That's What Friends Are For (Slade song)
| "That's What Friends Are For" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
||||
| Single by Slade | ||||
| from the album You Boyz Make Big Noize | ||||
| B-side | "Wild Wild Party" | |||
| Released | 20 April 1987 | |||
| Format | 7" Single, 12" single | |||
| Genre | Rock | |||
| Length | 3:17 | |||
| Label | RCA Records | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Noddy Holder, Jim Lea | |||
| Producer(s) |
Roy Thomas Baker (A-Side) Jim Lea (B-Sides) |
|||
| Slade singles chronology | ||||
|
||||
| Audio sample | ||||
|
|
||||
That's What Friends Are For is a song by the British rock band Slade, released in 1987 as the second single from their fourteenth studio album You Boyz Make Big Noize. The song was written by lead vocalist Noddy Holder and bassist Jim Lea, and produced by Roy Thomas Baker. It reached No. 95 in the UK, remaining in the charts for the one week.
Slade began writing and recording material for their You Boyz Make Big Noize album in 1986. Hoping to record a hit album that would put them back in the public eye, the lead single "Still the Same" was released in February 1987 but stalled just inside the UK Top 75. In choosing the next single, RCA selected "That's What Friends Are For",. which was released in April 1987, a week prior to the release of You Boyz Make Big Noize. It reached No. 95 in the UK, and would be the band's last UK release under RCA.
"That's What Friends Are For" was one of two tracks from the album to be produced by Roy Thomas Baker. Initially it was planned for Baker to produce the entire album, but Slade felt his working methods were too lengthy and expensive. Prior to the single's release, in a 1987 fan club interview, guitarist Dave Hill said: ""That's What Friends Are For" looks to be the next single, mainly because there's a certain person up at RCA who is going wally over it." Describing the song, Hill said: "This is a 'scarf waver' type of number".
"That's What Friends Are For" was released on 7" and 12" vinyl by RCA Records in the UK only. In Europe, it was given a 12" vinyl release, and a 7" vinyl release in Australia and New Zealand. The B-side, "Wild Wild Party", had first appeared on the soundtrack of the 1986 British film Knights & Emeralds, along with "We Won't Give In". It would later appear on the band's 2007 compilation B-Sides.
On the 12" single, three B-sides were included: "Hi Ho Silver Lining," "Wild Wild Party" and "Lock Up Your Daughters (Live)". The band's cover of "Hi Ho Silver Lining" was taken from the band's 1985 album Crackers: The Christmas Party Album, while "Lock Up Your Daughters" was taken from the band's 1982 live album Slade on Stage.
...
Wikipedia