Noddy Holder

Holder in 1981
Background information
Birth name Neville J ohn Holder
Born 15 J une 1946
Walsall, Staffordshire, England
Genres Glam rock, hard rock
Occupations Singer-songwriter, actor, musician,
writer, broadcaster, voice over artist
Instruments Vocals, guitar, bass guitar
Years active 1966present
Associated
acts
Slade, Dave Hill
Notable instruments
Fender Telecaster,
Gibson SG J unior,
Ovation Deacon
J ohn Birch Cherry Red Gibson SG
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Neville John "Noddy" Holder MBE (born 15 J une 1946)
[1]
is an English musician and actor. He was the lead vocalist
and guitarist with the Rock band Slade.
Holder co-wrote most of Slade's material with bassist,
occasional keyboard player and violinist J im Lea. Holder has
been praised for his distinctive vocal style.
1 Early life and career
2 Slade
3 Other work
4 Career since Slade
5 Personal life
6 Discography
7 References
8 External links
Holder was born in the Caldmore area, near the centre of
Walsall, Staffordshire, England. He moved to Beechdale
Estate, a council estate in the north of the town, as a child
during the early 1950s. The son of a window cleaner, Holder
passed the Eleven plus exam and attended a grammar school
for a year until it closed.
[1]
He then attended the new T. P.
Riley Comprehensive School and passed 6 GCE O-level
exams.
[2]
He formed a group called the Rockin' Phantoms
with school friends at the age of 13, and with money earned
from a part-time job, he bought a guitar and an amplifier.
[2]
Holder turned professional with a band called the Memphis Cutouts and then with Steve Brett & the Mavericks
in the early '60s made four singles for Columbia Records.
In 1966 drummer Don Powell persuaded Holder to join The 'NBetweens. The group already included guitarist /
bass guitarist Dave Hill and bass guitarist / keyboard player / violinist / songwriter J im Lea, and the four of
Noddy Holder - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noddy_Holder
1 of 7 8/9/2014 4:17 PM
Holder in 1973
them went on to eventually become Slade, one of Britain's top-selling rock bands. Slade also recorded some
ballads, "Everyday" and "How Does It Feel?" in particular being widely acclaimed.
Lea and Holder turned out to be the group's most successful song-writing partnership, composing almost all of
the band's songs. The band clocked up 21 hit singles and released 15 albums in their 25-year career as the
original line-up.
Slade are best remembered for the single "Merry Xmas Everybody"
[3]
written
by Holder and Lea. Holder recorded the single with Slade in 1973, and the song
became the band's sixth number one and the third Slade single to go straight in
at number one in the UK chart.
[4]
"Merry Xmas Everybody" has remained
seasonally popular ever since and is a festive classic. It is regularly voted the
most popular Christmas song of all time. To date, in the UK alone, sales of this
song have reached several million copies.
[4]
After twenty-five years with Slade, Holder left to pursue a career away from
music, with regular stints as radio presenter, television personality, actor and
voice over artist.
During 1982, Holder branched into production and worked with his old school
friend Phil Burnell and his band Three Phase on one single "All I Want To Do Is
(Fall in Love With You)", which was the band's only release. Holder and Burnell produced the single together,
and it was published under Noddy Holder Music Ltd./Whild J ohn Music Ltd., and released via Speed Records.
The single did not enter the UK chart, as it received limited promotion.
[5][6]
During late 1983, Holder did some production work with the American band The First, who came over to the
UK from Boston, Massachusetts in America, especially to work with him, although there was never any release
of material.
[5]
In late 1983, both Holder and Lea produced Girlschool's cover of the T-Rex song "20th Century
Boy" and then the parent album "Play Dirty" which featured two Slade tracks "Burning in the Heat of Love"
and "High and Dry".
[7]
The "High and Dry" track was originally written for Girlschool but still appeared on
Slade's album that same year.
[8]
In 1985, Holder co-wrote, and sang backing vocals on, the single "Citizen
Kane" which Lea released under his own name.
[9]
In 1988, Holder recorded "Tear into the Weekend" for a Pepsi commercial in Canada. In 1989 Holder provided
vocals to help out Dave Hill (Slade Guitarist) and his newly formed group Blessings in Disguise which also
featured, Ex-Wizzard keyboard player, Bill Hunt, Craig Fenney and Bob Lamb.
[10]
The debut single, released in
