The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Music commented that with Holder's powerful vocals and guitarist Dave Hill's equally arresting dress sense, Slade were one of the most successful British chart bands of the 1970s, scoring seventeen consecutive Top 20 hits. They are well known for the deliberate misspelling of their song titles, and for the song "Merry Xmas Everybody" (first released in December 1973), now one of the most iconic Christmas pop songs in the United Kingdom.

Slade are from the Black Country area of the West Midlands: Drummer Don Powell and bass guitarist Jim Lea were both born and raised around Wolverhampton, whilst lead guitarist Dave Hill was born in Devon but moved to Wolverhampton as a child. Lead singer Noddy Holder was born and raised in the nearby town of Walsall. In writings by and about Slade, the Trumpet public house in Bilston is mentioned frequently as a band meeting place, especially in their early days.

The group dominated the UK charts during the early 1970s. During the height of their success, Slade out-performed their chart rivals, such as Wizzard, Sweet, T. Rex, Suzi Quatro, Mud, Smokie, Gary Glitter, Roxy Music and David Bowie. In the UK, they achieved twelve Top 5 hit singles from 1971 to 1974, six of which topped the chart. In total, Slade had seventeen Top 20 hits between 1971 and 1976 including six #1s, three #2s and two #3s. No other UK act of the period enjoyed such consistency in the UK Top 40 and Slade actually came the closest to matching The Beatles' twenty two Top 10 records in a single decade (1960s). Three of their singles entered the charts at #1 and they sold more singles in the UK than any other group of the 1970s. By 1973 alone, "Merry Xmas Everybody" had sold over one million copies globally, and gained gold disc status. They toured Europe in 1973 and the US in 1974.

Slade have released over thirty albums, three of which reached #1 on the UK Albums Chart.

While Slade's attempts at cracking the United States market were largely unsuccessful, they left their mark on several US bands who cite Slade as an influence. Kiss bassist Gene Simmons admitted that his band's early songwriting ethos and stage performance style was influenced by Slade. In his book, Kiss and Make-Up, Simmons wrote on page 85, "the one we kept returning to was Slade," and "we liked the way they connected with the crowd, and the way they wrote anthems... we wanted that same energy, that same irresistible simplicity. but we wanted it American-style". Tom Petersson of Cheap Trick said on their From Tokyo to you DVD that his band went to see Slade perform, and that they used "every cheap trick in the book", thus inadvertently coining his group's name. Cheap Trick covered the song "When the Lights are Out" (the original appeared on Old New Borrowed and Blue) on their 2009 release, The Latest. Quiet Riot had US hits with their covers of "Cum On Feel the Noize" and "Mama Weer All Crazee Now". The origins of Slade's influence on Quiet Riot dated back to the early 1970s, when Kevin DuBrow photographed Slade during their first Los Angeles appearances at the Whisky a Go Go.

The band started out as the N'Betweens in 1966. They initially had modest local success, but recorded a demo EP for the French record label, Barclay Records. Their debut single, "You Better Run" (November 1966), (written and produced by Kim Fowley) did not make the charts, and the group did not record again for well over two years, but on the live circuit they built a nationwide reputation. In the late 1960s the band changed its name to Ambrose Slade, at the suggestion of Fontana's Jack Baverstock, before being adopted by their manager, Chas Chandler. Their debut album, Beginnings was a commercial flop, but Chandler worked with them on their image. Their name was eventually shortened to The Slade, and, finally, Slade, and the band adopted a skinhead look, in an attempt to gain publicity from what was then a newsworthy youth fashion trend. They later abandoned this look, due to the unwelcome association with football hooliganism. They grew their hair long again, in time to become a leading part of the glam rock movement, releasing songs with Black Country style misspelled titles which made them stand out. Their first album as Slade, Play It Loud (November 1970), failed to sell sufficiently to reach the UK Albums Chart. Slade made their first hit with a cover of the Bobby Marchan penned, Little Richard number, "Get Down and Get With It", becoming an early trademark for the group. "Get Down and Get With It" was Slade's only single on Polydor that was not written by Holder and Lea. The attendant appearance on BBC Television's Top of the Pops brought Slade to a wider audience, and "Coz I Luv You"'s chart topping stint less than five months later propelled them towards glam rock stardom.

From 1971 to 1975, the band scored consecutive hit albums and singles. Their Christmas anthem has resurfaced seasonally and formed one of a successions of singles that entered the UK chart at number one - a feat unheard of since the days of the Beatles.

In November 1971, NME reported that Slade had turned down a multi-million dollar campaign, including a television series and a heavily promoted tour of the US. "But", commented Holder, "Acceptance would have meant the cancellation of many commitments here - and the last thing we want to do is to mess around the people who have put us where we are". Their albums, Slade Alive! and Slayed? (both 1972), are considered to be some of the finest albums of the glam era.

Powell was critically injured in a car crash in Wolverhampton on 4 July 1973. Powell's 20 year old girlfriend, Angela Morris, was killed, and he broke both ankles and five of his ribs, and was in a coma for nearly a week. With his life in danger, the band's future was left in the balance. Powell recovered after surgery, and was able to join the band ten weeks later in New York, where they recorded "Merry Xmas Everybody" - in the middle of an August heatwave. Powell still suffers with acute short-term memory loss and sensory problems.

The soundtrack album to their film, Slade In Flame (1974) contained a more mature sound, and their underrated, semi-autobiographical film has subsequently gained cult status.