Merry Xmas Everybody

Year: 1973

Written By: Noddy Holder, Jimmy Lea

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The 1973 hit Christmas song 'Merry Xmas Everybody' was released in 1973 by Slade. The lead vocalist of this rock band was Noddy Holder. This track was written by Noddy Holder and Jimmy Lea (Bassist for Slade). Slade were an English rock band compromised of Noddy Holder (vocals), Don Powell (drums), Jim Lea (bass guitar) and Dave Hill (lead guitar). This Christmas song was released at the height of their success such as 'Cum on Feel the Noize'.

The lyrics which come from 'Merry Xmas Everybody' are linked to the British working class of the 1970's. Noddy Holder confirmed this in an interview with the Daily Mail stating that the song was designed to reflect a 'British family Christmas'. Despite this British association, the song was actually record in New York, in the United States. Holder also described in his interview with the Daily Mail that the song was also an attempt to cheer up listeners, this is depicted in one line of the song where it says, 'Look to the future now it's only just begun'.

The English rock band made 'Merry Xmas Everybody' a huge success, getting it to be Christmas number one in the UK Charts and Irish Charts in December 1973. Slade did extremely well to reach the Christmas number one, as it had a face and beat off fierce competition, most notably the competition came from Wizzard with 'I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday'. The song continued to have success even after Christmas had officially ended in 1973, managing to stay in the charts up until February 1974, lasting a total of nine weeks. This bewildered the lead singer, Noddy Holder who could not understand why people would continue to buy the song, as Christmas had ended. The track was so popular in the UK, that it was eventually certified as platinum in the UK in December 1980.

This song has been covered on many occasions since, by various artists of differing musical genres. It has been covered for example by dance due Flush, gothic rock band The Mission and Irish pop band Westlife. This shows how this Christmas hit has been so widely covered by many artists. The song was also performed as an acoustic version by rock legend Noel Gallagher on the popular sitcom The Royal Family during its Christmas Special.