Few scenarios in the history of rock ‘n’ roll are more intimidating than having The Brothers Young bearing down on your drum kit as you try to nail one of the biggest auditions of your life, but that’s exactly what happened when Chris Slade tried out for AC/DC in 1989. Couple that with the fact that he finished up a two-album run with Jimmy Page and Paul Rodgers in The Firm a few years earlier, and you have a guy whose resolve is just as formidable as his credentials.
Slade has provided the backbone to a myriad of productions throughout his 60-year career and shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon. His current band, The Chris Slade Timeline, is set to release an album on July 19 featuring nine originals and eight covers of songs culled from his past projects.
We spoke recently about the record as well as how playing with Tom Jones during the 1960s prepared him for everything else to follow.
MNOD: I’ve been listening to “Timescape” for the past few days and can really tell that a lot of feeling went into it. Tell me how the project came together.
Slade: We’ve been recording for the past couple of years. We formed 10 years ago, but it wasn’t until the last two years that the idea for original music came about. We’d been playing AC/DC, Uriah Heep, Manfred Mann, and Asia stuff during the live set. I had written lyrics before, but never thought about constructing melodies until now. We did this record the old-fashioned way, really, because playing together in the same room was necessary to feed off each other. That’s what AC/DC always did except for overdubs here and there.
MNOD: Given how much the market for original music has changed, what was your incentive to even put a new album out at this point?
Slade: It wasn’t so much that I wanted to make this record as I had to make it. I had things I wanted to get across. I felt that it was important for us to get bigger shows and enhance our profile. Side One is all original and Side Two is all covers from bands that I’ve been in.
MNOD: What attracted you to the Bravewords label?
Slade: I wanted a worldwide label. I already knew some of the people there, but I really just wanted this to be a worldwide release and have the biggest profile.
MNOD: Of the originals, is there a song that sticks out to you as your favorite?
Slade: “Time Flies” is probably my favorite. There’s just so much in it. I had never sung on record or live before except for backing vocals when needed. Our guitarist is exceptional, so I couldn’t be more pleased with the way every song turned out. Everyone in the band sings and they’ve all got good voices. I’m probably the worst. “End of Eternity” is also great, but they’re all exceptional. That’s just my take on it.
MNOD: Your first high profile gig was playing drums for Tom Jones. How did that come about?
Slade: We were from the same village in South Wales. We hadn’t met before, but he was starting to get well-known around the area. He wasn’t Tom Jones yet. He was still performing as Tommy Scott & The Senators in all of the working class clubs. I worked at a shoe shop and the guitarist happened to come in to buy a pair of shoes, so I mentioned that I played drums. I was practicing for hour a day back then, and, during the audition, Tom asked me if I could play ‘Walk Don’t Run’ by The Ventures, so I did. He then said ‘Let’s go to the pub and rehearse.’ They all helped load my drum kit onto a bus and we ended up riding a few buses to the pub. It was illegal to drink until you were 18 at that point, but I had already been drinking for a bit by then. When he asked me if I could drink, I said ‘Yes,’ because that’s what many kids did. It was a fantastic time. I played in his band for seven years throughout the 1960s. I got to meet Elvis Presley.
MNOD: What was meeting Elvis like in those days?
Slade: He was fantastic. Very quiet and respectful. He came to see Tom perform in Las Vegas and he wasn’t drinking or doing drugs yet. Tom wasn’t into drugs and neither was I.
MNOD: How did playing with Tom prepare you for the style of drumming that you would get into later on?
Slade: It was a tremendous learning period for me. I studied jazz drummers, because there were no good pop drummers in those days. All of the jazz drummers played on the pop records. Buddy Rich, of course, is probably the greatest.
MNOD: The Firm has always been one of my favorite bands that you were a part of. What were your expectations when the band started and why do you think only two albums were made?
Slade: Everything about that time lived up to my expectations. It was Jimmy Page and Paul Rodgers, so it was brilliant. The press didn’t like us for a number of reasons. The second album was called ‘Mean Business,’ which most of the press interpreted to mean that we were strictly about the money. That we were a business and existed for no other reason. Paul came up with that title and I loved it, because it had multiple meanings. It could either mean that we meant business or that the music industry itself was a mean business. Tony Franklin, the Fretless Monster, is a great player and was a tremendous asset to that band, as well. Even at the Timeline shows now, people will come up to me with Firm stuff to sign and say how much they love those records, so you’re definitely not alone.
MNOD: Later on, you get the call the audition for AC/DC. Were you nervous at all or did you approach it as just another job?
Slade: It was a big deal and definitely more than just another job. I thought I had completely blown the audition. They told me that I was #100 in the line of drummers to audition and I told my wife that I had likely lost it. I got lost on my way home, so I was late getting back. Malcolm and Angus sat 10 feet away from my bass drum, so you can imagine what that was like. I called my wife and told her that I didn’t think it went very well, but then she said that they had already called to say that I got the job.
MNOD: The “Live at Donington” show has long been one of my go-to concert documents. What do you remember about that night?
Slade: That was tremendous. Everything from the sound to the visual experience turned out so well. The thing about AC/DC is that they’ve never had a bad night ever. Everything is so organized and so professional. They always know what to play. We’re still in touch now and then. I’m actually going to see them in Europe in a few weeks. I knew that the drummer they have now would be able to do what Angus wanted, so there are no bad feelings or anything. It’s not like that, at all.
“Timescape” is out July 19 on BraveWords Records.
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