Nobody's Fool (1976)
Nobody's Fool is Slade's third and final single from their sixth studio album Nobody's Fools. Released by Polydor on 9 April 1976, it failed to chart in the UK Top 50, but reached No. 3 on the BMRB's UK Breakers Chart. The song was written by Noddy Holder and Jim Lea, and produced by Chas Chandler.
Background
By 1975, the band began feeling stale and felt they had achieved as much success in the UK and Europe that they could. Slade and their manager Chas Chandler decided that the next best career move was to try and crack America. The band agreed to move to there and build a reputation for their live performances from scratch, just as they had in the UK. In between touring, the band recorded their next album, Nobody's Fools, which was released in March 1976. Like the title track, the album saw Slade move towards a more "American" soul/pop sound in attempt to gain a commercial break on the American charts.
Lea had originally intended for "Nobody's Fool" to be a "twenty-minute extravaganza". However, the band later agreed to cut the duration and record the song in a more standard format as it was felt that otherwise it would not appeal to the band's fanbase. The song featured Tasha Thomas on backing vocals. Released as a single in April 1976, it was the third single to be released from the album. For its release as a single, the song was edited to reduce its duration. In the UK, the song failed to reach the UK Top 50, breaking Slade's run of seventeen consecutive hits. It reached No. 3 on the BMRB's UK Breakers Chart, which would be equal to No. 53 on the UK Singles Chart at a time when the national singles chart only ran to the Top 50. In America, "Nobody's Fool" was the only single to be released from the album, but like the album, it was not a commercial success.
Release
"Nobody's Fool" was released on 7" vinyl by Polydor in the UK, Belgium, Germany, Yugoslavia, Canada and Brazil. In America, it was released by Warner Bros. Records. The B-side on the Polydor releases of the single was the Nobody's Fools album track "L.A. Jinx". In America, "When the Chips Are Down" featured as the B-side, which was previously the B-side to the 1976 single "Let's Call It Quits". In Brazil, "Nobody's Fool" was released as a four-track extended play, including "Let's Call It Quits", "In for a Penny" and "Can You Just Imagine".
Music video
A music video was filmed at St. Johns Wood Studios in London by the production company Trilion Video. It was directed by Bruce Gowers, who directed Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody" video the year before. Despite being Slade's most complex video at that time, it would only be shown once in the UK on Sally James's London Weekend Television show Saturday Scene.
Critical reception
Contemporary reviews
Retrospective reviews
Chart performance
Irish Singles Chart: #21
UK Singles Chart: #53
Formats
7" single
Personnel
Slade
Additional personnel
Cover versions
Background
By 1975, the band began feeling stale and felt they had achieved as much success in the UK and Europe that they could. Slade and their manager Chas Chandler decided that the next best career move was to try and crack America. The band agreed to move to there and build a reputation for their live performances from scratch, just as they had in the UK. In between touring, the band recorded their next album, Nobody's Fools, which was released in March 1976. Like the title track, the album saw Slade move towards a more "American" soul/pop sound in attempt to gain a commercial break on the American charts.
Lea had originally intended for "Nobody's Fool" to be a "twenty-minute extravaganza". However, the band later agreed to cut the duration and record the song in a more standard format as it was felt that otherwise it would not appeal to the band's fanbase. The song featured Tasha Thomas on backing vocals. Released as a single in April 1976, it was the third single to be released from the album. For its release as a single, the song was edited to reduce its duration. In the UK, the song failed to reach the UK Top 50, breaking Slade's run of seventeen consecutive hits. It reached No. 3 on the BMRB's UK Breakers Chart, which would be equal to No. 53 on the UK Singles Chart at a time when the national singles chart only ran to the Top 50. In America, "Nobody's Fool" was the only single to be released from the album, but like the album, it was not a commercial success.
Release
"Nobody's Fool" was released on 7" vinyl by Polydor in the UK, Belgium, Germany, Yugoslavia, Canada and Brazil. In America, it was released by Warner Bros. Records. The B-side on the Polydor releases of the single was the Nobody's Fools album track "L.A. Jinx". In America, "When the Chips Are Down" featured as the B-side, which was previously the B-side to the 1976 single "Let's Call It Quits". In Brazil, "Nobody's Fool" was released as a four-track extended play, including "Let's Call It Quits", "In for a Penny" and "Can You Just Imagine".
Music video
A music video was filmed at St. Johns Wood Studios in London by the production company Trilion Video. It was directed by Bruce Gowers, who directed Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody" video the year before. Despite being Slade's most complex video at that time, it would only be shown once in the UK on Sally James's London Weekend Television show Saturday Scene.
Critical reception
Contemporary reviews
- Record Mirror stated: "Title track from their latest album, and released to coincide with Slade's celebrations of ten years in the business, this is one of the best singles Slade have released for ages. Very catchy, from the first hearing. Bright and bouncy, and Slade at their best. Instant hit."
- John Hutson of Thanet Times wrote: "Enter Slade with style and a newly-found sophistication which epitomises their latest album. The title track is nicely controlled with lush piano and guitar chords to enfold Holder's vocals and gets well away from the group's former brash and raw image."
- Wishaw Press and Advertiser commented: "The record is bright, bouncy and very catchy. It is easily the best single the lads have produced in a long time."
- Acton Gazette wrote: "Unless something goes wrong somewhere, Slade really have come up with a winner this time. They have managed to combine the mellow sound only achieved before on their slower numbers with a bouncy, up-tempo rhythm. Gone is the screech and the crash-bang-wallop. Welcome instead an irresistible toe-tapper with a tune that will have you singing along by the second chorus."
- In a review of Nobody's Fools, Peter Barnett of the East Kent Times praised the song as a "catchy boogie that Status Quo would have been proud of" and noted Holder was "in fine vocal form".
Retrospective reviews
- In a retrospective review of Nobody's Fools, Geoff Ginsberg of AllMusic stated: "As was stated before, the album does have some really strong material. The title track is excellent, but marred by a bad arrangement."
Chart performance
Irish Singles Chart: #21
UK Singles Chart: #53
Formats
7" single
- "Nobody's Fool" - 3:50
- "L.A. Jinx" - 3:57
- "Nobody's Fool (Edit)" - 3:15
- "When the Chips are Down" - 4:16
- "Nobody's Fool (Edit) (Mono)" - 3:15
- "Nobody's Fool (Edit) (Stereo)" - 3:15
- "Nobody's Fool" - 3:50
- "Let's Call It Quits" - 3:30
- "In for a Penny" - 3:35
- "Can You Just Imagine" - 3:32
Personnel
Slade
- Noddy Holder - lead vocals, rhythm guitar
- Dave Hill - lead guitar, backing vocals
- Jim Lea - bass, piano, backing vocals
- Don Powell - drums
Additional personnel
- Chas Chandler - producer
- Tasha Thomas - backing vocals
Cover versions
- In 1977, Light Fantastic would record a version of the song for their album Sensational.
- In 1979, Jim Lea would record his own version of the song with his brother Frank as part of his side-project The Dummies. Originally intended for release as a single, their version of the song would not surface until 1992, when it was included on A Day in the Life of the Dummies, an album that gathered The Dummies' recordings.