After being informed by doctors that he may only have a few months to live, singer Noddy Holder provided an update on his cancer prognosis.
The 78-year-old vocalist for Slade claims that since receiving a cancer diagnosis five years ago, doctors have been “keeping checking”.
The singer told Sky News: “I did have oesophageal cancer and that was five years ago and, at the moment, they're still keeping a check on me. I'm on a level playing field at the moment after at the time being diagnosed with six months to live.
“So I've lasted the course, as it were.”
Holder has previously stated that, when he learned he had only a few months to live, he was “more worried” about his family.
He was started on a novel chemotherapy regimen that had never been used on “anyone over 60”.
But who is Holder?
Who is Noddy Holder?
Holder was the lead singer and rhythm guitarist for Slade, a popular rock group popular in the 1970s.
Holder, who has a distinctive powerful voice, co-wrote the majority of Slade's songs with bassist Jim Lea. These songs include Mama Weer All Crazee Now, Cum On Feel the Noize, and the Christmas classic Merry Xmas Everybody.
He branched out into radio and television after quitting Slade in 1992, most famously as the star of the ITV comedy-drama series The Grimleys.
For his services to showbusiness, Holder received the MBE in the 2000 Honours List.
What is Noddy Holder doing now?
Since his cancer diagnosis in 2018, Holder is living a much slower life in Prestbury, Cheshire.
However, Holder did make a comeback to the stage last year with the Tom Seals Band to commemorate his 60th year in showbusiness. Songs and anecdotes were mixed together in the performances, and Holder claimed he loved telling the audience about his life.
In 2023, his wife Suzan revealed his cancer battle in her monthly column for Cheshire Life magazine. She said that the “experts never like to use the word 'cure', but five years later and he's feeling good and looking great”.
Holder told the The Big Issue that he did not want people to “think of me as a cancer victim” and therefore kept his illness a secret from everyone but his closest friends and family.
How much does Noddy Holder earn from Merry Xmas Everybody?
Holder earns an estimated £500,000 to £1 million yearly from the song. The exact figure is kept secret by the Performing Rights Society (PRS) to protect its clients.
