Why Slade were Britain’s first – and possibly last – great working-class rock band

• At the start of 1973, Slade guitarist Dave Hill welcomed a film crew from the local news programme ATV Today to view his new £40,000 home in the West Midlands market town of Solihull. Lounging in front of a strategically placed gold disc, he told presenter Brenda Holton that fame was “great”, and that “anybody who says it’s not good are idiots”. The segment ended with a shot of a young teacher at the girls’ school next door gamely attempting to shepherd away a class of 20-pupils each of whom was