Slade's Noddy Holder sets record straight on Freddie Mercury rumour

21 December 2023 , 11:41

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Slade's Noddy Holder shuts down Freddie Mercury rumour

Slade star Noddy Holder has denied rumours that he purchased his iconic mirror hat from Queen frontman Freddie Mercury, he made it himself.

Noddy, 77, was known for his eccentric stage attire in the 1970s, with his top hat covered in mirrors being one of the most famous. He admitted he used to make his own clothing a lot at the time, but shut down the common belief that the hat was bought from Freddie, who died tragically died aged 45, in 1991.

During his appearance on Sunday Brunch over the weekend (December 17), Noddy set the record straight about his hat.

Noddy Holder performing with Slade in 1973, wearing the mirror hat (Redferns)

He explained: "I made the top hat with mirrors. I bought the hat in Kensington Market. You know people think I bought it off Freddie Mercury. But I went to Kenny Market - Freddie used to have a stall there, him and Roger from Queen selling shirts and paraphanalia.

"And I went down Kenny Market cos I used to buy shirts off him. And Freddie used to say to me, 'Noddy darling I’m going to be a big pop star like you one day'. I said ‘Get off Freddie,' in in more colourful language. Go on Freddie. You’re never going to be a pop star. He showed me didn’t he!"

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Noddy added: "And anyway two stalls down they used to sell old Victorian memorabilia and I bought the top hat there and stuck my own mirrors on and it became the famous icon of the glam rock era."

Noddy has put the record straight (Channel 4)

The Slade Christmas hit Merry Xmas Everybody shockingly turns 50 this year, and Noddy has revealed how the number one came to be. The track, which still generates about £500,000 every year, started life as a hippy-trippy thing" that was far from the festive offering that went on to be released. Noddy, who was recently given all the clear after being diagnosed with oesophageal cancer in 2018, said he wrote the track in just a couple of hours, while sitting drinking whisky in his childhood bedroom.

He told the Mirror "The song that became Merry Xmas Everybody was written in 1967. It was a hippy-trippy thing and the chorus went: 'So won't you buy me a rocking chair to watch the world go by / Buy me a looking glass to look me in the eye-eye-eye.'"

While he was staying at his mum and dad's in Walsall, he rewrote the song in his childhood bedroom. Noddy explained to officialcharts.com that he wanted it to conjure up memories of a "proper working class Christmas" He added: "I got it done in two or three hours; I just thought about everything that was to do with Christmas, a family Christmas. That brought back all the memories I had when I was a kid. All the lyrics were done in that one night, the middle eight and everything!"

Amelia Ward