Slade's 'Merry Xmas Everybody' is apparently still raking in this massive sum every year

11 December 2025, 12:36

IT'S PAAAAYDAYYYYYYYYYY

It's well known that having a massive, enduring hit can keep the royalty checks coming in, and that's especially true if you've written a Christmas banger.

It's a key plot point in modern classic About A Boy, and the shift from CDs to streaming doesn't seem to have hurt the seasonal paycheque, thanks to all those movie, TV, adverts and in-store plays.

• 'Merry Xmas Everybody' by Slade: The making of the Christmas classic
• Noddy Holder explains the five reasons Slade split up
• Listen to the Kirsty's Christmas Crackers Live Playlist on Global Player, the home of Gold

That means everyone from Mariah Carey to Jona Lewie to Paul McCartney to Wizzard can expect a Christmas bonus, but at the top of the pile is Slade's absolutely massive 'Merry Xmas Everybody'.

It's worth a quick mention that Slade, with their 17 consecutive top 20 hits and six number ones, are definitely for life, not just for Christmas.

But it's also a fact that 'Merry Xmas Everybody' is so enduringly popular that it can keep its writers - Noddy Holder and Jim Lea – happily in mince pies all year round.

Slade – Merry Xmas Everybody (Official Top Of The Pops Video)

Being honest, totting up how much an individual song "earns" each year involves a fair amount of guesswork.

You need to add up all those physical album and single sales and digital downloads that still exist.

Then comes the royalties from streaming, with Slade present and correct on pretty much every Christmas playlist. Then you can add on the sync rights for adverts, movies and TV shows.

Plus the PRS cheques for all those Christmas events and every shop and supermarket blaring out 'Merry Xmas Everybody'. Even cover versions will add to the bottom line for Noddy and Jim.

And according to whoever has done the maths at The Sun, Slade's Christmas hit earns the band a cool million quid every single year, with Holder and Lea taking the lion's share as the song's sole writers.

We can't verify that figure exactly, but whatever the final number it's still a pretty tidy sum.

Slade - Merry Xmas Everybody - Official Video

Back in 2021, The Guardian tried to pin down exactly how much Noddy was getting each year from the hit.

"Well, I can't put a figure on, because it’s just different every year," Holder said.

"Some years it's used in an advert or movie. There’s been all sorts of cover versions, from the Spice Girls, Tony Christie and Oasis.

"It's like having a hit record every year. So it's a nice pension plan, I'll say that."