Radio Wall of Sound
Encyclopedia
"Radio Wall of Sound" is a song
by the English
rock band
, Slade
, issued as a single in 1991. It was included on their compilation album
, Wall of Hits
.
It was the first song to be credited solely by Jim Lea
since "I Won't Let it 'Appen Agen" almost 20 years earlier. It was also sung by Lea, with Noddy Holder
joining with him in the chorus
. The B-side
, "Lay Your Love on the Line", was written by Dave Hill
and former Wizzard
member Bill Hunt. The track was originally for a solo project of Jim Lea. The recording of the track already existed, complete apart from lead vocals. The track was not in Holder's key and so his vocals were dubbed into the chorus, leaving Lea's lead vocal on the verses. The track also features Radio One DJ Mike Read
as 'the voice of radio'.
In the 1990s, Jim Lea was interviewed by Ken Sharpe. Lea explained the track's meaning which was about having a radio and music playing inside your own mind.
The song appeared on the various artists compilation "Now That's What I Call Music! 20", released November 30, 1991.
This track was covered by Mick White.
The single peaked at #388 for 1991 on rateyourmusic.
In the same interview, Holder stated "I knew RWOS was more commercial, a good instant rock track."
In a Ken Sharpe interview, Jim Lea stated "I had already done my demo of it and I was putting the band on top of my demo. During producing, Nod came to sing the verse and I said 'Nod, I feel really embarrassed to say this but I think my voice sounds better than yours, not because I'm a better singer, that's ludicrous, it's just that the key is ridiculously low for you.' And he said 'alright then...' cause Nod's very easy going. The track is about having a radio station in your head, music of the mind and this whole thing about the DJ all going on in your mind. You don't even need a radio, you can just imagine it."
Due to the song's radio friendly sound, the song was specially modified for London's Capital Radio as a radio jingle.
In mid-1990, Lea spoke to the Slade fan club about his solo work, stating "There is a track called that I've written called "Radio Wall of Sound" and it sounds just like Slade, even my brother Frank says it sounds like Slade."
The fan club in late 1991 described the b-side as "a belting rocker with Nod stuffing the verbals right down your eardrums."
Lea spotted the commercial friendly hook of the 1987 album track "Sing Shout (Knock Yourself Out)" which he recycled by slowing the hook down for "Radio Wall of Sound". The song dropped the synthesizers that had dominated the band's previous albums, and returned to a more commercial rock-based sound.
The band opened the Top of the Pops show with their performance, the vocals were performed live where Lea used the opportunity to change the lyric. Instead of "So just play the radio loud", he sang "So just turn that T.V. up loud".
Originally, in September, just before the single's release, the Slade fan club newsletter announced plans for a music video. This video was set in a radio station where the DJ Mike Read was trying to outvolume Slade playing on the roof, where at the end the entire station blows up.
12" Single
CD Single
Cassette Single
Song
In music, a song is a composition for voice or voices, performed by singing.A song may be accompanied by musical instruments, or it may be unaccompanied, as in the case of a cappella songs...
by the English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
rock band
Rock Band
Rock Band is a music video game developed by Harmonix Music Systems, published by MTV Games and Electronic Arts. It is the first title in the Rock Band series. The PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions were released in the United States on November 20, 2007, while the PlayStation 2 version was...
, Slade
Slade
Slade are an English rock band from Wolverhampton, who rose to prominence during the glam rock era of the early 1970s. With 17 consecutive Top 20 hits and six number ones, the British Hit Singles & Albums names them as the most successful British group of the 1970s based on sales of singles...
, issued as a single in 1991. It was included on their compilation album
Compilation album
A compilation album is an album featuring tracks from one or more performers, often culled from a variety of sources The tracks are usually collected according to a common characteristic, such as popularity, genre, source or subject matter...
, Wall of Hits
Wall Of Hits
Wall of Hits was a compilation album by the British glam/hardrock group Slade. It was released November 11, 1991 and reached number 34 in the UK charts. It also included the last two singles recorded by the original lineup...
.
It was the first song to be credited solely by Jim Lea
Jim Lea
Jim Lea , is an English musician, most notable for playing bass guitar, keyboards, violin, guitar, and singing backing vocals in Slade.-Career:...
since "I Won't Let it 'Appen Agen" almost 20 years earlier. It was also sung by Lea, with Noddy Holder
Noddy Holder
Neville John "Noddy" Holder MBE is an English musician and actor. He was the lead vocalist and guitarist with the rock band Slade....
joining with him in the chorus
Refrain
A refrain is the line or lines that are repeated in music or in verse; the "chorus" of a song...
. The B-side
A-side and B-side
A-side and B-side originally referred to the two sides of gramophone records on which singles were released beginning in the 1950s. The terms have come to refer to the types of song conventionally placed on each side of the record, with the A-side being the featured song , while the B-side, or...
