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The slightly silly mood of the previous track continues with the last hit by the original incarnation of Slade (not counting re-releases of 'Merry Xmas Everybody' of course), which was released to promote the similarly-titled best-of compilation Wall Of Hits; after one more flop single from the collection, Noddy Holder and Jim Lea retired from music, though a rump version of Slade persists to this day. Of course in their real glory days I wasn't around; the first I remember of them was seeing them on Cheggers Plays Pop or some similar show in the early 1980s and my mother being surprised to see them because they'd been a big band so long ago; indeed this is the only Slade hit I can really say I'm old enough to remember from the time it was in the charts.
'Radio Wall Of Sound' is among the few of the band's hits where Lea takes the lead vocal. Apparently he'd already recorded this for a solo project and Holder's voice didn't suit the key, so he's only an (admittedly unmistakeable) backing singer here, though I presume he also contributes guitars. Somewhat less welcomely, perpetual rock-star wannabe Mike Read plays the part of an inane smarmy disc jockey, although you'd have to admit he's very convincing in the role. The very late-80s hard-rock production (Lea again, but imitating the style of big-name American producers) may have helped contribute to the track's success at the time but it does feel very dated now, and in a way seems not entirely to play to the band's natural strengths: on their best singles Slade were convincing hard-rockers with the best of them but there was something charmingly human about the sound they made together that distinguished them from other heavy bands and made them more accessible to non-metallers. I'd class myself as not being a native hard-rock fan and perhaps that's why this isn't exactly my favourite of theirs, and yet I retain some affection for it probably because I fondly recall liking it at the time. With hindsight, I can see why it might have done more for my thirteen-year-old self, but it wasn't a bad way to go out.
Also appearing on: Now 2
Available on: The Slade Box [Box Set]
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