Mrs Regan stuck her oar in. Dave Hill almost got airbrushed out. Jim Lea lost two years. And then the crowds went wild, wild, wild.

It won't be long now before you hear Merry Xmas Everybody. Again.

It has been getting grannies up and rock 'n' rolling with the rest ever since it went to the top of the charts more than 50 years ago, in December 1973, a singalong Christmas pop classic which has been the best selling and most enduring hit for Wolverhampton-based rockers Slade.

Their road to become one of the top groups of their era had been long with many twists and turns.

So to celebrate the golden anniversary of this particular golden oldie let's chart some key stages of their journey in pictures, starting by going back nearly 60 years to December 1964.

It was then that there was an ear

See Full Page