Statue plan for Black Country glam rockers Slade

Plans to create a statue celebrating one of the UK's most loved bands have been unveiled.

A 3m (9.8ft) statue of rock band Slade aims to reflect how big they were in their heyday and their influence on the music industry.

"They were always very proud of being from Wolverhampton, so it's about time Wolverhampton shows it's proud of Slade as well," Phil Dan, from the city's Music Heritage organisation, said.

Artist Luke Perry, who designed the statue, said he incorporated their celebrated top hats and flares into the statue so people could instantly think "music and glam-rock". Since forming in 1963, Slade achieved worldwide success with 17 consecutive Top 20 hits.

Merry Christmas Everybody and Cum On Feel the Noize were two of their biggest hits.

Fans travelled from all over the world to attend the monument's announcement at Wolverhampton Arts Centre on Saturday, with one saying it showed they were "finally being acknowledged".

Andy Boden, also from the Wolverhampton Music Heritage, said that the statue would celebrate the legacy of the band and bring it to the public's attention.

"They were Black Country heroes, they've maintained their connections to the city, so it's important that this becomes a place people can pay tribute to," he added.

The CIC hopes to install the statue by September next year and will be holding a range of fundraising events to raise money for the project.

"We've got an incredible musical talent from the Black Country and the more we shout about it, the more people know this is a significant place of national history," Perry said.

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