The song was written by lead vocalist Noddy Holder and bassist Jim Lea, and it was produced by Chas Chandler.

[4] According to the Fan Club Newsletter for January and February 1974, the song was awarded a Silver Disc for pre-order sales.

[5][6] Also, according to the same newsletter, "Merry Xmas Everybody" was in such big demand that Polydor records had to make special arrangements to have 250,000 discs sent from Los Angeles, as well as 30,000 copies a day they were receiving from Germany.

By 1973, Slade were one of the most popular bands in Britain, having achieved two number-one singles—"Cum On Feel the Noize" and "Skweeze Me Pleeze Me"—in three months.

During the year, manager Chas Chandler suggested that Slade write and record a Christmas song.

[7] After coming up with the verse melody, Lea recalled a song Holder had discarded in 1967, which he had written when the band were named the 'N Betweens.

"After an evening out drinking at a pub in Wolverhampton,[10] Holder worked through the night at his mother's house in Walsall to write the lyrics, which he completed in one draft.

These engineers thought we were mad, they're going 'no man, you know the Eagles, a very tight sound, Hotel California and all that pinging out of the speakers at you.

Anyway we ran lines down to the hallway and there we were in September singing 'so here it is merry Xmas' and we were totally unknown over there and people thought we were mad.

This sequence is then repeated once, and followed by a solo part sung by Holder (What will your daddy do/when he sees your mamma kissin' Santa Claus).

after the Everybody's having fun line and over the rest of the chorus; the final part decreases its tempo and fades out to a D major chord played by the harmonium.

We were in America recording the Christmas single, there was a rush to choose what to put on the back of it, and that track happened to be used.

[26] No promotional video was created for the single as the band focused on extensive TV work over the Christmas period instead.

[27] The band later performed the song again on Top of the Pops in 1983 on 22 December, and on Dutch TV while promoting the 1983 single "My Oh My".

[28] In 1985, Holder and Lea performed a short acoustic version on the UK show Razamatazz while promoting the single "Do You Believe in Miracles".

"[31] Disc commented: "There is no doubt that this slice of festive cheer will be a huge monster hit: the main question is whether it'll go straight to number one..."[5][32] Sounds said: "Noddy is in particularly fine voice and there's also some super-neat thumping bass.

[33] "Merry Xmas Everybody" is played regularly at UK nightclubs and on TV or radio stations and in many supermarkets around Christmas.

[34] Peter Buckley describes the song in The Rough Guide To Rock as "arguably the best Christmas single ever".

[35] This opinion was reflected in a 2007 poll carried out by MSN Music, where it was voted the UK's most popular Christmas song.

It can be heard playing in the background during six episodes of the British television programme Doctor Who: "The Christmas Invasion" (2005) in Mickey Smith's garage, "The Runaway Bride" (2006) at Donna's first wedding reception, "Turn Left" (2008) inside a pub and a hotel in an alternate timeline, "The End of Time" (2009) in Donna's house, "The Power of Three" (2012) in a hospital and "Last Christmas" (2014) to keep a woman distracted from the monsters in the episode.

[citation needed] Noddy Holder has referred to the song as his pension scheme, reflecting its continuing popularity and the royalties it generates.