⭐ We’ll Bring the House Down – Album: Mar. 1981

LP Album — Cheapskate Records, SKATE 1

Released: March 13, 1981 (UK)

The Reading Festival resurrection — Slade’s comeback captured in one explosive LP.

We’ll Bring the House Down marks Slade’s dramatic return to the UK charts after years in the wilderness. Following their career‑reviving performance at the 1980 Reading Festival — a last‑minute booking that unexpectedly turned them into the festival’s heroes — the band moved quickly to capitalize on their renewed momentum.

Released on March 13, 1981, the album blends newly written material with reworked tracks from their overlooked 1979 LP Return to Base. The band self‑produced the album, with the exception of “My Baby’s Got It,” which was produced by longtime mentor Chas Chandler. The result is a raw, muscular, back‑to‑basics rock record that reasserted Slade’s identity at a crucial moment.

Guitarist Dave Hill explained the album’s hybrid nature in a fan‑club interview, noting that many tracks had been recorded over the previous 18 months but were largely unheard by the general public. The intention, he said, was to create a more rock‑oriented LP that reflected the band’s current live act — a direct response to the energy that had electrified Reading.

The strategy worked. The album entered the UK charts on March 21, 1981, eventually peaking at No. 25 and restoring Slade to national visibility.

🔘 Track List

Side A

• We’ll Bring the House Down

• Night Starvation

• Wheels Ain’t Coming Down

• Hold On to Your Hats

• When I’m Dancin’ I Ain’t Fightin’

Side B

• Dizzy Mamma

• Nuts Bolts and Screws

• My Baby’s Got It

• Lemme Love Into Ya

• I’m a Rocker

(All tracks written by Noddy Holder & Jim Lea.)

🔘 Variants

UK Variants — Cheapskate Records (1981)

• LP, Album, Stereo — SKATE 1

• LP, Album, White Label Test Pressing — SKATE 1

• Cassette, Album, Compilation — KAT 1

Later UK Reissues

• CD, Album, Compilation, Reissue — Castle Classics CLACD 418 (1996)

• CD, Album, Reissue, Remastered — Salvo SALVOCD007 (2007)

🔘 Chart Performance

UK — Official Albums Chart

• Peak: No. 25

• First chart date: March 21, 1981

• Weeks on chart: 4

• Chart run:

29 → 25 → 44 → 59

🔘 Context & Notes

• First studio album released after Slade’s triumphant 1980 Reading Festival performance.

• Many tracks originated from the Return to Base sessions (1979), reworked for a more powerful, live‑oriented sound.

• Dave Hill described the album as a compilation of material recorded over 18 months, aimed at new fans who missed earlier releases.

• “My Baby’s Got It” is the only track produced by Chas Chandler.

• Engineered by Andy “Pugwash” Miller, with assistance from Dave Garland and Mark O’Donoughue.

• Lacquer cut by George “Porky Prime Cut” Peckham.

• The album’s success helped set the stage for Slade’s early‑80s resurgence, including the hit single “Lock Up Your Daughters.”

🔘 Visual Archive

A bold, high‑contrast album cover featuring a clenched fist bursting through a shield decorated with red‑and‑white diagonal stripes. The fist bears the tattooed word “SLADE,” while a sword pierces the shield from top to bottom. A golden ribbon above the shield also displays the band’s name. The title WE’LL BRING THE HOUSE DOWN appears at the top in white lettering.

Slade — We’ll Bring the House Down (1981), cover concept by Chas Chandler.

🔘 Related Material

• Return to Base (1979)

• Six of the Best (1980)

• Slade — Reading Festival 1980

• Till Deaf Do Us Part (1981)

🔘 Discography

• Return to Base (1979)

• We’ll Bring the House Down (1981)

• Till Deaf Do Us Part (1981)

🔘 Mini‑Timeline

• 1979 — Return to Base released

• Aug 1980 — Slade revive their career at Reading Festival

• Late 1980 — Sessions for We’ll Bring the House Down

• Mar 13, 1981 — Album released

• Mar 21, 1981 — Enters UK charts at No. 29

• 1981–1982 — Slade re‑establish themselves as a major live act

🔘 Glam Flashback

A fist through a shield, a sword through the center, and Slade roaring back into the spotlight — this album is the sound of a band refusing to fade, punching their way into a new decade with grit and swagger.

🔘 Closing Notes

We’ll Bring the House Down stands as one of Slade’s great comeback statements — a testament to their resilience, their live power, and their ability to reinvent themselves when it mattered most.

🔘 Sources & Copyright

Information drawn from user‑provided notes, UK chart data, and historical documentation of Slade’s 1980–81 period.

All artwork and photography remain the property of their respective copyright holders.

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