Gudbuy T'Jane

"Gudbuy T' Jane"

German/European cover of "Gudbuy T'Jane".
Single by Slade
from the album Slayed?
B-side I Won't Let It 'Appen Agen
Released 17 November, 1972
Format 7" Single
Genre Glam rock, hard rock
Length 3:33
Label Polydor Records
Writer(s) Noddy Holder; Jim Lea
Producer(s) Chas Chandler
Slade singles chronology
"Mama Weer All Crazee Now"
(1972)		 "Gudbuy T' Jane"
(1972)		 "Cum On Feel the Noize"
(1973)
Audio sample
file info · help

"Gudbuy T' Jane" is a hit single from glam rock band Slade released in 1972. It was written by lead singer Noddy Holder and bassist Jim Lea and appeared on their album Slayed?.[1] The single peaked at #2 in the UK, losing the number one spot to Chuck Berry's single My Ding-A-Ling.[2] It did however, peak at #1 in the New Musical Express charts. Slade's two previous singles had charted at #1 in the UK. The single lasted 13 weeks in the top 100. It stayed in the top 10 from the moment it was released for 8 weeks.[3] The single was also the most successful of Slade's 1970's singles in the United States, peaking at #68.[4] It wouldn't be until 1983 when Slade's single "My Oh My" would beat that position.[5]

The single peaked at #1 on the NME singles chart.

The single was awarded a UK Silver Disc in early 1973.[6][7]

The single peaked at #209 for 1972 on rateyourmusic.[8]

In 1981, drummer Don Powell was asked in a fan club interview for his three favourite Slade songs. Powell stated "Far Far Away", "Standin' on the Corner" and "Gudbuy T'Jane" as his favourites.[9][10]

The track was used, in slightly speeded-up form, during BBC2 comedy show The Smell of Reeves and Mortimer to introduce the "Slade in Residence" (Series 1) and "Slade on Holiday" (Series 2) segments.[11]

Background

At the time, the band were on tour and needed a follow up track to Mama Weer All Crazee Now. The idea came to Lea while he was sitting by a pool in San Diego. He completed it in the toilet in the plane on the flight home. Holder's lyrics came from a TV show he saw in San Francisco on which the band appeared, and on which a girl called Jane demonstrated a Sex Machine. Holder completed his lyrics just prior to the session. Holder's original lyrics were Hello To Jane. Jim decided that it would sound better as Goodbye To Jane when they went to record it. The loose feel of the record is explained by the fact this was Take 2 and the band had never played the song before until that day.[12]

In a November 1980 Sounds magazine interview, Lea spoke of the song. "I didn't even like some of those old ones. We all hated 'Gudbye T' Jane' when we made it, it was knocked up in half an hour at the end of one of our studio sessions."[13][14]

In a December 1984 interview with Record Mirror, the magazine tested Lea's memory by asking him to recall the story behind certain hits. For Gudbuy T'Jane, Lea stated "Was written by the side of a swimming pool in Fresno just outside San Francisco. I remember lying there one day on our afternoon off and Chas Chandler, who was our manager, said to me 'Jimmy, if you've got nothing to do - write a song cos there's money in it!'. Everyone else was messing about pissed and I was lying there bored, I'm always bored. So I thought right - write a song, go! I went 'Goodbye T'Jane, Goodbye T'Jane' and then we were flying back to finish off the 'Slayed?' album and I thought right, I need the next bit to that. I went and had a pee in the bog and I got all excited and sang it over and over, then suddenly I went 'I say you're so young', and it just blurted out. So that was it, finished at twenty thousand feet. Then when we eventually got into the studio we had the backing track done and Nod said 'right I've done the lyrics' and he went up and sang 'Hello T'Jane'. I'll never forget that, it was so funny."

