Noddy Holder
Encyclopedia
Neville John "Noddy" Holder MBE
(born 15 June 1946, Walsall
, Staffordshire
, England
) 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 violin
ist Jim Lea
. Holder has been praised for his distinctive vocal style.
for a year until it closed. He then attended the new T. P. Riley Comprehensive School
and passed 6 GCE
O-level
exams. 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
. 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.
He was born in the Caldmore
area, near Walsall town centre, but moved to the Beechdale
council estate in the north of the town as a child during the early 1950s.
(drummer
) persuaded Holder to join The 'NBetweens. The group already included guitar
ist / bass guitar
ist Dave Hill
and bass guitarist / keyboard player
/ violin
ist / songwriter Jim Lea
and the four of them went on to eventually become Slade, one of Britain's top selling rock bands worldwide. The sheer power of Holder's rock vocals has rarely been equalled, but Slade also recorded some sensational ballads,"Everyday" & "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 40 hit singles and released well over twenty albums in their 25 year career as the original line - up.
Slade are best remembered for the single "Merry Xmas Everybody
" 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. "Merry Xmas Everybody" has remained seasonally popular ever since and is a festive classic. It is regularly voted the most popular Xmas song of all time. To date, in the UK alone, sales of this song have exceeded several million copies.
After twenty five years with Slade, Noddy left to pursue a solo career.
Since his departure from Slade in 1991, Noddy has appeared on hundreds of TV shows, most notably the ITV comedy/drama series The Grimleys
(1996–2001) as classical music teacher Neville Holder, which ran until 2001. For the series, Holder recorded acoustic versions of the Slade songs "Coz I Luv You
", "Cum On Feel the Noize
", "Mama Weer All Crazee Now
"and " Everyday".
He had his own radio shows on Piccadilly 1152 and Key 103 in Manchester
,which were syndicated around the country in the 1990s, then on Century and Capital Radio syndication from 2000 to 2004.
Holder also presented 31 episodes of Noddy's Electric Ladyland, a surreal television quiz show. He was a team captain in BBC
1's music series A Question of Pop and was immortalised as a puppet character Banger on the TV show Bob the Builder
.
In 1999 Holder's autobiography
, Who's Crazee Now?, was published by Ebury. Updated in paperback in 2001 it is still available online.
Noddy was awarded the MBE
in 2000 honours list for his services to showbusiness. In his 50th year the singer was the subject of the This Is Your Life
TV show.
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.
Holder's voice is famously used in the lift
announcements at the Walsall New Art Gallery
.
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.
Also for the past 20 years Holder has voiced, sang and appeared in many adverts for TV, film and radio worldwide.
In 2006, Holder made a guest appearance in a music video for the Misty's Big Adventure
single, "Fashion Parade". Holder also occasionally appeared on the BBC show Grumpy Old Men
. Holder is a regular TV critic and reviewer for The Radcliffe and Maconie Show
on BBC Radio 2
, and the three often talk about rock star gossip from all eras. Radcliffe often refers to Holder as 'Sir Nodward of Holdershire'.
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.
For Christmas 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 & 2011 Noddy has recorded a TV show countdown of hit Christmas tunes.
Holder also made an appearance on a Xmas edition of BBC's humorous news quiz show, Have I Got News for You
as a member of Paul Merton
's team.
In January 2010 Holder and his wife appeared on All Star Mr. and Mrs.
on ITV
where they won the £30,000 jackpot for charity.
In 2011 Noddy as King Of The Sizzle has fronted British Sausage Week, touring the country to find the Best British Bangers.
). From his previous marriage, to Leandra, Holder has two daughters, Jessica and Charisse.
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
(born 15 June 1946, Walsall
Walsall
Walsall is a large industrial town in the West Midlands of England. It is located northwest of Birmingham and east of Wolverhampton. Historically a part of Staffordshire, Walsall is a component area of the West Midlands conurbation and part of the Black Country.Walsall is the administrative...
, Staffordshire
Staffordshire
Staffordshire is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. Part of the National Forest lies within its borders...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
) is an English
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
musician
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
and actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
. He was the lead vocalist and guitarist with the rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
band Slade
Slade
Slade are an English rock band from Wolverhampton, who rose to prominence during the glam rock era of the early 1970s. With 17 consecutive Top 20 hits and six number ones, the British Hit Singles & Albums names them as the most successful British group of the 1970s based on sales of singles...
