Rockers Slaughter Prepare To Roll Out The Hits

When fans hear Slaughter mixing old hits such as "Up All Night," "Fly To The Angels," and "Burning Bridges" with new tunes this summer, they'll have Paul McCartney to thank. Singer Mark Slaughter credits seeing fan reaction to Beatles and Wings material at a McCartney concert for shaping his philosophy on playing live.

''When I saw Paul McCartney, he played Wings and Beatles songs and people were going crazy. Then he'd play a new song and the whole arena would just sit down. As a musician you gotta try to get the new stuff in, but you gotta do the things people want to hear when you play live. The truth is, that's what the people paid for.''

In occupying a slot on package tour that also features Poison, Dokken and Cinderella, Slaughter will play 46 shows this summer, mostly at outdoor amphitheaters. The tour begins June 13 in Hershey, Penn.

Calling from a van with his wife and kids onboard, Slaughter said he harbors no resentment toward the Pearl Jams, Nirvanas and Soundgardens who helped to chase his band off the charts a decade ago. ''I think Soundgarden was an incredible band. They were fantastically talented, Chris Cornell is an amazing singer and their songs were great. I've got no reason to dis bands like that. It's no different than where we come from.''

The idea behind the tour featuring 80s rock acts is simple, according to Slaughter, as is the reason fans still fill the seats years after even the headliners last had hits. ''The whole idea was to get a whole bunch of bands who still do what we do and get out there and kick some ass. I believe it's really about enjoying your life, enjoying all aspects of it. It's about a good time.

"'Up All Night' and songs of that nature have the message that life is good. A lot of people that are into that type of music like that type of message, and that's why the shows are doing incredibly well.''

Slaughter guitarist Tim Kelly died in a car accident in 1998. The upcoming tour will feature frontman Slaughter, bassist Dana Strum, drummer Blas Elias and new guitarist Jeff Blando, the same line-up that recorded Slaughter's 1999 LP ''Back To Reality.''