"Xmas Ear Bender" is an

extended play An extended play (EP) is a Sound recording and reproduction, musical recording that contains more tracks than a Single (music), single but fewer than an album. Contemporary EPs generally contain up to eight tracks and have a playing time of 1 ...

(EP) by the British rock band

Slade Slade are a rock band formed in Wolverhampton, England in 1966. They rose to prominence during the glam rock era in the early 1970s, achieving 17 consecutive top 20 hits and six number ones on the UK Singles Chart. The '' British Hit Singl ...

, released in 1980. ''Xmas Ear Bender'' includes three tracks; two of which were recorded at the band's performance at the 1980 Reading Festival. The EP was produced by Slade and reached No. 70 in the UK, remaining in the charts for two weeks.slade , full Official Chart History , Official Charts Company
/ref> The EP was later included in its entirety on the 2006 Salvo compilation '' Slade Alive! – The Live Anthology''.

Background

Having returned to the UK from the United States in August 1976, Slade found themselves out-of-favour at the time of the UK's

Punk rock Punk rock (also known as simply punk) is a rock music genre that emerged in the mid-1970s. Rooted in 1950s rock and roll and 1960s garage rock, punk bands rejected the corporate nature of mainstream 1970s rock music. They typically produced sh ...

explosion. The band's 1977 album ''

Whatever Happened to Slade ''Whatever Happened to Slade'' is the seventh studio album by the British rock group Slade. It was released on 21 March 1977 by Barn Records, but did not enter any national album chart. By the time of the album's release, Slade's popularity was ...

'' proved a commercial failure while their tour that spring had shown that they could no longer fill large venues. Slade's waning success soon led to the band playing small gigs after that, including universities and clubs. Despite being successful at filling small venues for their live performances, the band's new records were barely selling. After the commercial failure of the band's 1979 album ''

Return to Base ''Return to Base'' is the eighth studio album by the British Rock music, rock group Slade. It was released on 1 October 1979 by Barn Records, and did not enter any national album charts. At the time of the album's release, the band's success had ...

'' and 1980 EP ''

Six of the Best Six of the Best was a reunion concert between the English rock band Genesis and their original frontman Peter Gabriel, with former guitarist Steve Hackett joining the band for the two encores. The one-off event took place on 2 October 1982 at the ...

'', the band were on the verge of disbanding.We'll Bring the House Down – 2007 Salvo remaster booklet liner notes The band's fortunes changed after they were offered a headlining slot at the Reading festival in August 1980, following a late cancellation by

Ozzy Osbourne John Michael "Ozzy" Osbourne (born 3 December 1948) is an English singer, songwriter, and media personality. He rose to prominence during the 1970s as the lead singer of the heavy metal music, heavy metal band Black Sabbath, during which per ...

. The band's performance in front of the 65,000-strong crowd was a triumph and the band found themselves back in the public eye. The music press began to take an interest in the band again, while heavy metal followers also began deeming the band 'cool'. Slade's entire performance at the festival was recorded by BBC and forty-five minutes of their set was soon broadcast on the Friday Rock Show. In order to capitalise on their new-found success, and in response to the many requests made for a Reading-related release, the band decided to release the ''Alive at Reading'' EP. Released in October 1980, it reached No. 44 in the UK, giving the band their first chart action since 1977. In November, its follow-up, ''Xmas Ear Bender'', was released and peaked at No 70. Both EPs, along with the Polydor compilation ''

Slade Smashes! ''Slade Smashes'' is a compilation album by the British rock band Slade. It was released 1 November 1980 and reached No. 21 on the UK charts. The album was issued by Polydor in the wake of new interest in the band following their successful appe ...

'' continued public interest in the band, allowing them time to plan their next steps for 1981. The band would return to the UK Top Ten with "

We'll Bring the House Down ''We'll Bring the House Down'' is the ninth studio album by the British rock group Slade. It was released on 13 March 1981 and reached No. 25 in the UK. The album was produced by Slade, except "My Baby's Got It" which was produced by Chas Chan ...

" in early 1981, while the album of the

same name ''Same Name'' is an American reality television series in which an average person swaps lives with a celebrity of the same first and last name. It premiered on July 24, 2011 on CBS. The series received low ratings, and CBS pulled it after four-ep ...

would also be a UK Top 30 success. ''Xmas Ear Bender'' was released on 7" vinyl in the UK only on

Cheapskate Records Cheapskate Records was a record label established by Slade bassist Jim Lea and his brother Frank Lea in 1979. It was active until 1982, however was later briefly revived for the release of three Slade singles in 1987–88. Aside from Slade, som ...

. The EP featured two songs from the Reading Festival. The first was a forty-second, crowd singalong version of "

Merry Xmas Everybody "Merry Xmas Everybody" (stylised as "Merry Xmaƨ Everybody") is a song by the British rock band Slade, released as a non-album single in 1973. The song was written by lead vocalist Noddy Holder and bassist Jim Lea, and it was produced by Chas ...

", which was credited to "Slade and the Reading Choir". The other Reading track was "

Get Down and Get With It "Get Down and Get with It" is a song by American R&B singer-songwriter Bobby Marchan, first released as "Get Down with It" as the B-Side to his 1964 single "Half a Mind". In 1967, American singer Little Richard would record his own version, which ...

". The EP's version of " Okey Cokey" was not performed at Reading, but was the band's 1979 studio recording of the song with crowd noise added at the beginning and end to fit in with the other tracks.Slade Alive! – The Live Anthology – 2006 Salvo remaster booklet liner notes

Track listing

# "

" (with the Reading Choir) – 0:39 (

Noddy Holder Neville John "Noddy" Holder (born 15 June 1946) is an English musician, songwriter and actor. He was the lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the English rock band Slade, one of the UK's most successful acts of the 1970s. Known for his disti ...

, Jim Lea) # " Okey Cokey" – 3:24 (

Jimmy Kennedy James Kennedy (20 July 1902 – 6 April 1984) was a British songwriter. He was predominantly a lyricist, putting words to existing music such as "Teddy Bears' Picnic" and "My Prayer" or co-writing with composers like Michael Carr (composer), ...

) # "

" – 6:48 (

Bobby Marchan Bobby Marchan (born Oscar James Gibson, April 30, 1930 – December 5, 1999) was an American rhythm and blues singer, songwriter, recording artist, bandleader, MC, and female impersonator. He was the key singer in the early lineup of Huey "Pian ...

)

Personnel

Slade *

– lead vocals, guitar, producer, mixing *

Dave Hill Dave Hill may refer to: * Dave Hill (baseball) (1937–2018), American Major League Baseball pitcher * Dave Hill (golfer) (1937–2011), American golfer * Dave Hill (American football) (1941–2022), American football player * Dave Hill (automot ...

– lead guitar, backing vocals, producer, mixing * Jim Lea – bass, backing vocals, producer, mixing *

Don Powell Donald George Powell (born 10 September 1946) is an English musician who was the drummer for glam rock and later hard rock group Slade for over fifty years, from 1966 until he was dismissed by Dave Hill in 2020. Early life Powell was born in Bil ...

– drums, producer, mixing Additional personnel *Audience on "Merry Xmas Everybody" – The Reading Choir *Mike "Mad Robbo" Robinson – mixing

Charts

References

{{Slade 1980 EPs Slade albums