1989 for the Christmas market was a cover of The Everly Brothers "Crying in the Rain", backed by a Hill/Hunt
composition, "Wild Nights".
[11]
The band also recorded a cover of the Elvis Presley song "A Fool Such As I"
which wasn't released. The follow-up and final Blessings in Disguise single, "Chance to Be" did not feature
Holder.
Since his departure from Slade in 1992, Noddy has appeared on hundreds of TV shows, most notably the ITV
comedy/drama series The Grimleys (19962001) as classical music teacher Neville Holder.
[12]
For the series,
Noddy Holder - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noddy_Holder
2 of 7 8/9/2014 4:17 PM
Birmingham Walk of Stars on Broad
Street, Birmingham
Holder recorded acoustic versions of the Slade songs "Coz I Luv You",
"Cum on Feel the Noize", "Mama Weer All Crazee Now" and
"Everyday".
[13]
He had his own radio shows on Piccadilly 1152 and Key 103 in
Manchester, which were syndicated around the country all of the 1990s,
then on Century and Capital Radio syndication from 2000 to
2004.
[14][15]
Holder also presented 31 episodes of Noddy's Electric Ladyland, a
surreal television quiz show. He was a team captain in BBC1's music
series A Question of Pop
[1]
and was immortalised as a puppet character
Banger on the TV show Bob the Builder.
[16]
In 1999 Holder's autobiography, Who's Crazee Now?, was published by
Ebury. Updated in paperback in 2001 it is still available online. It was written by Holder with Lisa Verrico.
[17]
Noddy was awarded the MBE in 2000 honours list for his services to showbusiness. In 1996 the singer was the
subject of the This Is Your Life TV show.
[1]
On 8 December 2000, Holder made a cameo appearance on the live episode of Granada Television's Coronation
Street, as a character called Stan, saving the cobbles from being replaced on the street. This helped mark the
40th anniversary of the soap.
[18]
Holder's voice is famously used in the lift announcements at the Walsall New Art Gallery.
[19]
In November 2004, Noddy made a guest appearance in Peter Kay's Max and Paddy's Road to Nowhere where
he played a garage mechanic called Mick Bustin. The scenes were filmed in Bolton.
[20]
Also for the past 25
years Holder has voiced, sung and appeared in many adverts for TV, film and radio worldwide.
[1]
In 2006, Holder made a guest appearance in a music video for the Misty's Big Adventure single, "Fashion
Parade".
[21][22][23]
Holder was a regular TV critic and contributor to The Radcliffe and Maconie Show on BBC Radio 2 for eight
years, and the three often talked about rock star gossip from all eras.
[24]
Radcliffe often refers to Holder as 'Sir
Nodward of Holdershire'.
[25]
To celebrate his 50th professional year in showbiz, Holder toured the UK during May 2013 with Mark Radcliffe
for a series of intimate 'In conversation with' shows.
[26][27]
Venues for the spring part of the tour include Bolton,
Leeds, Durham, Telford, Preston, Redditch, Buxton and Harrogate. During the majority of shows Holder
performed some short acoustic numbers.
[28]
Holder was the third celebrity to be inducted onto the Birmingham Walk of Stars. 27,000 people turned out to
his induction ceremony, which took place on 9 December 2007 at Birmingham's 2007 Canal Boat Light Parade.
[29][30]
Since Christmas 2007, Noddy has annually recorded a TV show countdown of hit Christmas tunes.
[31][32]
He is
Noddy Holder - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noddy_Holder
3 of 7 8/9/2014 4:17 PM
the Nobby's Nuts mascot following on from the famous TV campaign.
[33][34]
Holder also made an appearance on the 2008 Xmas edition of BBC's humorous news quiz show, Have I Got
News for You as a member of Paul Merton's team.
[35]
In J anuary 2010, Holder and his wife appeared on All Star Mr. and Mrs. on ITV, where they won the 30,000
jackpot for the NSPCC charity.
[36]
In 2011, Holder as 'King of the Sizzle' fronted British Sausage Week, touring the country to find the Best British
Bangers and to promote support for British farmers and butchers. Later that year, he also performed a one-man
updated version of A Christmas Carol at the Union Chapel venue in London. There were interludes of music
provided by an acoustic band doing unusual Christmas songs complete with two Mellotrons. With its success,
the producers of the show are hoping they can take it on the road.
[37][38][39]
On 24 J une 2014, Holder was awarded the freedom of his home town of Walsall, making him an an honorary
freeman of the borough.
[40]
Noddy married TV producer Suzan Price in 2004, with whom he has a son, Django (named after Django
Reinhardt). From his previous marriage, to Leandra, Holder has two daughters, J essica and Charisse.
[1]
See Slade discography.
^
a

