B-side Wonderin' Y Recorded 1972 Length 3:13 | Released 26 May 1972 Genre Hard rock, glam rock Label Polydor | |
"Tak Me Bak 'Ome" is a popular single by Slade.
Contents
Written by Jim Lea and Noddy Holder and produced by Chas Chandler, "Tak Me Bak 'Ome" was the second of Slade's six UK number one singles spending a single week at the top in July 1972. The single took 5 weeks to reach the top and was last seen on the charts at #49 on 26/08/1972. It stayed in the Top 50 for a total of 13 weeks.
A total of five different artworks were created for the single.
By October 1972, the band had received two UK Silver Discs for the single.
Background
Around this time the band appeared at the Great Western festival near Lincoln. Slade triumphed before a large crowd despite a line-up of more serious acts. Hill, incidentally wore an all silver leather outfit for the first time on stage at Lincoln; his sartorial touch would influence British fashion for the next few years. "Tak Me Bak 'Ome" was currently at No. 13 in the UK Singles Chart during the festival. The following week it reached No. 1 and Slade gained credibility as live performers.
During the recording of the track, Holder ad-libbed over the riff in the middle of the song. Lea asked him to change the ad-lib because it had given him the idea for their next single "Mama Weer All Crazee Now".
No promotional video was created for the song, despite the previous single "Look Wot You Dun" having two videos.
Dave Thompson, from AllMusic described the song "was what vocalist Noddy Holder later described as "classic Slade - really rowdy and boisterous." Neither of its predecessors, "Coz I Luv You" or "Look Wot You Dun," had attempted to capture the feel of Slade in full flight, the live barrage which had established them as a major live draw long before their records started selling; Holder and Jim Lea's "Tak Me Bak 'Ome" was custom-built to relieve that deficiency".
In an August 1972 interview for Sounds magazine, Hill stated "Coz I Luv You was a different kind of song, I thought that was the perfect simple song that made number one so easy, you know? Look Wot You Dun was a classic kind of song, with a clean, classy arrangement to it, but then "Tak Me Back 'Ome" was a live, earth-dirt song - I felt much more out of that than I did from all the rest, it projected more, and it wasn’t just a hit record. I didn’t know if that kind of song could make it, and it was great having a thick, dirty song up at number one."
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 live song, "Tak Me Bak 'Ome" placed at No. 3. In the same poll, for the best b-side of the 1970s, "Wonderin' Y" placed at No. 3.
Promotion
No promotional video was created for the song, despite the previous single "Look Wot You Dun" having two videos. The band would promote the song by numerous UK and European TV performances as well as the band's touring.
The song was performed on the UK show Top of the Pops as well as the UK show 2G's and the Pop People, the latter being officially available today. In 1973, the song was performed on the Dutch show Popgala as well as an unknown German TV show.
Reportedly, the band's comeback performance at the Reading Festival in 1980 was filmed entirely for the band, which included the song, but has never been seen. The song was also filmed during the band's performance at the 1981 Lochem Festival, Holland, although this performance has also never been seen.
Track listing
- "Take Me Bak 'Ome" - 3:13
- "Wonderin' Y" - 2:48
Critical reception
Record Mirror magazine reviewed the single upon release, "Still mangling the English language title-wise, but also still winging on a sure commercial course. Slade are here forced along by Noddy Holder's strident, straight-through-a-brick-wall voice. It's a riff-based number, with good bass figures rolling along, and gets right to the heart of what makes this crowd pulling team click. Powerful and rocking - and their best yet for me. Chart certain."
NME magazine wrote "Slade hit back with a strong rocker written by Jimmy Lea and Noddy Holder. This is a bright change after their last two which lacked the power and punch the band proudly sports. Noddy's vocals are remarkably good in the traditional shouting approach which sounds like he's using his whole body to sing."
One music magazine wrote "This is closer in spirit to "Get Down and Get With It", than the records in between. It's a rolling, driving, medium-boogie opening with cries, tambourine, deep sonorous guitar and throbbing bass. There can be no doubt that it'll be another very successful record and it's good to see that Slade are reaching new audience all the time as folk weary of cleverness in music and move back to a bit of rough stuff. The b-side is oddly Beatles-y - their 'Rubber Soul' period - and will probably never be heard. Another goodie."
In early 2010, Classic Rock magazine featured Slade as part of their ‘The Hard Stuff Buyers Guide’ where the magazine reviewed numerous Slade albums. As part of this article, an ‘Essential Playlist’ listed 14 Slade songs which included "Tak Me Bak 'Ome".