Noddy Holder ‘avoids restaurants on Christmas’ due to Slade song

Singer Noddy Holder avoids going to restaurants on Christmas Day because of how often his famous festive song is played, his wife has said.

Suzan Holder said she and the Walsall-born rocker would find it “a bit awkward” if Slade’s hit Merry Xmas Everybody came on when they were out eating.

“The Christmas song will be put on and every single person in the restaurant will turn and look,” she told BBC Radio WM.

The track was first released in December 1973 by the Wolverhampton band but has become a mainstay on festive playlists, often re-entering the UK singles chart in the run-up to Christmas.

Mrs Holder said her husband usually wakes her up on Christmas morning by singing his famous “It’s Christmas” line from the song.

“I do think people think he does it every day but I am only talking about Christmas morning itself,” she added.

“As the man who coined the phrase, I think that’s absolutely acceptable.”

Among his festive traditions, Mrs Holder said he made a “rather mean Christmas dinner” and his roast potatoes “had to be eaten to be believed”.

Holder, who now lives in Cheshire, fronted Slade for 26 years until he stepped down in 1992.

They are often named among the most successful British bands of the 1970s, with other hit singles including Cum On Feel The Noize and Coz I Luv You.

Holder, 79, was diagnosed with oesophageal cancer in 2018 and was initially given six months to live but he recovered following care at The Christie hospital in Manchester.

Last December, the singer revealed he had started to perform again and had been playing with a 10-piece boogie jazz band since his recovery.