Biography
In 1966 the 'N Betweens issued only a handful of singles that would have slipped into total obscurity if the quartet had not later morphed first into Ambrose Slade and ultimately into Slade. During the middle of the decade the musicians, like countless other English combos, specialized in mod British Invasion arrangements steeped in American R&B and soul. Their roots lay in the Vendors, a Wolverhampton outfit whose repertoire leaned heavily on covers and that managed to press a solitary, privately issued EP in 1964. When future Slade guitarist Dave Hill and drummer Don Powell joined, the group adopted the name the 'N Betweens and shifted toward a tougher, blues-inflected R&B approach. That early incarnation cut a scarce French EP for Barclay that contained serviceable but anonymous renditions of material by the Sorrows, the Pretty Things, and Johnny Preston; all four tracks later resurfaced on the compilation A Genesis of Slade, which gathers roughly two dozen obscure recordings by pre-Ambrose Slade projects involving Slade personnel.
A more distinctive chapter opened once the lineup stabilized as the same four-piece that would become Slade. After a London performance caught the ear of American producer Kim Fowley, he oversaw their 1966 Columbia U.K. single “You Better Run,” an able yet still generic reading of the Young Rascals hit. A U.S.-only promotional pressing of Otis Redding’s “Security” also appeared that year, sharing its B-side—“Evil Witchman,” an adaptation of the Sam & Dave song “I Take What I Want”—with the British release. Three additional 1966 recordings remained vaulted at the time; the standout, “Ugly Girl” (co-written by Fowley and the band), already displayed the plainspoken attitude Slade would refine in the following decade.
Fowley severed ties once “You Better Run” failed to chart, yet the musicians persisted until they rebranded as Ambrose Slade toward the end of the 1960s and soon shortened the name to Slade. The 1965 EP, the 1966 singles and outtakes, plus a four-song 1965 acetate of covers by the original Vendors-era lineup all appear on A Genesis of Slade.
A more distinctive chapter opened once the lineup stabilized as the same four-piece that would become Slade. After a London performance caught the ear of American producer Kim Fowley, he oversaw their 1966 Columbia U.K. single “You Better Run,” an able yet still generic reading of the Young Rascals hit. A U.S.-only promotional pressing of Otis Redding’s “Security” also appeared that year, sharing its B-side—“Evil Witchman,” an adaptation of the Sam & Dave song “I Take What I Want”—with the British release. Three additional 1966 recordings remained vaulted at the time; the standout, “Ugly Girl” (co-written by Fowley and the band), already displayed the plainspoken attitude Slade would refine in the following decade.
Fowley severed ties once “You Better Run” failed to chart, yet the musicians persisted until they rebranded as Ambrose Slade toward the end of the 1960s and soon shortened the name to Slade. The 1965 EP, the 1966 singles and outtakes, plus a four-song 1965 acetate of covers by the original Vendors-era lineup all appear on A Genesis of Slade.
Singles