"Merry Xmas Everybody" | ||||
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Single by Slade | ||||
B-side | "Don't Blame Me" | |||
Released | 7 December 1973 | |||
Format | 7" single | |||
Recorded | July 1973 | |||
Genre | Rock, Christmas, Glam rock | |||
Length | 3:26 | |||
Label | Polydor | |||
Writer(s) | Noddy Holder, Jim Lea | |||
Producer(s) | Chas Chandler | |||
Slade singles chronology | ||||
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"Merry Xmas Everybody" is a 1973 song by the British rock band Slade. Written by lead vocalist and guitarist Noddy Holder and bassist Jim Lea, and produced by Chas Chandler, it was the band's sixth and final number-one single in the UK. It earned the UK Christmas Number One slot in December 1973, beating another Christmas-themed song, Wizzard's "I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday", which reached fourth place. By mid-January it was still at number one; it stayed in the UK Singles Chart well into February 1974.
Based on melodies from discarded songs written six years before, "Merry Xmas Everybody" was Slade's best-selling single, released at the peak of their popularity, and sold over a million copies upon its first release. It is Slade's last number-one single, and by far their most successful. It has been released during every decade since 1973, and has been covered by numerous artists. In a 2007 poll, "Merry Xmas Everybody" was voted the UK's most popular Christmas song.
According to the Fan Club Newsletter for January and February 1974, the song was rewarded a Silver Disc for pre-order sales, even before the single's release. Within the first week of release, the single had sold 500,000 copies. Also, according to the same newsletter, "Merry Xmas Everybody" was in such big demand that Polydor records had to make special arrangements to have 250,000 discs sent from Los Angeles, as well as 30,000 copies a day they were receiving from Germany.
The single was certified UK Platinum by BPI in December 1980. Since 2007 and the advent of downloads counting towards the UK Singles Chart, it has re-entered the charts each December. Therefore, it has sold 1.21 million copies in the UK as of December 2012.
On 8 December 2013 it re-entered the UK Singles Charts, at number 57.
By 1973 Slade were one of the most popular bands in Britain, having achieved two number one singles—"Cum On Feel The Noize" and "Skweeze Me Pleeze Me"—in three months. These singles had both entered the charts straight at number one, a rare feat at the time as this was the first occurrence since The Beatles hit number one in 1969 with "Get Back".