B-side Ooh La La In L.A. Format 7" Single Genre Pop rock, soft rock | Released 20 November 1987 Recorded 1987 Length 3:38 | |
"We Won't Give In" is the final single from the album You Boyz Make Big Noize by rock band Slade. It was written by lead singer Noddy Holder and bassist Jim Lea.
Contents
The single was released in late 1987, failing to chart in the top 100, the first for a Slade single since the 1981 single "Knuckle Sandwich Nancy". The single was confirmed by BBC at the time to have peaked outside the top 100 at #121 in the UK.
Background
The song was the second single to be released via the band's own Cheapskate Records since the early 1980s, under permission by RCA Records.
The song was recorded at Portland Studios.
The b-side of the single was "Ooh La La In L.A." which was included on the same album as well as being released as a single in America earlier in 1987.
In the Slade International Fan Club newsletter for July, August and September 1987, a fan poll was created based on the album. "We Won't Give In" was listed at #2 of the top three choices for the next Slade single.
The song was originally used in the soundtrack for 1986 British film "Knights and Emeralds" along with the Slade b-side "Wild Wild Party".
Release
During the single's release, radio DJ Bruno Brookes received hundreds of fan letters requesting the single to be played on his show. On 3 December, Brookes read out some of the letters and stated that he had literally hundreds of similar messages. He also stated that he suspected Noddy Holder of asking the fan club to get the request letters sent off.
Guitarist Dave Hill described the song in a fan club interview. "This was thought by many people to be a good one for a single when it came out last year on the film soundtrack. The film company wanted it out as a single, but RCA, who owned the rights said no. This is the last track on side one of the album."
After being asked on what the band would do next after the commercial failure of the album and latest single "You Boyz Make Big Noize", bassist Jim Lea replied "Well, there isn't a plan at the moment. I want to release 'We Won't Give In' as a single this Christmas. I feel that it is a good idea, because whichever way you look at it, we have the wind blowing behind us at that time of year. Last Christmas we were offered five TV shows and we hadn't even got anything out. Unfortunately, at the moment, nobody else seems to share my point of view over this and would rather keep Slade away from Christmas this year."
In a 1988 interview for the Slade fan club, Don Powell was asked about his thoughts on the failure of both singles "You Boyz Make Big Noize" and "We Won't Give In". "I really don't know why we have problems like that. We just seen to get the token plays, but the records tend not to bite and get dropped. Obviously we are disappointed and will have to decide what we are going to do next. At the moment, no-one in the UK seems to want to know. We never seem to get any recognition for anything we do. Even rock encyclopaedias about the 70's never mention us and the BBC have virtually ignored us in their 'Rock and roll years' programmes."
Drummer Don Powell was told about the massive amount of fan letters that promoted the single to radio DJs and how it still didn't translate into chart success. "I know. Doesn't make sense, does it? Someone up there has got it in for us!"
In a 1988 interview, lead vocalist Noddy Holder was asked about releasing a heavy song as a single. "We considered 'You Boyz Make Big Noize' to be pretty heavy and of course 'We Won't Give In' was a heavy ballad! Everyone we spoke to loved both of those records, but they just didn't catch on at all."
The editor of the 1988 Slade fan club magazine sent the "You Boyz Make Big Noize" album to 20 listeners of different musical tastes, aged from 18 and 52. The listeners were asked to choose their top three tracks. "We Won't Give In" was listed at #3 of the three.
Promotion
Upon the song's release as a single, the Slade International Fan Club newsletter for October, November and December 1987, stated that the song had been played six times on Radio One whilst receiving favourable comments from radio DJs.
The song had no music video but was mimed once on BBC One's "Daytime Live" lunchtime show from Pebble Mill in Birmingham on 21 December 1987.
Since appearing unofficially on YouTube in mid-2007, the TV performance has gained approximately 98,000 views.
Formats
- "We Won't Give In" - 3:38
- "Ooh La La In L.A." - 3:52
Critical reception
Chris Ingham of Rock Backpages described the track "We Won't Give In is the closest thing to Slade classic on the You Boyz Make Big Noize album. An anthem of resolution in the face of harshness."