, "Lay Your Love on the Line", was written by Dave Hill
Dave Hill
Dave 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...
and former Wizzard
Wizzard
Wizzard was a Birmingham-based band formed by Roy Wood, former member of The Move and co-founder of Electric Light Orchestra. The Guinness Book of 500 Number One Hits states, "Wizzard was Roy Wood just as much as Wings were Paul McCartney."-Biography:...
member Bill Hunt. The track was originally for a solo project of Jim Lea. The recording of the track already existed, complete apart from lead vocals. The track was not in Holder's key and so his vocals were dubbed into the chorus, leaving Lea's lead vocal on the verses. The track also features Radio One DJ Mike Read
Mike Read
Michael David Kenneth Read is an English radio disc jockey, writer, journalist and television presenter.-Early life:...
as 'the voice of radio'.
In the 1990s, Jim Lea was interviewed by Ken Sharpe. Lea explained the track's meaning which was about having a radio and music playing inside your own mind.
The song appeared on the various artists compilation "Now That's What I Call Music! 20", released November 30, 1991.
This track was covered by Mick White.
The single peaked at #388 for 1991 on rateyourmusic.
Background
Holder was asked in a 1992 interview on the sales of the single. "It wouldn’t have needed that many sales to have reached that position, not a vast amount. The initial shipping out to the shops was around 30,000 copies, I think, which is a good pre-order figure, good enough to go Top 40 first week out. The problem was sustaining the momentum after using up all the available TV’s there was nowhere else to go. We couldn’t get on Wogan, which would have helped, so really that was all the TV possible. We did more press than ever before, in recent times at least, but there just aren’t that many rock records making the charts these days unless they happen to come from a film soundtrack. The charts have been very dance orientated of late and I can’t really think of any big rock records of 1991. If you look at the rock album charts from last year there are not that many that were really outstanding and had any long chart success."In the same interview, Holder stated "I knew RWOS was more commercial, a good instant rock track."
In a Ken Sharpe interview, Jim Lea stated "I had already done my demo of it and I was putting the band on top of my demo. During producing, Nod came to sing the verse and I said 'Nod, I feel really embarrassed to say this but I think my voice sounds better than yours, not because I'm a better singer, that's ludicrous, it's just that the key is ridiculously low for you.' And he said 'alright then...' cause Nod's very easy going. The track is about having a radio station in your head, music of the mind and this whole thing about the DJ all going on in your mind. You don't even need a radio, you can just imagine it."
Due to the song's radio friendly sound, the song was specially modified for London's Capital Radio as a radio jingle.
In mid-1990, Lea spoke to the Slade fan club about his solo work, stating "There is a track called that I've written called "Radio Wall of Sound" and it sounds just like Slade, even my brother Frank says it sounds like Slade."
The fan club in late 1991 described the b-side as "a belting rocker with Nod stuffing the verbals right down your eardrums."
Lea spotted the commercial friendly hook of the 1987 album track "Sing Shout (Knock Yourself Out)" which he recycled by slowing the hook down for "Radio Wall of Sound". The song dropped the synthesizers that had dominated the band's previous albums, and returned to a more commercial rock-based sound.
The band opened the Top of the Pops show with their performance, the vocals were performed live where Lea used the opportunity to change the lyric. Instead of "So just play the radio loud", he sang "So just turn that T.V. up loud".
Music video
A promotional video was created for the single. The track was also mimed on UK TV including on Motormouth and Slade's last appearance on Top of The Pops.Originally, in September, just before the single's release, the Slade fan club newsletter announced plans for a music video. This video was set in a radio station where the DJ Mike Read was trying to outvolume Slade playing on the roof, where at the end the entire station blows up.
Formats
7" Single- "Radio Wall of Sound" - 3:47
- "Lay Your Love on the Line" - 3:09
12" Single
- "Radio Wall of Sound" - 3:47
- "Lay Your Love on the Line" - 3:09
- "Cum On Feel The NoizeCum on Feel the Noize"Cum On Feel the Noize" is a rock song originally released by Slade in 1973.Written by Jim Lea and Noddy Holder and produced by Chas Chandler, "Cum On Feel the Noize" was Slade's fourth number-one single in the UK and their first to enter straight at number one...
" - 4:31
CD Single
- "Radio Wall of Sound" - 3:47
- "Lay Your Love on the Line" - 3:09
- "Cum On Feel The Noize" - 4:31
Cassette Single
- "Radio Wall of Sound" - 3:47
- "Lay Your Love on the Line" - 3:09
Chart performance
| Chart (1991) | Peak position |
Total weeks |
|---|---|---|
| Belgian Singles Chart | 16 | 2 |
| Dutch Singles Chart | 22 | 9 |
| Irish Singles Chart | 30 | 1 |
| UK Singles Chart | 21 | 5 |
Personnel
- Jim Lea: Lead vocals and bass guitar
- Noddy Holder: Guitar and backing vocals
- Dave Hill: Lead guitar
- Don Powell: Drums
- Mike ReadMike ReadMichael David Kenneth Read is an English radio disc jockey, writer, journalist and television presenter.-Early life:...
: DJ voice