For the September–December 1986 Slade fan club magazine, Lea was interviewed and was asked to share where he was when he wrote various Slade tracks. For the chorus of Gudbuy T’Jane, Lea stated it was written while he was urinating.[15]

The song was originally titled "Hello T'Jane".[16][17]

"Gudbuy T'Jane" was voted #3 of the top three Slade live tracks in the Slade Fan Club Poll of 1979.[18][19]

Promotion

Aside from the band's live performances, the song was performed on numerous TV showin the UK and Europe. Two music videos were also created.

The song was performed on the UK show Top of the Pops as well as the German show Musikladen, where the band also performed Mama Weer All Crazee Now, and the Dutch TV flagship pop show Top Pop.

In 1977, the band performed the song on East German TV where the group also mimed several other previous hits, as well as each member being interviewed. In 1981, the band's performance of the song at the Lochem Festival in the Netherlands was filmed, again only available unofficially on YouTube.[20]

Music video

Two music videos were created for the single, both by Caravelle. The first was made at an observatory and the group were filmed portraying scientists stalking around with white coats and clipboards. Close-up shots of guitarist Dave Hill's platform boots when the song mentions 'H Hill's left shoe'. For the second film, Caravelle were permissioned by Polydor Records, rather than Top of The Pops. The film was to give the impression of Slade playing live at their 'London Rainbow' concert. In fact all the shots of the band were taken during the afternoon before the gig. The audience shots were taken live at the gig - the only thing being that they were filmed during 'Hear Me Calling' - thus the audience cannot be seen in time with "Gudbuy T'Jane". Slade, during the video, have their clothes and instruments covered with 'I've Been Slayed' stickers.[17][21]

Although not clear as to which video, one of the song's video was voted #3 of the top three Slade music videos in the Slade Fan Club Poll of 1979.[18][19]

Track listing

7" Single
  1. "Gudbuy T' Jane" - 3:31
  2. "I Won't Let It 'Appen Agen" - 3:15

Critical reception

Record Mirror magazine reviewed the single upon release, "Another slice of Slade, with a drum-beat opening, with all that instant power and drive...on records - live concerts, too, come to that - the boys don't put a foot or tonsil wrong. Noddy fronts this ferocious build-up with his usual gruff efficiency; and there's a hustling bass-percussion rhythm that maintains the pressure. There's a running riff which reaches out and grabs. Their best yet? Hard to say but it is bloody good - chart certain."[22]

Danny Holloway for NME magazine wrote "Following "Mama Weer All Crazee Now", the Wolverhampton Wanders have chosen another Lea-Holder rigid rocker. There's a simple little drum intro as the guitars join in, followed by a ferocious bass line. Bound to storm the charts and should be a big Christmas seller for the band. During the past year Slade's songwriting has improved greatly. If they continue to progress at this rate, nothing can hold them back."[23][24]

In early 2010, Classic Rock magazine featured Slade as part of their ‘The Hard Stuff Buyers Guide’ where the magazine reviewed numerous Slade albums. As part of this article, an ‘Essential Playlist’ listed 14 Slade songs which included Gudbuy T’Jane.

Chart performance

Chart (1972) Peak
position		 Total
weeks
Australian ARIA Singles Chart[25] 11 13
Austrian Singles Chart[26] 7 12
Belgian Singles Chart[27][28] 5 12
Canadian Singles Chart[29] 72 3
Dutch Singles Chart[30] 4 9
French Singles Chart[31] 8 18
German Singles Chart[32] 3 17
Irish Singles Chart[33] 2 10
Japanese Singles Chart 89 4
New Zealand Singles Chart 12
Norwegian Singles Chart[34] 7 1
Swiss Singles Chart[35] 4 11
UK Singles Chart[36] 2 13
U.S. Billboard Hot 100[37] 68 6

