SLADE rocker Don Powell drummed up plenty of support when he stopped off at Merry Hill to meet fans and sign copies of his book.

The legendary Wolverhampton drummer was at WH Smith at the centre on Saturday March 1 – signing copies of his autobiography ‘Look What I Dun – My Life in Slade’.

The book tells the story of glam rockers Slade through the eyes of Powell whose life was shattered when at the peak of the group’s fame he was injured in an horrific car crash which claimed the life of his girlfriend and left him with injuries that affect him to this day.

The frank and personal account, a collaboration between Danish author Lise Lyng Falkenberg and Don himself, documents the highs and lows of being in the hit-making outfit - the UK’s biggest singles band from 1971 to 1974 - whose most famous ditty, Merry Xmas Everybody, has become one of the UK’s most popular Christmas songs ever.

Among fans happy to meet up with the star, who now lives in Denmark, was Amy-Jane Collins who travelled up to Merry Hill from Cornwall.

Kelly Reed, senior marketing manager at Merry Hill, said the visit by the glam rock star proved a real hit, and she added: “He’s very much a local treasure in the West Midlands, and many of our shoppers have been fans of Slade since the very beginning.”