.
Holder co-wrote most of Slade's material with bassist, occasional keyboard player
Keyboard instrument
A keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
and violin
Violin
The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
ist Jim Lea
Jim Lea
Jim Lea , is an English musician, most notable for playing bass guitar, keyboards, violin, guitar, and singing backing vocals in Slade.-Career:...
. Holder has been praised for his distinctive vocal style.
Early life and career
The son of a window cleaner, Holder passed the Eleven plus exam and attended a grammar schoolGrammar school
A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and some other English-speaking countries, originally a school teaching classical languages but more recently an academically-oriented secondary school.The original purpose of mediaeval...
for a year until it closed. He then attended the new T. P. Riley Comprehensive School
T. P. Riley Comprehensive School
T. P. Riley Comprehensive School was a secondary school located in Bloxwich, West Midlands, England.Built in 1958 to serve the expanding town of Bloxwich, it was situated on Lichfield Road, replacing Elmore Green High School in the town centre, the buildings of which survived for several years as...
and passed 6 GCE
General Certificate of Education
The General Certificate of Education or GCE is an academic qualification that examination boards in the United Kingdom and a few of the Commonwealth countries, notably Sri Lanka, confer to students. The GCE traditionally comprised two levels: the Ordinary Level and the Advanced Level...
O-level
Ordinary Level
The O-level is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education . It was introduced as part of British educational reform in the 1950s alongside the more in-depth and academically rigorous Advanced Level in England, Wales and Northern Ireland A-level...
exams. 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
Amplifier
Generally, an amplifier or simply amp, is a device for increasing the power of a signal.In popular use, the term usually describes an electronic amplifier, in which the input "signal" is usually a voltage or a current. In audio applications, amplifiers drive the loudspeakers used in PA systems to...
. 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.
He was born in the Caldmore
Caldmore
Caldmore is one of the villages that make up the town of Walsall. The name is pronounced "Kar-ma" by the local populace.-History:The area was an important junction of roads which created a triangular shaped green called Caldmore Green...
area, near Walsall town centre, but moved to the Beechdale
Beechdale
Beechdale, originally named Gypsy Lane Estate, is a housing estate in Walsall, England, that was developed predominantly during the 1950s and 1960s....
council estate in the north of the town as a child during the early 1950s.
Slade
In 1966 Don PowellDon Powell
Don Powell is a drummer who founded the English glam rock group, Slade.- Biography :As a child Powell joined the Boy Scouts where he became interested in the drums after being asked to join the band on a Sunday morning parade. After Etheridge Secondary Modern School he studied Metallurgy at...
(drummer
Drummer
A drummer is a musician who is capable of playing drums, which includes but is not limited to a drum kit and accessory based hardware which includes an assortment of pedals and standing support mechanisms, marching percussion and/or any musical instrument that is struck within the context of a...
) persuaded Holder to join The 'NBetweens. The group already included guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
ist / bass guitar
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
ist Dave Hill
Dave Hill
Dave Hill is an English musician, who is the lead guitarist and backing vocalist in the English glam rock group, Slade. The music journalist, Stuart Maconie, commented "he usually wore a jumpsuit made of the foil that you baste your turkeys in and platforms of oil-rig-derrick height...
and bass guitarist / keyboard player
Keyboard instrument
A keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
/ violin
Violin
The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
ist / songwriter Jim Lea
Jim Lea
Jim Lea , is an English musician, most notable for playing bass guitar, keyboards, violin, guitar, and singing backing vocals in Slade.-Career:...
and the four of them went on to eventually become Slade, one of Britain's top selling rock bands worldwide. The sheer power of Holder's rock vocals has rarely been equalled, but Slade also recorded some sensational ballads,"Everyday" & "How Does It Feel?
How Does It Feel? (song)
"How Does It Feel" is a single from glam rock band Slade which appeared on the album Slade in Flame. It was written by lead singer Noddy Holder and bassist Jim Lea. The single was released in early 1975. The single only peaked at #15 in the UK which was the lowest charting since Slade's first...
