Slik were a Scottish pop group 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. It was the first band with whom singer and guitarist Midge Ure began to experience musical success, before joining new wave band Ultravox.
History
Slik were formed as the Glasgow based band 'Salvation' in June 1970, comprising brothers Kevin McGinlay (vocals) and Jim McGinlay (bass), Nod Kerr (drums), Mario Tortolano (keyboards), and Ian Kenny (guitar). Brian Deniston replaced Ian Kenny in December 1970 and Nod Kerr departed in May 1971, followed by Tortolano and they were replaced by Matt Cairns on drums and Robin Birrel on keyboards. Deniston left shortly after this change and they were forced to continue as a four-piece outfit for almost a year, with Kevin McGinlay taking up guitar duties. Birrel and Cairns then left in March 1972 and they recruited Kenny Hyslop on drums, Billy McIsaac on keyboards and Jim "Midge" Ure on guitar. They reverted to a four-piece band when Kevin McGinlay left in April 1974 to pursue a solo career,[1] with Midge Ure becoming the band's lead vocalist.
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, 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 number one 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 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 drop-out,[2] who continued for the final Slik gigs.
PVC2
Shortly after Webb joined and a last tour, the band decided to change both genre and name. They chose to call themselves PVC2, and play punk music which was growing in popularity at that time. In the latter half of 1977, PVC2 released "Put You in the Picture", on Zoom Records, a song which joined the repertoire of the Rich Kids, Ure's next band. Slik/PVC2 disbanded in September 1977.
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.