Personnel

References

  1. ↑ "Slade - Slayed? at Discogs". Discogs.com. Retrieved 2011-08-10.
  2. ↑ "Singles Chart For 16/12/1972". Chart Stats. 1972-12-16. Archived from the original on 2012-07-29. Retrieved 2011-08-10.
  3. ↑ "Slade - GudBuy T'Jane". Chart Stats. Retrieved 2011-08-10.
  4. ↑ "Slade". AllMusic. 2002-06-25. Retrieved 2011-08-10.
  5. ↑ "UK Singles & Albums Chart Archive". Chart Stats. Retrieved 2011-08-10.
  6. ↑ http://sladefanclub.weebly.com/uploads/7/6/6/0/7660950/3030626_orig.jpg
  7. ↑ Slade Fan Club Newsletter February - March 1973
  8. ↑ "Gudbuy T'Jane / I Won't Let It 'Appen Again by Slade : Reviews and Ratings". Rate Your Music. 2011-02-09. Retrieved 2011-08-10.
  9. ↑ http://sladefanclub.weebly.com/uploads/7/6/6/0/7660950/1822580_orig.jpg
  10. ↑ Slade Supporters Club Newsletter May - June 1981
  11. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eWksvwqM3Ok
  12. ↑ Slade's Greatest Hits compilation booklet
  13. ↑ "Related Links". Timesup.dsl.pipex.com. 2005-10-29. Retrieved 2011-08-10.
  14. ↑ Sounds Magazine - 15 November 1980 - Back From The Dead - Steve Keaton meets Noddy Holder and Jim Lea of Slade
  15. ↑ http://www.sladefanclub.com/1986.html
  16. ↑ http://sladefanclub.weebly.com/uploads/7/6/6/0/7660950/1475201_orig.jpg
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 Slade International Fan Club newsletter June - July - August 1986
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 http://sladefanclub.weebly.com/uploads/7/6/6/0/7660950/7869225_orig.jpg
  19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 Slade Fan Club Magazine January–February 1980
  20. ↑ "SLADE @ www.slayed.co.uk". Crazeeworld.plus.com. Retrieved 2011-08-10.
  21. ↑ http://sladefanclub.weebly.com/uploads/7/6/6/0/7660950/8302707_orig.jpg
  22. ↑ Record Mirror 18 November 1972
  23. ↑ http://sladefanclub.weebly.com/uploads/7/6/6/0/7660950/3435194_orig.jpg
  24. ↑ Slade Fan Club Newsletter December 1972 - January 1973
  25. ↑ "Go-Set Australian charts ~ 1972". Poparchives.com.au. Retrieved 2011-08-10.
  26. ↑ Steffen Hung. "Slade - Gudbuy T'Jane". austriancharts.at. Retrieved 2011-08-10.
  27. ↑ "top20hitparade". Flanders-hitparade.net. Retrieved 2011-08-10.
  28. ↑ http://www.ultratop.be/nl/showitem.asp?interpret=Slade&titel=Gudbuy+T%27Jane&cat=s
  29. ↑ "Results - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. Retrieved 2011-08-10.
  30. ↑ Steffen Hung. "Slade - Gudbuy T'Jane". dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved 2011-08-10.
  31. ↑ http://www.infodisc.fr/Bilan_S.php
  32. ↑ musicline.de / PhonoNet GmbH. "Die ganze Musik im Internet: Charts, News, Neuerscheinungen, Tickets, Genres, Genresuche, Genrelexikon, Künstler-Suche, Musik-Suche, Track-Suche, Ticket-Suche". musicline.de. Retrieved 2011-08-10.
  33. ↑ Jaclyn Ward - Fireball Media Group - http://www.fireballmedia.ie. "The Irish Charts - All there is to know". Irishcharts.ie. Retrieved 2011-08-10.
  34. ↑ Steffen Hung. "Slade - Gudbuy T'Jane". norwegiancharts.com. Retrieved 2011-08-10.
  35. ↑ Steffen Hung. "Slade - Gudbuy T'Jane". hitparade.ch. Retrieved 2011-08-10.
  36. ↑ "Slade - GudBuy T'Jane". Chart Stats. Archived from the original on 2012-07-22. Retrieved 2011-08-10.
  37. ↑ http://www.billboard.com/artist/279564/slade/chart?f=379