Lennon himself witnessed Slade recording (they recorded at daytime, he recorded at night in the same studio) and, liking Noddy's voice ("I like this chap's voice. He sings like me!"), compared Slade to the early Beatles.
"That's quite high praise, coming from your peers like that, isn't it?
It is, and when you were talking about putting in licks, when I was talking to Paul McCartney about this, we had a lengthy conversation. We were both in AIR Studios in London, and he was dead keen on talking to me, and I didn't want to talk to him because I was too bloody frightened! And he told me afterwards he was frightened to talk to me! [Laughing] It's weird, isn't it? He said [doing spot-on Paul McCartney impression]; "Jamesy, there's something I want to ask you; at the end of one of your songs, somebody told me there's a Beatle riff in there", he said; "don't worry, I won't sue you"! 1985, this was, and I said; "oh, that'll be at the end of Mama Weer All Crazee Now", I do 'Day Tripper', just one round"!"
Slade adored the Beatles. For all their energy, they never really considered themselves a hard rock band in the vein of, say, Status Quo, Deep Purple or Humble Pie, but the Sccousers were something to aspire for.
Jim Lea is no slouch on guitar.