by Jeb Wright

Chris Slade has played with David Gilmour, Jimmy Page, Paul Rodgers and AC/DC. In addition to these rock legends, Slade has also played with Count Basie and Tom Jones – yes, that Tom Jones. In fact, the shaved headed drummer was invited to play with The King, Elvis Presley, but had to turn him down.

We caught up with the talented drummer to discuss, among other things, his upcoming appearance on Direct TV’s new game show Rock and A Hard Place, hosted by Meat Loaf. The show tests rockers general trivia knowledge, providing sometimes hilarious entertainment and raising money for various charities.

Slade also discussed his tenure with Tom Jones, his time with The Firm, Manfred Mann and the Earth Band and AC/DC. Coming soon will be a CD release by the band Damage Control featuring Slade on drums and UFO’s Pete Way on bass.

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Jeb: Tell me about the game show on Direct TV called Rock and a Hard Place that you are going to be on?

Chris: I am a contestant along with the Stars of Track and Field, who are a trio. On the game show they are up against Lonestar, who are a quartet. Meat Loaf said, "Slade will do it" and that is how it came about.

Jeb: Was this for charity?

Chris: They chose the charity. It was for Tupac’s charity. It is very worthwhile. It is for kids to develop their performing skills. It airs on Direct TV on Wednesday, March 12^th, on the 101 at 10:00 P.M. eastern/pacific time.

Jeb: How is being a contestant on a game show different from being in a band on stage?

Chris: I was a little worried, to be honest. They didn’t try to trick anybody by asking you to explain the theory of relativity or anything. Meat Loaf was his usual funny self; he did a great job and he is a really nice guy. There are different categories that you compete against. For instance, there was a travel category and they would ask the question and then you would buzz in – I’m sure the buzzers were rigged [laughter]. One question came up and Lonestar buzzed in. They were asked where Lenin’s tomb was and they answered "Leningrad." I just said, "No it’s not. It is in Red Square." Meat Loaf was told they were right. We had to retake that one and when they did he looked at me and said, "Slade, where is it?"

Jeb: How did you get invited to do it?

Chris: It came about through American Idol. One of the co-producers works for American Idol and I met him there one day and he told me about it. I went over and met the producer for the show and we got on immediately. We both come from across the Atlantic and we both ride motorcycles.

Jeb: Are you going to stay in music now or will we see you on Deal or No Deal?

Chris: [laughter] I don’t think the cameras could stand the reflection of off both of our heads.

Jeb: I heard you are in a band with Pete Way.

Chris: We are in a band called Damage Control. Robin George, who was the guitarist at one time in Thin Lizzy, called me and told me that he had written a few songs with Pete Way. He asked me if I wanted to be involved. I told him of course. I live in Los Angeles now but I flew to England and laid down the tracks. They are in the process of re-mixing as we speak; it turned out really well. I was very, very pleased with the drum sound. I am looking forward to hearing the finished product. I think there are a couple of killer songs; one is obvious and the other is a grower. I think it is called "There Ain’t No Alice." We just call it "Alice" so I am not quite sure of the full name. I wasn’t quite sure about it when I first heard it but after we played it and I played it to myself a few times, I was blown away. It really grew on me.

Jeb: Are you just filling in on the drums or are you going to be a member?

Chris: I hope we have a future with it. We were going to do something but then Pete went out with UFO and that took precedence over everything else. I know how difficult that can be; you have to do that. You can’t say, "Sorry UFO, I am with this other band now." We would very much like to tour. We are even talking about the second album now even though we haven’t technically finished the first.

Jeb: You have played with so many people that you must be totally comfortable just walking in the room and playing with anybody.

Chris: Comfortable might not be the right word but I feel capable. As you get longer in the tooth then you tend to be okay with it. I just do it my way. Now and again I will sit in with some friends in the LA and Orange County area and one of the guys will look at me and say, "Hey, the drums didn’t go like that on that song" and I say, "They would’ve if I had played on them."

Jeb: Going way back to the 60's, you were Tom Jones drummer.

Chris: There are people in Wales that don’t know that. We are from the same village. He is seven years older than me. He went to school with my brother – that isn’t how I got the gig, by the way. My father worked with him as well, he is a tap dancer and a singer. He would come home and tell me about this great singer named Tommy Scott and it turned out to be Tom Jones. We were a rock band when we started but then we went into cabaret. I stayed with him for seven years. We went from leather jackets and jeans to tuxedos. Instead of playing with a four-piece band, we were playing with a thirty-piece band.

I grew up with the Jazz thing so I could play all that Big Band stuff. They had a session player waiting in the wings to step in for me when I fell flat on face. I must have done all right because I stayed with him for years after that. We also did a lot of soul stuff that sounded like Earth, Wind & Fire. I am lucky I guess, I have played with Count Basie and I played with AC/DC.

