Radio Wall of Sound
| "Radio Wall of Sound" | ||||
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UK/European cover of "Radio Wall of Sound".
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| Single by Slade | ||||
| from the album Wall of Hits | ||||
| B-side | "Lay Your Love on the Line" | |||
| Released | 7 October 1991 | |||
| Genre | Hard rock, pop rock | |||
| Length | 3:48 | |||
| Label | Polydor | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Jim Lea | |||
| Producer(s) | Jim Lea | |||
| Slade singles chronology | ||||
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"Radio Wall of Sound" is a song by the English rock band, Slade, issued as a single in 1991. It was included on their compilation album, Wall of Hits.
The song was the first to be credited solely by Jim Lea since "I Won't Let it 'Appen Agen", from the 1972 album Slayed?. It was sung by Lea, with Noddy Holder joining with him in the chorus. The B-side, "Lay Your Love on the Line", was written by Dave Hill and former Wizzard member Bill Hunt. The track was originally for a solo project of Jim Lea. The recording of the track already existed, complete apart from lead vocals. The track was not in Holder's key and so his vocals were dubbed into the chorus, leaving Lea's lead vocal on the verses. The track also features Radio One DJ Mike Read as 'the voice of radio'.
In the 1990s, Jim Lea was interviewed by Ken Sharpe. Lea explained the track's meaning which was about having a radio and music playing inside your own mind.
The song appeared on the various artists compilation "Now That's What I Call Music! 20", released 30 November 1991.
Holder was asked in a 1992 interview on the sales of the single. "It wouldn’t have needed that many sales to have reached that position, not a vast amount. The initial shipping out to the shops was around 30,000 copies, I think, which is a good pre-order figure, good enough to go Top 40 first week out. The problem was sustaining the momentum after using up all the available TV’s there was nowhere else to go. We couldn’t get on Wogan, which would have helped, so really that was all the TV possible. We did more press than ever before, in recent times at least, but there just aren’t that many rock records making the charts these days unless they happen to come from a film soundtrack. The charts have been very dance orientated of late and I can’t really think of any big rock records of 1991. If you look at the rock album charts from last year there are not that many that were really outstanding and had any long chart success."
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