b

c

d

e

f
Noddy Holder (1999). Noddy Holder Who's Crazee Now?. Ebury Press. ISBN 0-09-187503-X. 1.
^
a

b
Slade: Feel the Noize! an Illustrated Biography by Chris Charlesworth, (1984), Omnibus Press, ISBN
0-7119-0538-X
2.
^ All-Time Biggest Hits about Christmas and The Festive Season (http://www.everyhit.com/christmas
/festivefifty.html), a list of hits about the festive season, EveryHit.com.
3.
^
a

b
Merry Xmas Everybody Slade (http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio2/soldonsong/songlibrary
/merrychristmaseverybody.shtml), Sold on Song, BBC Radio 2.
4.
^
a

b
[1] (http://www.sladefanclub.com/uploads/7/6/6/0/7660950/4033645_orig.jpg) 5.
^ Three Phase All I Want To Do Is (Fall In Love With You) (Vinyl) at Discogs (http://www.discogs.com/Three-
Phase-All-I-Want-To-Do-Is-Fall-In-Love-With-You/release/3204963)
6.
^ "discografia_ingles" (http://usuarios.multimania.es/J imLea/portadas/discografia_ingles.html).
Usuarios.multimania.es. Retrieved 2011-08-10.
7.
^ "Girlschool Play Dirty at Discogs" (http://www.discogs.com/master/271964). Discogs.com. Retrieved
2011-07-15.
8.
^ "J immy Lea* Citizen Kane (Vinyl) at Discogs" (http://www.discogs.com/release/2421916). Discogs.com. 9.
Noddy Holder - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noddy_Holder
4 of 7 8/9/2014 4:17 PM
Retrieved 2011-07-15.
^ 7" vinyl single of Crying in the Rain sleeve notes 10.
^ "Blessings in Disguise Featuring Noddy Holder And Dave Hill Crying in the Rain / Wild Nights Mooncrest
DISGUISE 1" (http://www.45cat.com/record/disguise1). 45cat. Retrieved 2011-07-15.
11.
^ The Grimleys (TV Series 19992001) IMDb 12.
^ "Slade Weer All Crazee Noddy Holder" (http://www.slade-weerallcrazee.co.uk/files/noddy.html). Slade-
weerallcrazee.co.uk. Retrieved 2011-07-15.
13.
^ Audioboo / J ingle of Piccadilly Gold Noddy Holder's 70s Show (https://audioboo.fm/boos/1661977-jingle-
of-piccadilly-gold-noddy-holder-s-70s-show)
14.
^ Noddy approached for millionaire role Manchester Evening News (http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk
/news/greater-manchester-news/noddy-approached-for-millionaire-role-1167308)
15.
^ Bob the Builder: A Christmas to Remember (Video 2001) Full Cast & Crew IMDb (http://www.imdb.com/title
/tt0305312/fullcredits?ref_=tt_ov_st_sm)
16.
^ Who's Crazee Now? My Autobiography: Amazon.co.uk: Noddy Holder, Lisa Verrico: Books
(http://www.amazon.co.uk/Whos-Crazee-Now-My-Autobiography/dp/009187503X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&
qid=1383898198&sr=8-1&keywords=noddy+holder+who%27s)
17.
^ "Noddy to make Street cameo, BBC" (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/1056000.stm). BBC News. 5
December 2000. Retrieved 2011-11-04.
18.
^ Slade singer Noddy Holder keeps coming back to Walsall to play free gigs in hotel bars Birmingham Mail
(http://www.birminghammail.co.uk/lifestyle/showbiz/slade-singer-noddy-holder-keeps-2524158)
19.
^ "Max & Paddy's Road to Nowhere" Episode #1.2 (TV Episode 2004) IMDb (http://www.imdb.com/title
/tt0644542/)
20.
^ "Misty's Big Adventure (Featuring Noddy Holder) Fashion Parade / Crumpled Up Guy Sunday Best SBESTS
40" (http://www.45cat.com/record/sbests40). 45cat. 16 J anuary 2011. Retrieved 2011-07-15.
21.
^ "Sunday Best-Releases:Misty'S Big Adventure Fashion Parade Feat. Noddy Holder"
(http://www.sundaybest.net/site/releases/detail.php?articleId=408). Sundaybest.net. Retrieved 2011-07-15.
22.
^ "Noddy Holder Agent | Book Noddy Holder Speaker | Hire Noddy Holder as a Presenter for your event through
Prime Performers UK" (http://www.primeperformers.co.uk/presenters/noddy-holder). Primeperformers.co.uk.
Retrieved 2011-07-15.
23.
^ BBC Radio 2 The Radcliffe and Maconie Show, Noddy Holder talks telly (http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes
/b00xh728)
24.
^ Reelin' in the Years: The Soundtrack of a Northern Life Mark Radcliffe Google Books
(http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=PR_l5O823DMC&pg=RA3-PA1986-IA6&lpg=RA3-PA1986-
