Search - Slik :: Forever & Ever

Glamy '70s bubblegum teenybop at its nearly very best!

the-disco-kid | Bay City, Babylon 7 | 03/23/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Principally remembered as Midge Ure's (later of Ultravox and Band Aid fame) first group of any note, Glasgow's Slik, unfortunately, will probably never be recalled for much else. This, inspite of having scored a 1976 U.K. number 1 hit with the somewhat morbid yet bubble-yummi "Forever and Ever" - the title track of this collection.Spotted in 1975 by producers/writers Bill Martin & Phil Coulter (Bay City Rollers, Kenny, Arrows), who were looking for a "fresh-faced" teenybopper act to front their catchy bubblegum compositions, Slik just happened to be young, eager and good-looking enough to fit the bill. Musical abiltiy, which they incidentally had, wasn't really required though. First single "Boogiest Band in Town" (later reprised by "I Love Rock & Roll" glam rockers Arrows and nicked by the Runaways as "Is It Day Or Night") flopped, inspite of all-around bubblicious excellence. However, that initial failure was quickly forgotten when the follow-up, the aforementioned "Forever and Ever" (itself, originally an album track on Kenny's first LP), hit number 1 on the U.K. singles chart in early 1976 -- as it turned out, one of the last songs of its sort to make it big before Punk swept all such sweet silliness away. Those were the days.Third single "Requiem", where the bizarre "Forever and Ever" formula of heavy church organ and a catchy chorus was shamelessly repeated, only made it to number 24 in the early summer of '76, though, and that, chartwise, was pretty much it for Slik. But they did continue to issue some excellent European singles - "The Kid's a Punk", "Don't Take Your Love Away", "It's Only a Matter of Time" - (not to forget one hard-to-find LP) well into 1977 when they disbanded - only to resurface Midge-less a year or two later as New Wave act The Zones. Ure had by then also made an excellent, yet under-appreciated, foray into the world of Pop-Punk in (S)ex Pistol's Glen Matlock's first "super" group of Punk, Rich Kids (if possible, do check out the Kids' underrated "Ghosts of Princes in Towers" album).Although Slik's legacy may be realitively minor in the overall scheme of things, this excellent CD selection of their most memorable moments is a timely reminder of their always unfairly overlooked contribution to 1970s bubblegum pop/glam. The Bay City Rollers they most certainly weren't, but pretty damn good nonetheless."