Mark and Scott, you're just defending omelettes against eggs!!!
There is a whole lot of Beatles in Noddy Holder's and Jim Lea's songwriting - and they have never denied that, in fact prided themselves with it, Noddy and Jim are both Beatles nuts (as is Ozzy).
Or just listen to Jim's solo stuff (also strong ELO and Oasis influences there, but then both bands copped bountifully off the Beatles too!):
I think The Beatles were THE influence on Slade, and John Lennon, for one, liked them a lot. I just wish George Martin would have gotten his hands on them once - those Chas Chandler production jobs with Noddy's overloud vocals and everything close to distortion haven't aged well, the CD remasters from a few years ago have made that painfully obvious.