“It's Christmaaaas!”: How Slade created a festive classic - with a little help from John Lennon

Noddy Holder, Don Powell, Dave Hill and Jim Lea of Slade perform on a Christmas TV show in December 1973 in Hilversum, netherlands.

Slade’s Merry Xmas Everybody is a quintessentially British Yuletide hit.

Released in November 1973, against the backdrop of national strikes and general misery, Slade’s rousing opus to the festive period was the band’s third song that year to go straight into the UK singles chart at No. 1.