📰 Blind Date with Dave‑Article : Jun. 1972

A playful, rapid‑fire Melody Maker feature capturing Slade’s Dave Hill reacting — with charm, humour, and the occasional raised eyebrow — to a stack of new singles and album tracks dropped on him without warning.

Melody Maker

Date: June 24, 1972

Length: 4 min read

A lively, personality‑driven column that reveals Hill’s instincts as a listener: enthusiastic, blunt, and surprisingly eclectic, with a soft spot for harmonies and a sharp ear for guitar work.

A moment of wit, candour, and early‑’70s pop cross‑currents.

📰 Key Highlights

• Dave Hill reviews a selection of new releases “blind”

• Praises the Beach Boys, The Who, and Roger Cook

• Offers mixed reactions to Roxy Music and Free

• Dismisses Creedence’s latest as past their peak

• Calls Marc Bolan “a chick music man” with dated material

📰 Overview

This *Melody Maker* Blind Date column from June 24, 1972 drops Dave Hill into the critic’s chair, asking him to identify and react to a series of tracks without being told who he’s listening to. The result is a candid, often funny set of mini‑reviews that reveal both his musical tastes and his instincts as a guitarist. Hill comes across as upbeat, open‑minded, and occasionally cheeky — a perfect fit for the Blind Date format.

📰 Source Details

Publication / Venue: Melody Maker

Date: June 24, 1972

Format: One‑page Blind Date review column

Provenance Notes: Based on the original Melody Maker feature featuring Dave Hill’s track‑by‑track reactions.

📰 The Story

The article opens with Hill surprisingly bright for an early‑morning session, immediately recognising Free and praising their return to form. He’s intrigued by Roxy Music’s debut, calling it modern, mixed‑up, and “a trip,” even if not quite his style. His enthusiasm peaks with the Beach Boys, whose harmonies and longevity he admires deeply.

He identifies The Who instantly, praising Pete Townshend’s musical instincts, but is unimpressed by Creedence Clearwater Revival’s latest single, declaring they’ve “had their day.” His reaction to Marc Bolan is affectionate but blunt — good oldies, but the track played “isn’t one of them.” He closes with warm words for Roger Cook and Neil Young, praising both their songwriting and vocal style.

📰 Visual Archive

• Caricature illustration of Dave Hill by Jimmy Hansen

• Bold header: “BLIND DATE with DAVE HILL”

• Classic Melody Maker column layout with boxed track‑by‑track notes

• Early‑’70s typography and page‑36 placement

Dave Hill in ’72 — sharp‑eared, good‑humoured, and unfiltered, offering a snapshot of the era’s musical landscape through one glam guitarist’s headphones.

📰 Check out the tags at the bottom of the post.

📰 Closing Notes

This Melody Maker Blind Date remains a charming time capsule — a glimpse of how one of glam rock’s most recognisable guitarists heard the world around him, one needle‑drop at a time.

#DaveHill #Slade #MelodyMaker #1972 #BlindDateColumn #GlamRockEra

📝 Copyright Notice

All magazine scans, photographs, and original text excerpts referenced in this entry remain the property of their respective copyright holders. This Chronicle entry is a transformative, non‑commercial archival summary created for historical documentation and educational reference. No ownership of the original material is claimed or implied.