“It’s Christmasssss” went the immortal words from almost fifty years ago, as Noddy Holder, Jim Lea, Dave Hill and Don Powell made Christmas history, playing one of the most enduring festive hits of all time. The band was Slade and the song was 1973’s “Merry Xmas Everybody“, and every December, like clockwork, it’s back on the radio. Unfortunately, this might be to the detriment of the band’s biggest supporters, as it consistently overshadows the other five UK no.1 singles they came up with during their heyday back in the seventies. According to The Guardian, the song’s continual popularity has seen it chart every year since 2006, with a new video for the song being released just a few weeks back.

Sadly, as the years have gone by, things aren’t as rosy for the band as they used to be, with only one original member still present and few of them seeming eager to talk about a reunion any time soon. Noddy Holder apparently puts it down to their egos tearing them apart. Holder himself left back in 1992, along with Jim Lea, despite both of them being responsible for the group’s biggest hits.

All that’s left of the original group now is guitarist Dave Hill, after firing the band’s drummer-of-over-fifty-years Don Powell, and by email as well (‘ouch’!) – although Hill denies this was the approach taken. Except for Hill, the current oldest serving member is bassist John Berry, who joined back in 2003. The others are recent recruits, with Russell Keefe (on vocals and keyboard) joining in 2019 and drummer Alex Bines back in 2020.

However, Noddy Holder is still apparently optimistic that there’s a future left for the band’s original line-up. In a recent interview with The Sun, he expressed hopes for getting the band into Glastonbury’s Legends slot, which has seen the likes of Dolly Parton, Kylie Minogue and Lionel Richie take its stage at some point or other. This year the privileged position will be taken by Diana Ross, but Holder still thinks there may be a place for him and his old ‘friends’.

However, he’s no idealist. Holder joked that the band would “probably all have to go in on a coach each. Or we’d all have to have a changing room or caravan each.” And the stage won’t be safe either, probably requiring “glass barriers between us … so that there would be no fisticuffs.“ Either way, at least one ex-member is willing to let their guard down and entertain the possibility of a Christmas truce. Who knows? Maybe the spirit of Christmas (or money) will finally convince them all to be in the same room together, at Glastonbury or wherever else fans are happy to see them play.