A Final, Resilient Anthem of Enduring Hope, a Melancholy Celebration of Rock’s Power to Overcome Life’s Crushing Disappointments.
The year 1985 found the great British rock and roll machine, Slade, in a curious, almost miraculous, state of sustained survival. Though the flamboyant glam era was long past and the music landscape had dramatically shifted toward polished pop, Slade had staged a phenomenal, career-saving comeback in the early 1980s. Their continuing endurance was a testament to their grit and the strength of their songwriting partnership, Noddy Holder and Jim Lea. The album Crackers, a festive, often light-hearted collection released during the band’s seasonal peak, housed a track that carried a far deeper, more dramatic weight than its cheery context suggested. That track was “Do You Believe In Miracles.” Its chart position told a story of hard-won relevance: it reached a respectable number 54 on the UK Singles Chart. While a far cry from their number one heyday, its success was a significant victory in an era fiercely determined to forget the 1970s.
The story behind “Do You Believe In Miracles” is one of the band’s own dramatic resilience. By 1985, Slade was acutely aware of their status as rock and roll survivors. They had faced rejection, obscurity, and the constant battle against obsolescence. This song is a direct, emotional response to that long, hard fight. The lyrics, penned by Holder and Lea, are framed as an observation of a world filled with disillusionment, with people battling economic hardship, lost love, and dashed dreams. The dramatic climax is the chorus, a shouted question directed at the listener, delivered with a conviction that suggests the band themselves needed to believe in the answer. The “miracle” is the very existence of joy, the ability to find a spark of light and hope—often through the collective, cathartic power of rock and roll—in an otherwise bleak reality.
The meaning of the song is a profound and moving endorsement of hope against all odds. It’s an anthem for the working person, a sympathetic nod to anyone struggling to keep their spirits up when life feels relentlessly unfair. Slade had always been the champions of the underdog, and this song serves as a powerful, mature confirmation of that role. Musically, the track is a powerful, driving pop-rock song, blending the classic, infectious Slade melody with a polished, contemporary production that helped it find airplay in the mid-80s. Noddy Holder’s vocal performance is spectacular—it possesses all the familiar, gravelly power, but with an added layer of weary, sincere compassion that elevates the track from simple rock song to a genuine emotional lifeline. The soaring melody is crafted with an expert hand, making the appeal to “believe in miracles” feel not like an empty cliché, but a hard-earned, essential piece of life advice.
For those of us who grew up with the roar and thunder of Slade, “Do You Believe In Miracles” is a deeply nostalgic and incredibly poignant piece of their enduring saga. It’s a testament to the belief that real rock and roll can be about more than noise—it can be about providing comfort and resilience. The song stands as a timeless, deeply emotional, and profoundly dramatic statement from the ultimate survivors, a beautiful reminder that sometimes, the only way to get through is to cling to the possibility of the incredible.