THE SLADY STORYFOUNDED IN AUGUST 2018 FEMALE SLADE TRIBUTE BAND THE FEMALE SLADE! BAND MEMBERS: LEAD VOCALS & GUITAR - GOBBY HOLDER LEAD GUITAR & BACKING VOCALS - DAVINA HILL BASS GUITAR & BACKING VOCALS - JEM LEA DRUMS & BACKING VOCALS - DONNA POWELL MANAGEMENT : DAVE KEMP ART, DESIGN, PHOTOGRAPHY, VIDEO AND HELPER: DAZ MONROE HOMEPATCH - LONDON & THE SOUTH EAST INTERESTS - BRINGING THE HOUSE DOWN! |
SOME OF THE SLADE SONGS WE PERFORM
The SLADY set-list is ever changing and ever being added to... Songs performed include: Take Me Bak 'Ome, Cum On Feel The Noize, Look Wot You Dun, Skweeze Me Pleeze Me, Coz I Luv You, Mama Weer All Crazee Now, The Whole World's Going Crazee, The Bangin' Man, Just Want A Little Bit, Don't Blame Me, When The Lights Are Out, Everyday, Get Down And Get With It.
ARTISTS WE LIKE
Slade, T.Rex, David Bowie, Sparks, Mott The Hoople, Sweet, Blackfoot Sue, Screemer, Noosha Fox, The Rats, Suzi Quatro, Runaways, Ian Hunter, Mick Ronson, Alice Cooper, The Featherz, Mud, Jook
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JEM LEA
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GOBBY HOLDER
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DAVINA HILL
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DONNA POWELL
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BAND HISTORY
The idea for SLADY came about when singer Danie Centric was with her friend Joe and saw Slade perform at the Alban Arena, in St Albans, Hertfordshire on 18th April 2018. The Slade line-up included Dave Hill and Don Powell. Gobby thought "I could do a female version of this".
Danie ran the idea by her friends Wendy Soloman and Fi Dulake. Danie knew the girls from the Southend scene - from the Railway Hotel venue - which has become known as 'the home of Slady'). The girls thought the idea could work and the band was set as three piece initially when Wendy and Fi Joined (as Jem Lea and Donna Powell respectively) and of course Danie became Gobby Holder.
However in the end Fi couldn't commit totally to idea - and a replacement drummer was sought. Lots of interest came in from prospective replacements. However, just two drummer's caught the eye of Gobby. One was Sophie Reed - who really wanted the job and constantly bugged the band to let her in. She was a great drummer - so Sophie was chosen as the 'new' Donna Powell.
The next job was finding a Davina Hill. This took forever. Applicants were too flakey. In the end they found excellent guitarist Annie Needham - who had a huge Slade background as her dad was, and still is, a massive Slade fan!
So there we have it - the now SLADY line-up of Gobby, Jem, Donna and Davina came together. Lots of rehearsals took place and things started happening for the band when gigs started getting booked in the South East in 2019. Many of these gigs became sell outs.
By the end of the year the band built up a strong and loyal social media following and they went down a storm at the Slade Fans Convention in Wolverhampton in the Autumn.
2020 has seen the SLADY profile raised even further with them spreading their live shows even further afield all around the UK.
Danie ran the idea by her friends Wendy Soloman and Fi Dulake. Danie knew the girls from the Southend scene - from the Railway Hotel venue - which has become known as 'the home of Slady'). The girls thought the idea could work and the band was set as three piece initially when Wendy and Fi Joined (as Jem Lea and Donna Powell respectively) and of course Danie became Gobby Holder.
However in the end Fi couldn't commit totally to idea - and a replacement drummer was sought. Lots of interest came in from prospective replacements. However, just two drummer's caught the eye of Gobby. One was Sophie Reed - who really wanted the job and constantly bugged the band to let her in. She was a great drummer - so Sophie was chosen as the 'new' Donna Powell.
