Dave Hill (Slade) – Dirty Foot Lane (2026)

Classic Rock Rock

After sixty years in rock ’n’ roll, SLADE guitarist Dave Hill finally steps out with his first solo album, “Dirty Foot Lane”. Rather than chasing old glory, he looks back at the road that made him — family, ambition, struggle, stage lights and all the strange miles in between.

The album is far more personal than a typical late-career solo project. Hill moves between rock, blues, folk and atmospheric textures, using the songs almost like chapters from an autobiography rather than trying to recreate SLADE’s biggest moments.

“Thanks For The Good Times” opens with the warmth of somebody looking back without pretending everything was easy, while “Back In The Air Again” was born from the frustration of lockdown and Hill’s longing to get back onstage. The song carries that unmistakable sense of live energy returning after too much silence.

“Dust My Axe” lets more blues into the room, while “She Had A Troubled Heart” turns inward with a more reflective mood. “Sweet And Tender” brings a softer melodic touch before “Fast Train” revisits the dizzying speed of SLADE’s rise, when everything seemed to happen at once and there was barely time to process it.

“Only Fools And Horses” reaches back toward the early years, while “Play It To The Crowd” is practically a love letter to performance itself — the buzz before the lights go down, the roar of a packed room and that strange chemistry between stage and audience that no studio can really fake.

“Reasons To Succeed” digs into ambition and persistence, themes that feel particularly fitting coming from a musician who has spent most of his life under stage lights. Then the title track closes the record by bringing everything back home.

“Dirty Foot Lane” takes its name from a real place near Wolverhampton, close to where Hill grew up and still lives. It is the emotional centre of the album: part childhood memory, part family portrait and part acknowledgement that no matter how far the road goes, some places never really leave you.

Django Holder plays a major role in the record’s sound, producing, mixing and performing across the sessions, while longtime collaborator John Berry adds another important thread connecting Hill’s present-day work with his life in SLADE.

There is no need for fireworks here. “Dirty Foot Lane” works because Hill is not trying to prove that he is still the loudest man in the room. He is simply telling the story in his own voice — and after sixty years, that story has earned the space.

Country: UK
Label: Jerkin Crocus Promotions Ltd / JCPL Records
Genre: Rock / Blues Rock / Folk Rock
Release date: October 30, 2026
Format: CD / Vinyl / Digital

Tracklist:
01 – Thanks For The Good Times
02 – Back In The Air Again
03 – Dust My Axe
04 – She Had A Troubled Heart
05 – Sweet And Tender
06 – Fast Train
07 – Only Fools And Horses
08 – Play It To The Crowd
09 – Reasons To Succeed
10 – Dirty Foot Lane

Dave Hill – Vocals, Guitar
Django Holder – Production, Mixing, Additional Performance
John Berry – Bass, Vocals, Violin
Rob Childs – Production

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