Product Code Database
Slik were a Scottish pop music of the mid-1970s, most notable for their UK number 1 hit "Forever and Ever" in 1976. Initially glam rock, the band later changed their style to soft rock/bubblegum pop. It was the first band with whom singer and guitarist Midge Ure began to experience musical success, before joining new wave band Ultravox.
They changed their name to Slik in November 1974, and linked up with the pop songwriters Bill Martin and Phil Coulter, who were also writing for the Bay City Rollers. Now signed to Polydor Records, the band members all adopted pseudonyms - Midge, Oil Slik (Kenny Hyslop), Jim Slik (Jim McGinlay) and Lord Slik (Billy McIsaac). These were dropped after the failure of "Boogiest Band in Town", their debut single (which was also on the soundtrack of the film Never Too Young To Rock), and their suits were exchanged for baseball shirts. A change of record label also saw them signing with Bell Records.
This was followed by their greatest success when their single "Forever And Ever" reached record chart in the UK Singles Chart in February 1976. As a result of the single, readers of The Sun newspaper voted Slik the best new band of the year. The song formula was repeated with their next single, "Requiem", which made the UK top 30 but failed to repeat the success of "Forever and Ever". Ure was injured in a car accident shortly after the release of the single, resulting in the cancellation of television appearances and a planned UK concert tour. "Requiem" opens with the first chords of Joaquín Rodrigo's "Concierto de Aranjuez", which had been a number 3 hit just two months before in the UK for Geoff Love's orchestra, billed as 'Manuel & the Music of the Mountains'. Following the "Requiem" single, the band's self-titled album was released but this was a commercial failure, peaking only at number 58 in the UK. Subsequent Slik singles failed to chart.
In March 1977, Jim McGinlay left the group and was replaced by Russell Webb, a university Dropping out, who continued for the final Slik gigs.
Following Ure's departure, Webb, Hyslop and McIsaac added Alex Harvey's cousin Willie Gardner to their next band, called Zones; they released some singles and an album, Under Influence (1979) (which credited Midge Ure among the collaborators), but went their separate ways shortly afterwards. Webb and Hyslop joined The Skids, and McIsaac retired from the pop music scene. In the 1990s he formed the Billy McIsaac Band.
id:v value:red legend:Lead_vocals
id:g value:green legend:Guitars
id:k value:purple legend:Keyboards
id:b value:blue legend:Bass,_backing_vocals
id:d value:orange legend:Drums
id:a value:black legend:Studio_releases
LineData =
at:15/07/1976 layer:back color:black
at:01/07/1979 layer:back color:black
PlotData =
width:11 textcolor:black align:left
bar:SALVATION from:start till:15/11/1974 color:tan1
bar:SLIK from:15/11/1974 till:15/06/1977 color:tan1
bar:PVC2 from:15/06/1977 till:15/10/1977 color:tan1
bar:ZONES from:15/10/1977 till:end color:tan1
bar:Kevin McGinlay from:start till:15/04/1974 color:v
bar:Kevin McGinlay from:01/07/1971 till:15/03/1972 color:g width:3
bar:Ian Kenny from:start till:15/12/1970 color:g
bar:Brian Deniston from:15/12/1970 till:01/07/1971 color:g
bar:Midge Ure from:15/03/1972 till:15/10/1977 color:g
bar:Midge Ure from:15/04/1974 till:15/10/1977 color:v width:3
bar:Willie Gardner from:15/10/1977 till:end color:g
bar:Willie Gardner from:15/10/1977 till:end color:v width:3
bar:Mario Tortolano from:start till:15/05/1971 color:k
bar:Robin Birrel from:15/05/1971 till:15/03/1972 color:k
bar:Billy McIsaac from:15/03/1972 till:end color:k
bar:Jim McGinlay from:start till:15/03/1977 color:b
bar:Russell Webb from:15/03/1977 till:end color:b
bar:Nod Kerr from:start till:15/05/1971 color:d
bar:Matt Cairns from:15/05/1971 till:15/03/1972 color:d
bar:Kenny Hyslop from:15/03/1972 till:end color:d
| 1974 | "The Boogiest Band in Town" b/w "Hatchet" | Polydor Records | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1975 | "The Getaway" (Germany-only release) b/w "Again My Love" | Bellaphon | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| "Forever and Ever" b/w "Again My Love" | Bell Records | 1 | 54 | 3 | 35 | 6 | 2 | 3 | 7 | 2 | |
| 1976 | "Requiem" b/w "Everyday Anyway" | 24 | — | 20 | — | 22 | — | 13 | — | — | |
| "The Kid's a Punk" b/w "Silk Shuffle" | — | — | — | — | 33 | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Bom-Bom" (Spain-only release) b/w "Dancerama" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Don't Take Your Love Away" b/w "This Side Up" | Arista Records | — | — | 29 | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| 1977 | "Bom-Bom" (Canada-only release) b/w "This Side Up" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| "Dancerama" (Germany-only release) b/w "I Wanna Be Loved" | Electrola | — | — | — | — | 30 | — | — | — | — | |
| "It's Only a Matter of Time" (Germany-only release) b/w "I Wanna Be Loved" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Put You in the Picture" (EP; as PVC2) c/w "Pain"/"Deranged Demented & Free" | Zoom | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released | |||||||||||
| Exuma, Reno | ||
| Bill Martin-Phil Coulter | The Sound Of Super K | |
| Phil Everly | The Fabulous Style of The Everly Brothers | |
| Bill Martin-Phil Coulter | First Hit (LP) | |
| Bill Martin-Phil Coulter | Welthits Als Jazz | |
| Midge Ure | Ghosts of Princes in Towers | |
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