The next job was finding a Davina Hill. This took forever. Applicants were too flakey. In the end they found excellent guitarist Annie Needham - who had a huge Slade background as her dad was, and still is, a massive Slade fan!
So there we have it - the now SLADY line-up of Gobby, Jem, Donna and Davina came together. Lots of rehearsals took place and things started happening for the band when gigs started getting booked in the South East in 2019. Many of these gigs became sell outs.
By the end of the year the band built up a strong and loyal social media following and they went down a storm at the Slade Fans Convention in Wolverhampton in the Autumn.
2020 has seen the SLADY profile raised even further with them spreading their live shows even further afield all around the UK.
PROFILES
GOBBY HOLDER (DANIE CENTRIC)
Gobby was born on 15th December 1990 in the Princess of Wales hospital, Bridgend, Wales. Since a very young age Gobby performed in the theatre. She worked the Welsh National Opera, Theatre Na Nog and even completed circus training!
Gobby's thespian life changed forever when she reached 14 years old, got into rock n roll and picked up a guitar. She was self taught and never looked back. Gobby quotes seeing David Bowie perform 'Starman' on TOTPS 2 as changing everything, along with wanting to wake up in the 1970's after watching the 'Life On Mars' tv show.
Gobby then completed a national diploma in music - and came to London. Next she accepted management by Adam Ant in the all female band Poussez Posse - and toured with him. Gobby later left his management and started her own band The Featherz and toured with Boy George.
On 14th April 2018 Gobby saw Slade perform in St. Albans... She came up with the idea of a Slade female tribute band. And shortly after 'SLADY' became reality.
Gobby's favourite Slade record: 'Nobody's Fool' - 1976
Gobby's favourite Slade song to play live: 'Don't Blame Me' 1973
DAVINA HILL (ANNIE NEEDHAM)
Davina grew up in High Wycombe, and has been playing guitar since the age of 7 years. Davina was brought up in a very musical family. Her parents, auntie and grandad all played music, so learning to play guitar always inevitable for her.
Davina remembers as a kid that her dad had a full Venue PA set up in the living room as his ‘home sound system’. Dad Rob is a huge Slade fan - and so every Sunday would consist of Slade on the sound system, on repeat, full blast! Davina would use the sub speaker as a stage - which she would get up and dance on with her mirrored top hat.
In determined pursuit of creating a career in music, Davina dropped out of school to take a course in music production and later, musical instrument building. Davina has spent the last few years working at a Guitar Shop on London’s famous Denmark street, as well as touring as a backline tech with Kate Nash and Benjamin Clementine.
Davina writes and performs her own music under her main project ‘Big Peyote’ an Alt-Rock Trio based in North London, inspired by a mix of 70’s Americana and 90’s Alternative Rock.
She also plays in dream pop 8-piece ‘Oli Swan and the Dangerous Creatures’.
Davina's favourite Slade record: 'How Does It Feel' - 1975
Davina's favourite Slade song to play live: 'Don't Blame Me' - 1973
JEM LEA (WENDY SOLOMAN)
Wendy first began playing in bands whilst at 6th form college studying Literature and Drama. She teamed up with class mate Dawn Lintern to form Tortoise Shout! (The title of a D H Lawrence poem) They played together in a 4 piece with drums and trombone until universities put paid to the band. Jem and Dawn still play together with Dawn’s current project Das Fluff (post punk electro filth) with Wendy dipping in on bass when the Berlin based band are in the UK. Wendy has just completed a tour of Tokyo with Das Fluff and is playing with them when they support Toyah next near.
Jem was in various bands during her university years with Tortoise Shout! Reforming briefly for gigs around London. When Jem moved from London to Southend, she met local singer songwriter David Woodcock and began playing bass in his band ‘David Woodcock and the Fixtures’. David is signed to London label Blow Up Records and with the band they have played some exciting shows such as supporting My Life story at Shepherd’s Bush Empire, Koko in Camden and a live session in Manchester on The Marc Riley Show. The current album Normal Life is receiving acclaim and the band are hoping to tour in 2020.
