Jim Lea

Behind Slade's loud public image stood Jim Lea's sense of harmony, arrangement, and song construction. The English bassist, violinist, and songwriter worked with Noddy Holder in Slade, shaping a run of direct, shouted, highly memorable rock singles. Cum On Feel the Noize, Mama Weer All Crazee Now, and Merry Xmas Everybody made the band a central sound of 1970s British pop-rock.