B-side Here's To... Format 7" Single, 12" single Length 4:16 | Released 5 November 1984 Genre Hard Rock Label RCA Records | |
"All Join Hands" is a song by rock band Slade, released as the lead single from the 1985 album Rogues Gallery. The single was released in 1984 and became the band's third UK hit that year, peaking at #15, and spending 10 weeks on the chart. The single stayed in the top #30 for 7 weeks. The single was aimed at the Christmas market and had a similar power ballad to Slade's previous 1983 hit My Oh My. It was written by lead singer Noddy Holder and bassist Jim Lea.
Contents
It became Slade's last top #20 hit although their 1991 single Radio Wall of Sound would peak at #21. The photography of the cover was by Tony McConnell.
The b-side "Here's To..." was originally an exclusive b-side before appearing as an album track on the 1985 album "Crackers – The Christmas Party Album".
Background
The track was recorded at Angel Studios and produced by John Punter. Another anthem with a nostalgic feel, featuring Jim on double tracked piano, it heralded Slade's effective retirement from stage work.
The song was replaced on the American version of Rogues Gallery by Slade's 1982 hit "Lock Up Your Daughters".
Some versions of the single featured an inside leaflet titled "Read The Wordz" which was a mail order form to get a copy of Slade's biography titled "Feel The Noize!", written by Chris Charlesworth. On the other side of the leaflet, another mail order was present, this time for a limited edition T-shirt with the "All Join Hands" single cover pictured on the front in colour. The main text stated "An exclusive offer for Christmas, the ideal Christmas present for those people who count. A limited edition of t-shirts with the "All Join Hands" single cover on the front in full colour and a Christmas message from the band on the back. Send today, don't delay."
In a December 1984 interview with Record Mirror, the magazine tested Lea's memory by asking him to recall the story behind certain hits. For All Join Hands, Lea stated "It's another anthem. I come up with these on my way down to the chip shop. It just popped into my head while I was walking down the street. I don't have to sit down at a piano or lock myself in a cottage somewhere. I've got all the tunes in my head but Nod's my bounce, my partner. We could write over the phone by now."
Promotion
Aside from the promotional video which featured John Otway, the track was mimed on numerous UK TV shows including Top of the Pops, Razamatazz and Saturday Superstore. On a certain Top of the Pops performance, Holder would wave two paper cut-out hands on sticks past half way into the performance. Both Lea and Hill had paper cut-out hands stuck to their guitars.
The band would perform the song in December 1984, on the show Thommys Pop Show, a German Television show from ZDF. The band also performed the 1981 German only single Rock and Roll Preacher (Hallelujah I'm on Fire) on the show as the first track, followed by All Join Hands. Another performance of the song was on an unknown German TV pop show in 1985, where the band also performed the single 7 Year Bitch.
Music Video
The video for this single was a Phillip Davey production at the Ewert Studios in London. The opening shots depict a 3 o’clock piano concerto in a posh hall watched by a small seated audience of music lovers in dinner jackets and evening dresses. The doors to the hall are pushed open and in sways a slightly tipsy looking Holder. Horror is shown on the faces of the audience. At the same time, Lea pushes the pianist from his seat and takes over. Holder is now in front of the audience singing All Join Hands - his cheeky manner is seen to win over the ladies of the audience, who now quietly giggle. Next Hill appears and plays the guitar break whilst kneeling on top of the grand piano. The back of the stage lights up with Slade’s lighting rig and Powell is seen bashing away at the drums. Thus the small piano concerto transforms into a Slade gig. The audience are won over, they sway from side to side with feather boas held high in the air. Eventually they rush the stage after pulling off their evening wear, revealing Slade T-shirts.
Interestingly, the actual pianist used in the video was John Otway of Otway & Wild Willy Barrett Really Free fame. Lea didn’t know this himself until he heard from a friend that Otway had announced he’d played piano in a Slade video.
Since the video's release, the ending of the video has not been seen after the original broadcasting. This is due to unofficial copies of the video available being taken from the 1986 Slade documentary Perseverance by British presenter Gaz Top, where the video was shown fully except for the ending which was slightly cut.
In the September–December 1986 Slade fan club magazine, the poll results were announced for the 1986 opinion poll based on Slade’s material. For the best promo/video film, All Join Hands placed at #3.
Formats
- "All Join Hands" - 4:15
- "Here's To..." - 3:12
- "All Join Hands (Extended version)" - 6:15
- "Here's To..." - 3:12
Chart performance
The b-side Here's To... charted in Poland, peaking at #15 for 7 weeks.