as "another in the series of Slade songs which display an interest in the oldest profession (see also Standing On The Corner, When Fantasy Calls) though the usual lusty appreciation is set aside here and replaced with an empathetic view of a young lady unhappy in her situation." On the american release, Keep Your Hands Off My Power Supply, the song is shorter than the European version which adds an extra snythesizer section.Can't Tame A Hurricane
"Can't Tame a Hurricane" was originally taken from the 12" version of My Oh My. The track featured on Keep Your Hands Off My Power Supply, the American version of The Amazing Kamikaze Syndrome. On the European My Oh My single, the title was changed to "Don't Tame a Hurricane. Chris Ingham wrote "Don't Tame A Hurricane has a rocking terseness and directness that recalls Slade's '70s heyday while packing an '80s punch. The 'hurricane' of the song title refers to a larger than life character who won't be tied down and who's an "international cocktail who'll end up on the rocks".(And Now the Waltz) C'est La Vie
"(And Now the Waltz) C'est La Vie", described by Chris Ingham as "a waltz-time anthem about the bittersweet feelings surrounding an end-of-affair tryst", was originally released in 1982 as a Christmas single. In November 2005 on one of his regular TV-reviewing slots on the Mark RadcliffeMark Radcliffe
Mark Radcliffe is an English broadcaster who has worked in various roles for the BBC since the 1980s and remains one of Britain's most recognised DJs. He is currently a presenter on BBC Radio 2 and BBC 6 Music, where he hosts an afternoon show five times a week alongside Stuart Maconie, called...
BBC Radio 2 show, Holder was asked to choose a track from the recently released Best of Slade. To Radcliffe's surprise Holder chose this flop single. Holder reasoned the track showed off his voice really well.
Ready To Explode
"Ready to Explode" is an eight-and-one-half-minute track that that opened side two of the original vinyl album. It is a multi-themed song suite about the excitement of motor racing, inspired in part by the Jim SteinmanJim Steinman
James Richard "Jim" Steinman is an American composer, lyricist, and Grammy Award-winning record producer responsible for several hit songs. He has also worked as an arranger, pianist, and singer...
's work with Meat Loaf
Meat Loaf
Michael Lee Aday , better known by his stage name, Meat Loaf, is an American hard rock musician and actor...
. Guitarist Dave Hill said "I seem to remember that he was hooked on the Bat Out of Hell album at the time, and he wanted to make a record about...being on the edge and all this type of thing". The track also featured Pete Drummond doing announcements on the track. The song was split into four different parts:
- Part 1: The Warm Up
- Part 2: The Grid
- Part 3: The Race
- Part 4: The Dream
Two Track Stereo One Track Mind
"Two Track Stereo One Track Mind" appeared as the b-side to the Run Runaway single. Chris Ingham wrote "a jokey portrait of a girl who blocks out her lover during sex by listening to music through headphones. On one level, a punning piece of titillation, on another a comment on the difficulty achieving meaningful connection in an age of multi-media distractions. Perhaps."Chart performance
| Chart (1984) | Peak position |
Total weeks |
|---|---|---|
| Canadian Albums Chart | 26 | 30 |
| U.S. Billboard 200 | 33 | 18 |
Slade
- Noddy HolderNoddy HolderNeville John "Noddy" Holder MBE is an English musician and actor. He was the lead vocalist and guitarist with the rock band Slade....
- lead vocals, guitar, backing vocals - Dave HillDave HillDave Hill is an English musician, who is the lead guitarist and backing vocalist in the English glam rock group, Slade. The music journalist, Stuart Maconie, commented "he usually wore a jumpsuit made of the foil that you baste your turkeys in and platforms of oil-rig-derrick height...
- guitar, backing vocals - Jim LeaJim LeaJim Lea , is an English musician, most notable for playing bass guitar, keyboards, violin, guitar, and singing backing vocals in Slade.-Career:...
- bass, piano, keyboards, guitar, violin (uncredited), backing vocals, lead vocals on "Ready to Explode", producer - Don PowellDon PowellDon Powell is a drummer who founded the English glam rock group, Slade.- Biography :As a child Powell joined the Boy Scouts where he became interested in the drums after being asked to join the band on a Sunday morning parade. After Etheridge Secondary Modern School he studied Metallurgy at...
- drums, percussion, gong
Additional credits
- Andy Dummit - Saxophone on "In the Doghouse"
- Pete Drummond - Announcements on "Ready to Explode"
- John PunterJohn PunterJohn Punter is an English music producer and recording engineer. He has worked with many bands and musicians, such as Japan, Procol Harum, Roxy Music and Slade. His career in music spanned over 30 years and many different genres...
- producer - Lou Brooks - artwork (illustration)
- Jo Di Donato - design (cover)