"That's What Friends Are For" is Slade's second single

Single (music)

In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...

 in 1987 from the album You Boyz Make Big Noize

You Boyz Make Big Noize

You Boyz Make Big Noize is the 14th album by the British rock group Slade. It was released on 27 April 1987 and reached number 98 in the UK charts spending just one week in the UK charts. The album was based on a 70s sound with 80s technology...

. It was written by lead singer Noddy Holder

Noddy Holder

Neville John "Noddy" Holder MBE is an English musician and actor. He was the lead vocalist and guitarist with the rock band Slade....

 and bassist Jim Lea

Jim Lea

Jim Lea , is an English musician, most notable for playing bass guitar, keyboards, violin, guitar, and singing backing vocals in Slade.-Career:...

. The single was only released in the UK. The style continued to follow a more pop based sound with synthesizers. The track was produced by Roy Thomas Baker

Roy Thomas Baker

Roy Thomas Baker is a multiple award-winning Anglo-American music producer, songwriter, arranger and Recording Academy Governor, who has produced Platinum and Gold certified pop and rock records from the 1970s to the present.- Career :Baker began his career at Decca Records in England at the age...

 who worked on only two tracks from the album due to Baker using most of the album's budget on the two tracks alone. The single was released in 1987 and peaked at #95 in the UK, spending 1 week on the chart. This was to be Slade's last release under RCA records before being dropped. The single was released a short time after the album's release.

The track was rushed out as a single in April 1987, "mainly because there's a certain person at RCA who is going wally over it" said guitarist Dave Hill at the time.

The 12" version of the single featured a cover of Hi Ho Silver Lining, taken from the album Crackers, Wild Wild Party and Lock Up Your Daughters

Lock Up Your Daughters (song)

"Lock Up Your Daughters" is a single from rock band Slade which appeared on the album Till Deaf Do Us Part. It was written by lead singer Noddy Holder and bassist Jim Lea. The single was released in September 1981 and peaked at #29 in the UK, spending a total of 8 weeks on the chart...

 (Live).

The b-side "Wild Wild Party" was originally used in the English film "Knights and Emeralds", eventually being released on CD via the 2007 compilation "B-Sides" and the remaster of "You Boyz Make Big Noize".

The track was performed on BBC

BBC

The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...

 show The Krankies

The Krankies

The Krankies are a Scottish comedy duo that enjoyed success as a cabaret act in the 1970s and on television in the 1980s, featuring in their own television shows and releasing their own music single. They entered semi-retirement in 1992, but they have regularly appeared in pantomime since.The duo...

 in August the same year.

"That's What Friends Are For" was reviewed on Radio One's 'Singles Out' programme on Good Friday 1987. The single received a positive thumbs up by Aled Jones, The Wizzard and Janice Long.

The editor of the 1988 Slade fan club magazine sent the "You Boyz Make Big Noize" album to 20 listeners of different musical tastes, aged from 18 and 52. The listeners were asked to choose their top three tracks. "That's What Friends Are For" was listed at #1 of the three.

Formats

7" Single

1. "That's What Friends Are For" - 3:17
2. "Wild Wild Party" - 2:55

12" Single

1. "That's What Friends Are For" - 3:17
2. "Hi Ho Silver Lining
   Hi Ho Silver Lining
   "Hi Ho Silver Lining" is a rock song, written by American songwriters Scott English and Larry Weiss and first released as a single in March 1967 by The Attack, followed a few days later by Jeff Beck. Because the Beck version charted first, the song is most often associated with him...
   
   " English
   Scott English
   Scott English is an American songwriter and record producer, best known as the composer of "Brandy", which became a number-one hit for Barry Manilow in 1974 under the revised title of "Mandy"...
   
   /Larry Weiss - 3:24
3. "Wild Wild Party" - 2:55
4. "Lock Up Your Daughters (Live)
   Lock Up Your Daughters (song)
   "Lock Up Your Daughters" is a single from rock band Slade which appeared on the album Till Deaf Do Us Part. It was written by lead singer Noddy Holder and bassist Jim Lea. The single was released in September 1981 and peaked at #29 in the UK, spending a total of 8 weeks on the chart...
   
   " - 4:03

Chart performance

Chart (1987)	Peak position	Total weeks
UK Singles Chart	95	1

Personnel

• Noddy Holder: Lead vocals and guitar
• Jim Lea: Bass guitar, synthesizer and backing vocals
• Dave Hill: Lead guitar and backing vocals
• Don Powell: Drums

Additional personnel

• Producer on "That's What Friends Are For" - Roy Thomas Baker
• Writers of "That's What Friends Are For" - Noddy Holder; Jim Lea
• Producer on "Wild Wild Party" - Jim Lea for Perseverance Ltd.
• Writers of "Wild Wild Party" - Noddy Holder; Jim Lea
• Producer on "Hi Ho Silver Lining" - Jim Lea for Perseverance Ltd.
• Writers of "Hi Ho Silver Lining" - Scott English; Larry Weiss
• Producer on "Lock Up Your Daughters (Live)" - Jim Lea for Perseverance Ltd.
• Writers of "Lock Up Your Daughters" - Noddy Holder; Jim Lea
• Front Photography - Chris Thomson
• Back Photography - Simon Fowler
• Design - Quick On The Draw Ltd.