" 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 40 hit singles and released well over twenty albums in their 25 year career as the original line - up.
Merry Xmas Everybody
"Merry Xmas Everybody" is a 1973 song by the English 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 number-one single in the UK...
" 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. "Merry Xmas Everybody" has remained seasonally popular ever since and is a festive classic. It is regularly voted the most popular Xmas song of all time. To date, in the UK alone, sales of this song have exceeded several million copies.
After twenty five years with Slade, Noddy left to pursue a solo career.
Post Slade career
The Grimleys
The Grimleys is a nostalgic comedy-drama television series set on a council estate in Dudley, West Midlands, England in the mid-1970s. It was first broadcast by Granada TV for ITV in 1999, following a pilot in 1997, and concluded in 2001 after three series....
(1996–2001) as classical music teacher Neville Holder, which ran until 2001. For the series, Holder recorded acoustic versions of the Slade songs "Coz I Luv You
Coz I Luv You
"Coz I Luv You" is a song by Slade, written by Noddy Holder and Jim Lea and produced by Chas Chandler. It was the band's second hit single in the UK and the first of six number one singles. It was released on 30/10/1971 and was last seen on the charts on 05/02/1972 at #44...
", "Cum On Feel the Noize
Cum on Feel the Noize
"Cum On Feel the Noize" is a rock song originally released by Slade in 1973.Written by Jim Lea and Noddy Holder and produced by Chas Chandler, "Cum On Feel the Noize" was Slade's fourth number-one single in the UK and their first to enter straight at number one...
", "Mama Weer All Crazee Now
Mama Weer All Crazee Now
"Mama Weer All Crazee Now" is a popular song originally recorded by the British Glam rock band Slade on their album Slayed?.Written by Jim Lea and Noddy Holder and produced by Chas Chandler, it was the band's third number-one single in the United Kingdom. The single entered the charts on its first...
"and " Everyday".
He had his own radio shows on Piccadilly 1152 and Key 103 in Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
,which were syndicated around the country in the 1990s, then on Century and Capital Radio syndication from 2000 to 2004.
Holder also presented 31 episodes of Noddy's Electric Ladyland, a surreal television quiz show. He was a team captain in BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
1's music series A Question of Pop and was immortalised as a puppet character Banger on the TV show Bob the Builder
Bob the Builder
Bob the Builder is a British children's animated television show created by Keith Chapman. In the original series Bob appears as a building contractor specialising in masonry in a stop motion animated programme with his colleague Wendy, various neighbours and friends, and their gang of...
.
In 1999 Holder's autobiography
Autobiography
An autobiography is a book about the life of a person, written by that person.-Origin of the term:...
, Who's Crazee Now?, was published by Ebury. Updated in paperback in 2001 it is still available online.
Noddy was awarded the MBE
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
in 2000 honours list for his services to showbusiness. In his 50th year the singer was the subject of the This Is Your Life
This Is Your Life
This Is Your Life is an American television documentary series broadcast on NBC, originally hosted by its producer, Ralph Edwards from 1952 to 1961. In the show, the host surprises a guest, and proceeds to take them through their life in front of an audience including friends and family.Edwards...
TV show.
On 8 December 2000, Holder made a cameo appearance on the live episode
Coronation Street: 40th anniversary live episode
Coronation Street Live is a live episode of the British soap opera Coronation Street which was broadcast on Friday 8 December 2000 as part of the show's 40th anniversary celebrations...
of Granada Television's Coronation Street
Coronation Street
Coronation Street is a British soap opera set in Weatherfield, a fictional town in Greater Manchester based on Salford. Created by Tony Warren, Coronation Street was first broadcast on 9 December 1960...
, as a character called Stan, saving the cobbles from being replaced on the street. This helped mark the 40th anniversary of the soap.
Holder's voice is famously used in the lift
Elevator
An elevator is a type of vertical transport equipment that efficiently moves people or goods between floors of a building, vessel or other structures...
announcements at the Walsall New Art Gallery
Walsall Art Gallery
The New Art Gallery Walsall is a modern and contemporary art gallery sited in the centre of the West Midlands town of Walsall, England. It was built with £21 million of public funding, including £15.75 million from the UK National Lottery and additional money from the European Regional Development...