Jeb: You also played with a young Olivia Newton John.

Chris: Yes, that’s right. After Tom, I got an offer to do a film thing. Over a hundred drummers auditioned for it. It was put together by the producer’s of James Bond. We were in a band called Tomorrow and it didn’t go anywhere. We rehearsed a few times and they paid me about three times what I was getting with Tom Jones. My wife was pregnant at the time so it was a good excuse to stay home.

Jeb: Only a few years later you ended up with Manfred Mann.

Chris: I got with them just out of the blue. I was doing the Tomorrow thing. I didn’t audition for that one; I just went along and played. We jammed together and it gelled really well. We couldn’t get arrested at the time. Nobody wanted to book Manfred Mann because of his pop music past. We knew we had to call ourselves something else. I came up with Manfred Mann and the Earth band. We went on the road for a week and played in clubs for free in order to get the band together. Our first tour was in Australia. Deep Purple were headlining, we were in the middle and Free were opening.

I was with Paul Rodgers just two nights ago. Tony Franklin was there two – three quarters of The Firm were there so we called ourselves The Fir [laughter]. The Fender Museum was honoring Paul. I have seen Paul about six times in the last year and I saw Tony at the NAMM show. The last time I saw Paul before that was at the Led Zeppelin show, he sang there; I was just in the audience. It was absolutely stunning.

Jeb: What did you think of a young Free back on the first tour?

Chris: I watched them every night – we did a three-week tour. Paul is trim now but he was about as skinny as his legs then. He still has an amazing voice. Everybody wrote something on the exhibit for Paul and the first thing I wrote was that he has great pipes. His voice hasn’t changed since Free; it is still the same.

Jeb: "Blinded by the Light" was written by Bruce Springsteen but the Earth Band make it a huge hit. Legend holds that you guys did the song without permission and that Bruce sued you over it.

Chris: That is absolute bullshit. It is complete rubbish. We played at The Shaboo Inn for a week in Connecticut. During that time a journalist came up from New York City and he gave all of us a copy of the Springsteen album. He was telling us how great the record was and how great Bruce was. The album, Greetings from Asbury Park, disappeared right away. It went straight down the tubes. Manfred listened to the album and came up with two arrangements, one was to "Spirits in the Night" and one was to "Blinded by the Light." We listened to "Blinded by the Light" and we said, "Nah, we are trying to get away from the poppy stuff and here you are bringing us this song." So, we did "Spirits in the Night" and about a month or so later Manfred came to us and said, "I changed the other song a bit and I think you might like it." We heard it and said, "We’ve got to do that." It was Bruce’s first ever hit record and it is his only # 1 single ever. He may not have gone anywhere if we had not done that song.

At that time I was going all over Britain telling everyone what a great songwriter Bruce was. I really do love how he writes lyrics. We didn’t steal it from him but he probably hates it because we did change it a little. I am actually hoping to re-record it in the near future for my own thing – I would like to put it on a CD of my own. I saw Max Weinberg, who is the drummer for Springsteen, and I told him that I was the drummer on "Blinded by the Light" and he told me, "That song saw us through a lot of hollow years." The journalist who gave us the record, by the way, was Jon Landau, who a few years later became Bruce’s manager.

Jeb: Let’s talk about The Firm. How did you get that gig? Did you know Tony Franklin?

Chris: Tony was with Roy Harper just before The Firm; we had never met. Jimmy Page asked me if I knew a bass player. At that time, I had worked with Pino Palladino, who is an amazing bass player. We never played with Pino but we all talked. Jimmy is one of Pino’s idols but something else came up and he couldn’t do it right away. Tony stepped in for Pino for what was to be a short time but he ended up staying. Tony is a great player, fretless or otherwise.

It is pretty interesting how I got involved with that band – it is going to be in the book that I am writing. I got a call one day and I picked up the phone and someone said, "Dave Gilmour here." I said, "Oh come on, who is it really?" He said, "No, this really is Dave Gilmour and I am putting a band together and I wonder if you would like to play drums." I said, "Hello Dave, I would love to but I am committed to the Mick Ralphs band." Dave said, "That is okay because Mick is doing it as well." I asked when it started and he told me we would begin rehearsals at his house in a few months. I went down to the pub with my wife to celebrate – it was lunchtime. We had a meal and we had a few beers. We came back home and the phone rang and I picked it up and a voice said, "This is Jimmy Page here. I am putting a band together with Paul Rodgers and we would like you to play drums." I said, "You’re not going to believe this but two hours ago I committed to David Gilmour." Jimmy goes, "That’s okay. We will wait." I took the phone away from head and looked at it and put it back on my ear. I couldn’t believe he said that he would wait for me. He asked me how long and I told him five months and he goes, "That’s fine." They ended up waiting ten months in all. I could not believe it.