IA6&dq=Sir+Nodward+of+Holdershire&source=bl&ots=xiIdr6WmnY&sig=toHa5Mvq_5wt8oWDHrQehZJ _guo&
hl=en&sa=X&ei=1558Uuz8LM_b7Abl2oGYAQ&ved=0CDcQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&
q=Sir%20Nodward%20of%20Holdershire&f=false)
25.
^ Noddy Holder Official Website (http://www.noddyholder.com/) 26.
^ Noddy Holder and Mark Radcliffe Tour YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iEQWEuplQeU) 27.
^ Show review: Noddy Holder and Mark Radcliffe at Leeds City Varieties Yorkshire Evening Post
(http://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/what-s-on/arts-entertainment/music-and-gigs/show-review-noddy-holder-
and-mark-radcliffe-at-leeds-city-varieties-1-5695705)
28.
Noddy Holder - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noddy_Holder
5 of 7 8/9/2014 4:17 PM
^ Elkes, Neil (31 October 2007). "Noddy to get a Broad Street star Birmingham Mail"
(http://icbirmingham.icnetwork.co.uk/mail/news/blackcountry
/tm_method=full%26objectid=20038361%26siteid=50002-name_page.html). Icbirmingham.icnetwork.co.uk.
Retrieved 2011-11-04.
29.
^ "BBC Black Country Noddy gets his star" (http://www.bbc.co.uk/blackcountry/content/articles/2007/12
/05/noddy_holder_star_feature.shtml). Bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 2011-11-04.
30.
^ Noddy Holder's 50 Best Xmas Songs Ever! | LocateTV (http://www.locatetv.com/tv/noddy-holders-50-best-
xmas-songs-ever/7879010)
31.
^ SLADE40YEARS What's on (http://slade40years.cms4people.de/313.html) 32.
^ Classic Rock The Archive J uly 2005 Page 21 NODDY HOLDER (http://archive.classicrockmagazine.com
/view/july-2005/21/noddy-holder)
33.
^ The hard sell: Nobby's nuts | The Guide | guardian.co.uk (http://www.theguardian.com/theguide/columnists/story
/0,14669,1482695,00.html)
34.
^ "Have I Got News for You" Episode #36.10 (TV Episode 2008) Full Cast & Crew IMDb
(http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1347735/fullcredits)
35.
^ Slade's Noddy Holder wanted for 'Strictly Come Dancing' | Film & TV News | NME.COM (http://www.nme.com
/filmandtv/news/slades-noddy-holder-wanted-for-strictly-come-danc/305513)
36.
^ Rock Superstar Noddy Holder Kicks Off British Sausage Week With Sausage Walk Of Fame | News | Love Pork
(http://www.lovepork.co.uk/news/rock-superstar-noddy-holder-kicks-off-british-sausage-week-with-sausage-walk-of-
fame/)
37.
^ Noddy Holder to launch British Sausage Week (Oct 31 Nov 6) | Practical Motorhome
(http://www.practicalmotorhome.com/news/noddy-holder-launch-british-sausage-week-oct-31-%E2%80%93-nov-6)
38.
^ Noddy Holder sets off on tour of legendary bangers MeatInfo (http://www.meatinfo.co.uk/news/fullstory.php
/aid/13354/Noddy_Holder_sets_off_on_tour_of_legendary_bangers.html)
39.
^ "Noddy Holder from Slade to get freedom of Walsall" (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-birmingham-
27980514). BBC News. 24 J une 2014. Retrieved 24 J une 2014.
40.
Noddyholder.com (http://www.noddyholder.com)
biographical article on MSN Lifestyle website, 15 J une 2006, celebrating Noddy Holder's birthday
(http://lifestyle.uk.msn.com/celebrity/article.aspx?cp-documentid=558667)
Noddy Holder (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0390320/) at the Internet Movie Database
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Noddy_Holder&oldid=618429669"
Categories: 1946 births Living people British radio DJ s English guitarists English male singers
English rock bass guitarists English rock guitarists English rock singers English singer-songwriters
Glam rock Members of the Order of the British Empire Musicians from West Midlands (county)
People from Walsall People from Wolverhampton
Noddy Holder - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noddy_Holder
6 of 7 8/9/2014 4:17 PM
This page was last modified on 25 J uly 2014 at 15:42.
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipediais a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.
Noddy Holder - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noddy_Holder
7 of 7 8/9/2014 4:17 PM