.
In November 2004, Noddy made a guest appearance in Peter Kay's Max and Paddy's Road to Nowhere
Max and Paddy's Road to Nowhere
Max and Paddy's Road to Nowhere was an award-winning British comedy television show on Channel 4 starring and written by Peter Kay and Patrick McGuinness. All the episodes were also directed by Kay. It began on 12 November 2004 and ran for six 30 minute episodes up until 17 December 2004, with each...
- where he played a garage mechanic called Mick Bustin.
Also for the past 20 years Holder has voiced, sang and appeared in many adverts for TV, film and radio worldwide.
In 2006, Holder made a guest appearance in a music video for the Misty's Big Adventure
Misty's Big Adventure
Misty's Big Adventure are an eight piece band from Birmingham, England. Their music is an eclectic mix of jazz, lounge, psychedelia, two tone, pop and punk....
single, "Fashion Parade". Holder also occasionally appeared on the BBC show Grumpy Old Men
Grumpy Old Men (TV series)
Grumpy Old Men is a conversational-style television programme on BBC2 which debuted in 2003, The first run of four programmes was repeated several times before a second series, also of four episodes, was shown in 2004. A third series aired in April 2006. There were also 2003 & 2004 Christmas...
. Holder is a regular TV critic and reviewer for The Radcliffe and Maconie Show
Radcliffe and Maconie Show
Radcliffe & Maconie is a weekday radio programme that is broadcast on BBC 6 Music in the United Kingdom. It runs from 1 pm–4 pm on Monday to Friday afternoon, and is presented by Mark Radcliffe and Stuart Maconie...
on BBC Radio 2
BBC Radio 2
BBC Radio 2 is one of the BBC's national radio stations and the most popular station in the United Kingdom. Much of its daytime playlist-based programming is best described as Adult Contemporary or AOR, although the station is also noted for its specialist broadcasting of other musical genres...
, and the three often talk about rock star gossip from all eras. Radcliffe often refers to Holder as 'Sir Nodward of Holdershire'.
Holder was the third celebrity to be inducted onto the Birmingham Walk of Stars
Birmingham Walk of Stars
The Broad Street Walk of Stars is an installation on the pedestrian pavement on Broad Street, Birmingham, United Kingdom. It is of a similar style to the Hollywood Walk of Fame in Hollywood, California...
. 27,000 people turned out to his induction ceremony, which took place on 9 December 2007 at Birmingham's 2007 Canal Boat Light Parade.
For Christmas 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 & 2011 Noddy has recorded a TV show countdown of hit Christmas tunes.
Holder also made an appearance on a Xmas edition of BBC's humorous news quiz show, Have I Got News for You
Have I Got News for You
Have I Got News for You is a British television panel show produced by Hat Trick Productions for the BBC. It is based loosely on the BBC Radio 4 show The News Quiz, and has been broadcast since 1990, currently the BBC's longest-ever running television panel show...
as a member of Paul Merton
Paul Merton
Paul Merton is a British comedian, writer, actor and television presenter. Known for his improvisation skill, his humour is rooted in deadpan, surreal and sometimes dark comedy...
's team.
In January 2010 Holder and his wife appeared on All Star Mr. and Mrs.
Mr. and Mrs.
Mr. & Mrs. is a television show that originated in Canada in 1963, debuting in Britain shortly afterwards. The Canadian version was produced at CFTO-TV in Toronto and ran on the CTV network for 780 episodes, and was hosted by Roy Ward Dickson, who was also the show's creator...
on ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
where they won the £30,000 jackpot for charity.
In 2011 Noddy as King Of The Sizzle has fronted British Sausage Week, touring the country to find the Best British Bangers.
Personal life
Noddy married TV producer Suzan Price in 2004, with whom he has a son, Django (named after Django ReinhardtDjango Reinhardt
Django Reinhardt was a pioneering virtuoso jazz guitarist and composer who invented an entirely new style of jazz guitar technique that has since become a living musical tradition within French gypsy culture...
). From his previous marriage, to Leandra, Holder has two daughters, Jessica and Charisse.