The N'Betweens

The 'N Betweens only did a couple of singles in 1966, and would be forgotten except that the group evolved into <a href="spotify:artist:5L4U1RG1rgXSsCfJip9zDu">Ambrose Slade</a> and then <a href="spotify:artist:10n5lhNDoSMUHWLlnST1yw">Slade</a>. Back in the mid-'60s the musicians, like many in England, were playing heavily R&B- and soul-influenced material in the mod British Invasion style. The group originally evolved from the Wolverhampton band the Vendors, an average British rock band with a cover-heavy repertoire who'd done a rare privately pressed EP in 1964. With future <a href="spotify:artist:10n5lhNDoSMUHWLlnST1yw">Slade</a> members Dave Hill on lead guitar and Don Powell on drums, the group changed their name to the 'N Betweens and went for a bluesier, more R&B-heavy sound. This first lineup of the 'N Betweens did a rare French EP for the Barclay label with adequate but faceless covers of songs by <a href="spotify:artist:6mUkkNOlpYefP8Y2lcWTCp">the Sorrows</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:5U16QlMnlSAhkQxBZpLyLO">the Pretty Things</a>, and <a href="spotify:artist:1B8n8vtEeexQ5NKehHTkeo">Johnny Preston</a>. All four songs from the EP have been reissued on the CD A Genesis of Slade, which features a couple dozen rare tracks by bands in which members of <a href="spotify:artist:10n5lhNDoSMUHWLlnST1yw">Slade</a> played before <a href="spotify:artist:5L4U1RG1rgXSsCfJip9zDu">Ambrose Slade</a> formed.

The somewhat more interesting phase of the 'N Betweens began when they reorganized their lineup to the four-piece with the same members who would eventually comprise <a href="spotify:artist:10n5lhNDoSMUHWLlnST1yw">Slade</a>. At a London gig they attracted the attention of American producer <a href="spotify:artist:6AgAlEkTLN4m5ZERuhiWnk">Kim Fowley</a>, who produced their 1966 Columbia U.K. single "You Better Run," a decent but still rather anonymous cover of a hit by <a href="spotify:artist:5X3TuTi9OIsJXMGxPwTKM2">the Young Rascals</a>. A U.S. promotional-only single, a cover of <a href="spotify:artist:60df5JBRRPcnSpsIMxxwQm">Otis Redding</a>'s "Security," also came out in 1966, bearing the same B-side ("Evil Witchman," a rewrite of the <a href="spotify:artist:2BVYdY4PyfCF9z4NrkhEB2">Sam & Dave</a> soul song "I Take What I Want") as "You Better Run" had in Britain. Three other tracks were recorded in 1966 that were unreleased at the time, the most notable of those being "Ugly Girl" (co-written by <a href="spotify:artist:6AgAlEkTLN4m5ZERuhiWnk">Fowley</a> with the band), which hinted at the bluntness in which <a href="spotify:artist:10n5lhNDoSMUHWLlnST1yw">Slade</a> would specialize in the 1970s.

<a href="spotify:artist:6AgAlEkTLN4m5ZERuhiWnk">Fowley</a> ended his association with the 'N Betweens after "You Better Run" flopped, and the band continued working together until evolving into <a href="spotify:artist:5L4U1RG1rgXSsCfJip9zDu">Ambrose Slade</a> in the late '60s, shortly afterward shortening their name to <a href="spotify:artist:10n5lhNDoSMUHWLlnST1yw">Slade</a>. The 'N Betweens' 1965 EP, 1966 singles, 1966 outtakes, and a four-song 1965 acetate of covers by the first version of the band are included on A Genesis of Slade. ~ Richie Unterberger, Rovi