Jeb: What a day!

Chris: I have it written down, I think it was November 15^th.

Jeb: I would have been pretty intimidated to walk in and have to jam with Paul Rodgers and Jimmy Page.

Chris: I know! Every new project is actually that way. It does not matter if they are well known or not well known. It is intimidating and you have to realize that you are being counted on to be as professional as they are. I am actually used to being around famous people so that helps. The first time I talked to Jimmy Page I was like, "So this is Jimmy Page – cool, man." I was sitting there talking to Jimmy Page and I was playing with David Gilmour. I was truly honored to work with them – I am honored to work with anyone but I still know that this is Jimmy Page and Paul Rodgers. I am still a kid from Wales you know.

Jeb: The first album by The Firm is close to perfection. I love that album. I love "Radioactive" and "Satisfaction Guaranteed" and "Someone to Love." I also thought you did a cool version of "You’ve Lost That Loving Feeling."

Chris: Paul wanted to do that one. He sang it beautifully. Tony Franklin played a great bass part on that one. I told Tony, "That is really cool. You changed it from the original." Tony goes, "I have never heard the original." He had never heard the song in his life.

Jeb: Would you say up to that point The Firm was the most successful band you had been in?

Chris: I would have to say Tom Jones was bigger. At the time I played with him he was bigger than Elvis and Sinatra put together. We played a club and the marquee read "He is Here" and we did two sold out weeks in that place. Tom was the reason that Elvis went back out on the road; he was intimidated by Tom. Elvis actually offered me a job but Tom’s manager wouldn’t let me take it. It was right after he made his big comeback where he was wearing all the black leather. Elvis was going on the road and he asked me to play drums for him. I was with Tom at the time and I said, "Elvis, I can’t make the rehearsals because I will be out playing with Tom." Elvis said, "We will get another drummer for rehearsals and you will come out afterward." I went on tour with Tom but the tour kept getting longer and longer. I told Elvis that I couldn’t make the original date because Tom’s tour kept getting extended and he said that I could just come later. Once again, I couldn’t make those dates. Tom’s manager got word of it and put a stop to it. I should have said ‘screw you’ and walked away. The biggest disappointment of my career was that I didn’t get to play with Elvis.

Jeb: It is a hell of an honor that he wanted you in the first place.

Chris: Oh yeah. He was a pretty quiet guy really. We partied a few times but he wasn’t into his drugs in those days.

Jeb: Do you think you were too good a drummer for AC/DC?

Chris: I don’t know about that. I was a huge fan of the band. I bought Highway to Hell as a fan. It was another case where you didn’t want to be intimidated but here you are standing next to Angus [Young]. I played it really straight with that band. Over a hundred top drummers auditioned for that gig. People who were in successful bands at the time were calling up and telling them they wanted to audition for them. I pride myself, it is a professional pride, that I play with feel and feeling. I also have a laid back snare just as Phil Rudd does. I stole it from the drummer for the Average White Band.

Jeb: Touring with AC/DC must have been fun as hell.

Chris: I often say that it was the most fun I have had with all my clothes on. It was a pleasure and an honor to play with those guys. Nothing ever went wrong with that band – never once was there a missed note or a missed cue. They are totally and absolutely professional. Angus is a teetotaler and had never done drugs in his life – neither have I by the way.

Jeb: Not only can Angus play fast, he can play while he is spinning circles on the stage.

Chris: I don’t think he can play standing still. When we did demos, Angus played rhythm and Malcolm [Young] played bass.

Jeb: I love the DVD recorded at Donnington. What is it like to play in front of all those people?

Chris: It was about a hundred thousand people. We played in Moscow to a million people. We played a free show in 1991 at a huge airfield in the middle of Moscow and people just walked up to it. AC/DC are just fantastic. Now and again I still see Brian [Johnson] and I speak to Cliff [Williams] now and again. Strange enough, Cliff actually auditioned for Manfred Mann and the Earth Band. Manfred thought that he wanted something different that the current bass player Colin Pattenden. Cliff played a lot like Colin. The short list for AC/DC when they were looking for bass players was Cliff and Colin – isn’t that strange. Cliff got the gig.

Jeb: Last one: I have some close friends who you have sat in with out in LA. The band is a female AC/DC tribute band called ThundHerStruck.

Chris: Absolutely. They are a great bunch of guys [laughter]. They are a lot of fun. I went to Afghanistan with them. Stephanie couldn’t get her passport together, I think. Maybe she had to report to prison [laughter]. They are such great players. They are a bit quieter than AC/DC. I had to say, "Girls, can you turn up? I can’t hear a damn thing."