[2] Known for his unique and powerful voice, Holder co-wrote most of Slade's material with bass guitarist Jim Lea including "Mama Weer All Crazee Now", "Cum On Feel the Noize" and "Merry Xmas Everybody".

[5] 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.

[6] Holder started his own band called the Memphis Cutouts and then, with Steve Brett & The Mavericks[7] in the early '60s, recorded four singles for EMI's Columbia label.

[8] In 1966, drummer Don Powell persuaded Holder to join The N' Betweens, a group which already included guitarist Dave Hill and bass guitarist/ keyboard player/violinist/songwriter Jim Lea.

[10] After 26 years with Slade, Holder left[11] in 1992, to pursue a career away from music, with regular stints as radio presenter, television personality, actor and voice-over artist.

[13] 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".

In 1989, Holder provided vocals to help out Dave Hill and his newly formed group Blessings in Disguise which also featured ex-Wizzard keyboard player Bill Hunt, Craig Fenney and Bob Lamb.

[18] 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".

[21] 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 was a team captain in BBC1's music series A Question of Pop[3] and was immortalised as a puppet character Banger on the TV show Bob the Builder.

[27] On 8 December 2000, Holder made a cameo appearance on a live episode of Granada Television's Coronation Street, marking the soap's 40th anniversary.

[29] In November 2004, he made a guest appearance in Peter Kay's Max and Paddy's Road to Nowhere, in which he played a garage mechanic called Mick Bustin.

[31][32][33] 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.

[36][37] Venues for the spring part of the tour include Bolton, Leeds, Durham, Telford, Preston, Redditch, Buxton and Harrogate.

[citation needed] On 24 June 2014, Holder was awarded the freedom of his home town of Walsall, making him an honorary freeman of the borough.

The campaign followed a series of teasers posted on Iceland’s official social media channels and website featuring Holder with the hashtag #NotYetNoddy.

[62] Holder told The Big Issue that he kept his condition private, except to family and close friends, as he did not want people to "think of me as a cancer victim".