B-side She Did it to Me Format 7" Single Length 4:10 | Released 28 June 1974 Genre Glam rock Label Polydor Records | |
"The Bangin' Man" is a single from English rock band Slade. It was written by lead singer Noddy Holder and bassist Jim Lea. The single was released in 1974 and peaked at #3 in the UK, spending 7 weeks on the chart. The first week in the charts, the single peaked at #4 and stayed in the top ten for 4 weeks.
Contents
Shortly after release, the single was given a Silver Disc for sales of over 250,000.
The song would appear on the American version of the 1974 album Slade in Flame, which was released via Warner Bros. Records during 1975. It did not feature on any other version of the album, and was therefore exclusive to the United States.
Background
The single returned to a more rock based sound unlike the previous single Everyday.
The track was written while on tour in Australia and once again innuendo was rampant in the lyrics. The song was about being woken up by room maids after partying while on tour. Many fans mistakenly thought the song's lyrics related to the band's drummer Don Powell but the song actually spoke of Graham "Swinn" Swinnerton, Slade's longtime tour manager.
At the time of release, track was performed on TV shows Supersonic and Disco.
The Record Mirror polls of early 1975 voted "The Bangin' Man" in the top ten singles poll.
The front cover of the Slade Fan Club Newsletter for June and July 1974, featured a reprint of Holder's original handwritten lyrics for the song. The front cover of the following Slade Fan Club Newsletter for August and September 1974, featured a reprint of Holder's original handwritten lyrics for the b-side "She Did It To Me".
The single's b-side "She Did It To Me" was voted #1 of the top three Slade b-sides in the Slade Fan Club Poll of 1979.
The song was voted #2 of the top three Slade songs that fans would most want to hear live in the Slade Fan Club Poll of 1979. 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 b-side of the 70s, She Did It to Me placed at #1.
In an early 1990 Slade fan club interview, Jim Lea announced that he had recorded a new version of the b-side "She Did It to Me" with an ex-vocalist from Uriah Heep. Lea described the track as "an absolutely panoramic version, its great." The version has never been released.
Promotion
No promotional video was filmed for the single. Like the band's previous single "Everyday", the band were too busy with touring to film a video, in this case, a world tour. This was a disaster, as due to a strike at the BBC, Top of The Pops was off the air, thus the single received no coverage at all. This was thought to be a major cause of the single only reaching #3 in the UK charts, whilst Charles Aznavour with 'She' reached the top.
At the time of release, the song was performed on the UK TV show Supersonic and the German TV show Disco.
In 1977, the band performed the song on German TV where the group also mimed several other previous hits, as well as each member being interviewed.
Track listing
- "The Bangin' Man" - 4:10
- "She Did it to Me" - 3:16
There are two different single versions in existence. Some single releases start 'The Bangin' Man' with counting 'one-two-three' before the song starts. Some don't.
Critical reception
Record Mirror magazine reviewed the single upon release. "Here the lads are counted in with a one-two-three, and Noddy sets the scene of a man in a hotel, unable to recall much of what happened the night before, and the lady beside him locks herself in the bathroom, and enter the banging man, hammering away on the door. Ah, the joys and perils of pop-scene touring! It's a dramatically direct commercial song, by Noddy and Jim, plenty of space for guitar work, and with Noddy working fir to raise the dead. Good flip, too - "She Did It To Me" is slower, more deliberate - chart certain."
Sounds music magazine wrote "With "Merry Xmas Everybody", "Everyday" and now "The Bangin' Man", yer Slade have enriched our drab, miserable lives with pop singles as good as any made during the past decade. Messrs Holder and Lea have crafted some memorable tunes and welded them singable yet observant lyrics. Slade are getting very good at getting the details right these days. All the playing is excellent; strong direct drumming, forceful bass and some lead guitar that would knock spots off some of our guitar heroes, and Noddy is singing better than he has ever before."
Allmusic wrote "The Bangin' Man" is definitely one of Slade's best, and worth seeking out on a greatest-hits CD."