In the meantime, Jem also writes and performs her own material under the moniker Angel Melodyhorn and will her 4-piece band Angel and the Melodyhorns. The band had an album ‘Exposure’ released on LDN Road Records in 2018 and are still gigging when time allows. Jem is hoping to record a new album of original material in 2020. Alongside this she also performs her cabaret material solo and with a ukulele.
Jem's favourite Slade record: 'Nobody's Fool' - 1976
Jem's favourite Slade song to play live: 'Coz I Luv You' - 1971
www.angelandthemelodyhorns.co.uk
www.davidwoodcockmusic.com
https://www.facebook.com/dasfluff
Jem was in various bands during her university years with Tortoise Shout! Reforming briefly for gigs around London. When Jem moved from London to Southend, she met local singer songwriter David Woodcock and began playing bass in his band ‘David Woodcock and the Fixtures’. David is signed to London label Blow Up Records and with the band they have played some exciting shows such as supporting My Life story at Shepherd’s Bush Empire, Koko in Camden and a live session in Manchester on The Marc Riley Show. The current album Normal Life is receiving acclaim and the band are hoping to tour in 2020.
In the meantime, Jem also writes and performs her own material under the moniker Angel Melodyhorn and will her 4-piece band Angel and the Melodyhorns. The band had an album ‘Exposure’ released on LDN Road Records in 2018 and are still gigging when time allows. Jem is hoping to record a new album of original material in 2020. Alongside this she also performs her cabaret material solo and with a ukulele.
Jem's favourite Slade record: 'Nobody's Fool' - 1976
Jem's favourite Slade song to play live: 'Coz I Luv You' - 1971
www.angelandthemelodyhorns.co.uk
www.davidwoodcockmusic.com
https://www.facebook.com/dasfluff
DONNA POWELL (SOPHIE M REED)
Donna has always been active, having played football since the age of 5 and getting into competitive team sports since the age of 7, so playing drums as a main instrument was a no brainer. What triggered her love for drums was either watching Michael Jackson perform ‘Earth Song’ at the VMAs (where Jarvis Cocker stormed the stage), or watching *Alanis Morissette play live on TV in the mid 90’s; staring at the drummer, she thought ‘I want to do that!’.
It wasn’t until age 13 that she actually started playing on a drum kit, as her school offered lessons. After leaving school, Donna went and studied at prestigious music school BIMM (in Brighton) where she achieved a diploma, then onto Bucks New Uni gaining a 2:1 with Honours in ‘Audio and Music Production’.
Donna has played live and recorded in various bands and projects in all different genres since 2005, and continues to do depping outside of Slady and any filming/stunt work.
*One of her favourite drummers is Taylor Hawkins, Foo Fighters, who ironically was Alanis Morissette’s drummer during the Jagged Little Pill tour in the mid 90’s!
Donna's favourite Slade record: 'Do We Still Do It' (1974)
Donna's favourite Slade song to play live: 'The Bangin' Man' (1974)
It wasn’t until age 13 that she actually started playing on a drum kit, as her school offered lessons. After leaving school, Donna went and studied at prestigious music school BIMM (in Brighton) where she achieved a diploma, then onto Bucks New Uni gaining a 2:1 with Honours in ‘Audio and Music Production’.
Donna has played live and recorded in various bands and projects in all different genres since 2005, and continues to do depping outside of Slady and any filming/stunt work.
*One of her favourite drummers is Taylor Hawkins, Foo Fighters, who ironically was Alanis Morissette’s drummer during the Jagged Little Pill tour in the mid 90’s!
Donna's favourite Slade record: 'Do We Still Do It' (1974)
Donna's favourite Slade song to play live: 'The Bangin' Man' (1974)
