Lost Pop-Rock Bullet That Slipped Between Eras and Identities
In 1987, Noddy Holder and Jim Lea quietly demoed “Shooting Me Down”, a song conceived during a transitional moment for British pop and rock. The track was originally written for Samantha Fox after her label Jive Records approached the former Slade songwriters for material intended for her upcoming album. While the demo itself never charted under Holder and Lea’s names, the song would eventually surface in a very different form, recorded by Chrome Molly and released as a single in November 1988, where it stalled at number 179 on the UK Singles Chart. Yet the story of “Shooting Me Down” is far richer than its modest chart fate suggests, revealing much about timing, industry pressure, and the adaptability of great songwriting.
The origins of the song are rooted in urgency. Holder and Lea reportedly wrote and demoed “Shooting Me Down” within a couple of weeks, responding to Jive’s request with the professionalism and instinct that had once made them hitmakers. The song bears the hallmarks of their craft: a strong melodic spine, a direct emotional hook, and a lyric built for immediacy. However, the pop machinery moved faster than the song could travel. With Samantha Fox’s single “Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now” rapidly climbing the UK charts, Jive rushed her album into production for a July 1987 release. There was simply no time left for Fox to record the track.
What followed is a familiar tale of the music industry’s restless momentum. Jive liked the song and expressed interest in keeping it for future use, but Fox never returned to it. In the meantime, whispers circulated in the press that Holder and Lea might be holding “Shooting Me Down” in reserve as a potential comeback single for Slade. At that point, however, the band was on hiatus, and the idea never moved beyond speculation. The song remained untethered, a strong composition waiting for a voice and a moment.
That moment arrived unexpectedly through Chrome Molly. Their label I.R.S. Records initially approached Jim Lea and John Punter to produce one of the band’s own songs. An agreement was reached for Lea to produce alone, and during the process he forwarded “Shooting Me Down” for consideration. Both the band and the label responded positively. The song was recorded with Lea at the helm as producer, carrying traces of its pop origins while leaning into a harder rock delivery that suited Chrome Molly’s identity.
Lyrically, “Shooting Me Down” is built on confrontation and emotional impact. The title itself suggests sudden betrayal, an ambush of feeling, love turned into a sharp, unexpected wound. It is a theme that Holder and Lea had explored in different guises throughout their career, but here it is stripped of glam bravado and delivered with late-80s urgency. The melody does the heavy lifting, designed to strike quickly and stay lodged in the listener’s memory.
Despite its eventual release, the single’s commercial performance was undermined by a dispute between I.R.S. Records and their distributors MCA Records, limiting its reach and promotion. Yet as a demo, “Shooting Me Down” remains a fascinating artifact. It captures Holder and Lea operating as pure songwriters, detached from band identity, responding to the demands of a changing industry. Today, the demo stands as a reminder that some songs are not defined by chart positions but by the journeys they take, ricocheting between artists, labels, and intentions, carrying with them the unmistakable fingerprint of their creators.