Slik
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Slik | |
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Background information | |
Also known as | PVC2 (only 1977) |
Origin | Glasgow, Scotland |
Genres | Pop, rock, glam rock, bubblegum pop, punk rock (as PVC2) |
Years active | 1974–1977 |
Labels | Polydor, Bell, Arista, Epic, Zoom Records (PVC2) |
Past members |
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Slik were a Scottish pop group of the mid-1970s, most notable for their UK no. 1 hit "Forever and Ever" in 1976. Initially glam rock, the band later changed their style to soft rock/bubblegum. It was the first band with whom singer and guitarist Midge Ure began to experience musical success, before joining new wave band Ultravox.
History
Slik were formed as the Glasgow based band 'Salvation' in June 1970, comprising Kevin and Jim McGinlay, Nod Kerr, Mario Tortolano, and Ian Kenny. Brian Deniston replaced Ian Kenny in December 1970 and Nod Kerr departed in May 1971, followed by Tortolano and they were replaced by Matt Cairns on drums and Robin Birrel on keyboards. Deniston left shortly after this change and they were forced to continue as a four-piece outfit for almost a year. Birrel and Cairns then left in March 1972 and they recruited Kenny Hyslop on drums, Billy McIsaac on keyboards and Jim "Midge" Ure on guitar. They reverted to a four-piece band when Kevin McGinlay left in April 1974 to pursue a solo career.[1]
They changed their name to Slik in November 1974, and linked up with the pop songwriters Bill Martin and Phil Coulter, who were also writing for the Bay City Rollers who were teen favourites at the time. Now signed to Polydor, the band members all adopted pseudonyms - Midge, Oil Slik (Kenny Hyslop), Jim Slik (Jim McGinlay) and Lord Slik (Billy McIsaac). These were dropped after the failure of "Boogiest Band in Town", their debut single (which was also on the soundtrack of the film Never Too Young To Rock), and their suits were exchanged for baseball shirts. A change of record label also saw them signing with Bell Records.
This was followed by their greatest success when their single "Forever And Ever" reached number one in the UK Singles Chart in February 1976. As a result of the single, readers of The Sun newspaper voted Slik the best new band of the year. The song formula was repeated with their next single, "Requiem", which made the UK top 30 but failed to repeat the success of "Forever and Ever". Ure was injured in a car accident shortly after the release of the single, resulting in the cancellation of television appearances and a planned UK tour. "Requiem" opens with the first accordes of Joaquín Rodrigo's "Concierto de Aranjuez", which had been a number 3 hit just two months before in the UK for Geoff Love's orchestra, billed as 'Manuel & the Music of the Mountains'. Following the "Requiem" single, the band's self-titled album was released but this was a commercial failure, peaking only at no.58 in the UK. Subsequent Slik singles failed to chart.
In March 1977 Jim McGinlay left the group and was replaced by Russell Webb, a university drop-out,[2] who continued for the final Slik gigs.
PVC2
Shortly after Webb joined and a last tour, the band decided to change both genre and name. They chose to call themselves PVC2, and play punk music which was growing in popularity at that time. In the latter half of 1977, PVC2 released "Put You in the Picture", on Zoom Records, whose eponymous song joined the repertoire of The Rich Kids, Ure's next band. Slik/PVC2 disbanded in September 1977, when Ure departed and moved to London to join The Rich Kids.
Following Ure's departure, Webb, Hyslop and McIsaac added Alex Harvey's cousin Willie Gardner to their next band, called Zones; they released some singles and an album, Under Influence (1979) (which credited Midge Ure among the collaborators), but went their separate ways shortly afterwards. Webb and Hyslop joined The Skids, and McIsaac retired from the pop music scene. In the 1990s he formed the Billy McIsaac Band.
Discography
Albums
Singles
Year | A-Side | B-Side | Label | Other |
---|---|---|---|---|
1975 | "The Getaway" (Robert Scott) |
"Again My Love" (Jim McGinlay) |
Bellaphon | published in Germany [1] |
1975 | "Boogiest Band in Town" (Bill Martin-Phil Coulter) |
"Hatchet"" (Bill Martin-Phil Coulter) |
Polydor Records | [3] |
1975 | "Forever and Ever" (Bill Martin-Phil Coulter) |
"Again My Love" (Jim McGinlay) |
Bell Records | UK # 1 |
1976 | "Requiem" (Bill Martin-Phil Coulter) |
"Everyday Anyway" (Kenny Hyslop) |
Bell Records | UK # 24 |
1976 | "Don't Take Your Love Away" (Bill Martin-Phil Coulter) |
"This Side Up" (Billy McIsaac) |
Arista Records | |
1976 | "The Kid's a Punk" (Bill Martin-Phil Coulter) |
"Slik Shuffle" (James Ure) |
Bell Records | |
1976 | "Bom-Bom" (Exuma, Reno) |
"Dancerama" (Bill Martin-Phil Coulter) |
Bell Records | published in Spain [2] |
1977 | "Dancerama" (Bill Martin-Phil Coulter) |
"I Wanna Be Loved" (Jim McGinlay) |
EMI Electrola | |
1977 | "It's Only a Matter of Time" (Herbie Flowers-Tony Kelly) |
"No Star" (Billy McIsaac) |
EMI Electrola | |
1977 | "Put You in the Picture" as PVC2 (Midge Ure) |
Zoom Records |
List of Songs
The following is a sortable table of all songs by Arrows:
- The column Song list the song title.
