Dave Hill's Slade takes in city on farewell tour

Dave Hill's Slade said they will embark on their final ever tour, stopping off in Birmingham on 20 December

Are you hanging up your stocking on the wall? Will you be asking Santa to see Slade perform live one final time? Well, you might be in luck.

Dave Hill's Slade said they were about to embark on the band's farewell tour, visiting Birmingham's O2 Academy on Saturday 20 December.

Led by founding member Dave Hill on lead guitar, John Berry will accompany on lead vocals, bass, acoustic guitar and violin, while Russell Keefe will take up lead vocals and keys. Alex Bines takes his place behind the drums.

Hill said Birmingham was a special stop on the tour due to the time the band had spent in the city, with the original Slade line-up having formed in Wolverhampton in 1963.

"The thing with Birmingham is - we had so much time in Birmingham in the early days when we used to work with Black Sabbath, when they were a young band and used to know Jeff Lynne and all those people," Hill said.

"Birmingham has always been the place where you'd go buy your guitars and things like that."

Hill grew up in Wolverhampton, although he was born in Flete House near Kingsbridge, Devon, after it was made into a maternity ward after the town's hospital was bombed in World War Two.

Slade's 1973 song Merry Xmas Everybody was a huge success

Hill is also working on a solo album, produced by Django Holder, the son of his Slade bandmate, Noddy Holder.

He said Django Holder was a "fantastic" and special producer.

"I couldn't have thought of a better person to work with. It's nice for me because Nod's been such a good friend and encouraging me to do this," said Hill.

He added the album would probably be released in 2026, before he turns 80 on 4 April.

It is biographical, with songs about members of Slade and the people "who helped [him] make it, people in the Midlands".

Mr Hill also spoke to BBC Radio WM about mental health, having been made an ambassador for mental health in the West Midlands and himself spoken about his struggles.

"I'm working with Lenny Henry's sister and she said we need a voice," he said.

"I said I'd be good at this because I understand the horrors of it.

"Sadly I lost my mom over it but she saw me make it before she died."