"My Oh My" by Slade

Song#:  1973
Date:  07/07/1984
Debut:  80
Peak:  37
Weeks:  11
Genre:  Rock



Pop Bits:  After nearly fifteen years of being stars in their native UK, Slade finally got a hit in the US with their song "Run Runaway" (#1 Rock, #20 Pop). They followed it up with this power ballad that was a big #2 hit in the UK. It couldn't reach those heights in the US, but it was able to hang on and become their second Pop Top 40 entry (#32 Rock). The two songs would help the associated LP, Keep Your Hands off My Power Supply, sell well enough to reach #33. It would end up being their best charting album in the US.

ReduxReview:  This song nearly sounds like an update of an old Scottish folk tune. It kind of has the same feel as the Paul McCartney & Wings 1977 hit "Mull of Kintyre," except rocked up and minus the bagpipes. "Mull" was #1 in the UK for nine weeks and became the best selling single there at the time. The Brits love tunes like that and when "My Oh My" was released they responded well taking it to #2. "Mull" was a stand-alone single that didn't get released in the US, so no one knows what its chart fortunes might have been. However, "My Oh My" got issued in the US and it did rather well. I think it should have done a bit better. It's one of those rousing sing-a-long songs that plays well on record and makes for a great concert finale. It's great as-is, but I also wouldn't have minded a bit o' bagpipe somewhere in there; or at least a Big Country-ish imitation one.

ReduxRating:  7/10

Trivia:  A swing version of this actually exists that features Slade's lead singer, Noddy Holder, on vocals. Apparently, after this song became a hit, several artists expressed interest in recording the song and/or others from the band. Requests were made for demos, however many of the artists that wanted to cover the tune were more in the MOR vein rather than rock. Therefore, what Slade may come up with in the studio may not exactly highlight the song correctly for those artists. It was suggested that perhaps a swing version of this song might work. Slade wasn't reluctant to the idea, but they didn't want to record it themselves. So they got a friend of theirs, Monty Babson, to record the tune with his big band. It worked well, but then folks thought that Holder should still be the one to sing it. A date was set for Holder to record his vocals in the studio and after an evening at the pub, Holder went in and did his vocals on one take. That swing version ended up on the b-side to their 1985 single "Do You Believe in Miracles."

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