- The column Writer(s) lists who wrote the song.
- The column Album lists the album the song is featured on.
- The column Producer lists the producer of the song.
- The column Year lists the year in which the song was released.
Song | Writer(s) | Album | Producer | Year | Other |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Again My Love (1975) | Jim McGinlay | Slik (CD) | Bill Martin-Phil Coulter | 1975 | B-side of The Getaway |
Again My Love (1975) | Jim McGinlay | Slik (CD) | Bill Martin-Phil Coulter | 1975 | B-side of Forever and Ever |
Better Than I Do | Bill Martin-Phil Coulter | Slik (LP) | Bill Martin-Phil Coulter | 1976 | |
Bom-Bom | Exuma, Reno | Slik (LP) | Bill Martin-Phil Coulter | 1976 | A-side of Dancerama, published in Spain [3] |
Boogiest Band in Town | Bill Martin-Phil Coulter | Slik (CD) | Bill Martin-Phil Coulter | 1975 | A-side of Hatchet |
Dancerama | Bill Martin-Phil Coulter | Slik (LP) | Bill Martin-Phil Coulter | 1977 | A-side of I Wanna Be Loved |
Dancerama | Bill Martin-Phil Coulter | Slik (LP) | Bill Martin-Phil Coulter | 1976 | B-side of Bom-Bom |
Darlin | Billy McIsaac | Slik (LP) | Bill Martin-Phil Coulter | 1976 | |
Day By Day | Billy McIsaac | Slik (LP) | Bill Martin-Phil Coulter | 1976 | |
Do It Again | Midge Ure | Slik (LP) | Bill Martin-Phil Coulter | 1976 | |
Don't Take Your Love Away | Bill Martin-Phil Coulter | Slik (CD) | Bill Martin-Phil Coulter | 1976 | A-side of This Side Up |
Everyday Anyway | Kenny Hyslop | Slik (CD) | Bill Martin-Phil Coulter | 1976 | B-side of Requiem |
Forever and Ever | Bill Martin-Phil Coulter | Slik (LP) | Bill Martin-Phil Coulter | 1975 | A-side of Again My Love |
Hatchet | Bill Martin-Phil Coulter | Slik (CD) | Bill Martin-Phil Coulter | 1975 | B-side of Boogiest Band in Town |
I Wanna Be Loved | Jim McGinlay | Slik (CD) | Bill Martin-Phil Coulter | 1977 | B-side of Dancerama |
It's Only a Matter of Time | Herbie Flowers-Tony Kelly | Slik (CD) | Slik | 1977 | A-side of No Star |
No Star | Billy McIsaac | Slik (CD) | Slik | 1977 | B-side of It's Only a Matter of Time |
No We Won't Forget You | Jim McGinlay | Slik (LP) | Bill Martin-Phil Coulter | 1976 | |
Put You in the Picture as PVC2 | Midge Ure | 1977 | A-side of ? | ||
Requiem | Bill Martin-Phil Coulter | Slik (LP) | Bill Martin-Phil Coulter | 1976 | A-side of Everyday Anyway |
Slik Shuffle | James Ure | Slik (CD) | Bill Martin-Phil Coulter | 1976 | B-side of The Kid's a Punk |
The Getaway | Robert Scott | Slik (CD) | Bill Martin-Phil Coulter | 1975 | A-side of Again My Love |
The Kid's a Punk | Bill Martin-Phil Coulter | Slik (CD) | Bill Martin-Phil Coulter | 1976 | A-side of Slik Shuffle |
This Side Up | Billy McIsaac | Slik (CD) | Bill Martin-Phil Coulter | 1976 | B-side of Don't Take Your Love Away |
When Will I Be Loved | Phil Everly | Slik (LP) | Bill Martin-Phil Coulter | 1976 |
References
- ^ Kevin McGinlay Salvation Archived 2009-02-26 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Armouryshow.com
- ^ a b Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 507. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.