Don and the band have got it Slade

This longevity is largely down to their iconic and hugely- successful Christmas single Merry Xmas Everybody.

A song which has been in the charts(including a fair few stints at number one) in 1973, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1985, 1998, and 2006.

Something, I find, original member and drummer Don Powell agrees with. Of course there were other equally-catchy glam anthems such as Cum on Feel the Noize but Merry Xmas Everybody has become so well loved it's an equally-important tradition as the Christmas jumper.

Making the most of the demand, the band is back in the UK this December (after spending most of the year gigging around the globe) with the Merry Xmas Tour.

"It's almost like our time of the year in a way in England," said Don of the tour.

"Especially with the Christmas record. It's nice to be home and do a lot of dates in one go. The rest of the year we're all over the world."

Slade has been involved with the tour for a few years now and Don admits it's become something of a festive ritual for the band.

"We're always in England at Christmas," he said. "Because we don't play England much throughout the year really. We do the odd show. But we're in Europe or the rest of the world the rest of the time.

"We were in Russia a few years ago around Christmas and new year. It was minus 40.

"It was really good but we felt we'd neglected England so we decided to do the English tours."

When I catch up with Don he's on a rare day off, taking advantage of the free time by writing his Christmas cards.

"That's really heavy metal, isn't it?" he jokes.

Obviously the hit Christmas single goes down a treat during these December dates. But saying that, Don says Slade crowds want to hear it whatever the season.

He said: "I remember years ago, when we did the Reading Festival. The show was recorded to be put out as an early EP.

"We did the Christmas record, they wanted us to do it, would you believe? This is in the middle of the summer mind you.

"If you listen to the record it's the crowd singing, not us. And it's the same everywhere.

"Every night we do it we start it off and just let the crowd do the rest."

For Don it's the lyrics and the humour which have secured the song's timeless appeal.

"They're so straight to the point and it's wonderful," he said.

"It's got the same appeal globally. It's always strange. We were in Australia a few years ago and it's the same there.

"That's hard to imagine isn't it?

"We had 24 hit records and people always remember us for that one. But it's a wonderful compliment," he said.

Despite a serious car accident earlier on in 1973 (the same year Merry Xmas Everybody was released) which left Don with poor short term memory, the day the song was recorded is something Don still vividly recalls.

In fact the only clue he has problems with memory is when I ask him about tour dates. "You probably know more than me," he jokes.) The band were in New York for their world tour at the time.

"It was in the middle of the summer in 1973 and 100 degrees outside," he said.

"We had a week to get this record done. As you can imagine we got some strange looks from the American engineers and also we weren't sure about the record.

"But our manager and record producer at the time said I don't care what you say, this record is coming out'.

"And it came through. It did a million on the first day of release in 1973, at the end of November. But it was still number one in January."

As you can imagine, 1973 was an amazing Christmas for the band and, as Don reveals, the ones which followed were pretty good too.

"In 1983 we were on Top of the Pops twice in one day. Once for My Oh My and also for Merry Xmas Everybody was in the charts," Don said.

It's clear the drummer has had many memorable experiences, but I still can't help wonder why he still wants to keep going more than 30 years on.

"I enjoy it so much," Don enthuses.

"The thing is, in England people think we're only around for this time of the year and thinks we don't do anything the rest of the year. But basically we're non-stop. We're still touring the world and there's a market there for us, so we just do it. We enjoy it so much anyway.

"I think it's a lot easier these days than what it was in the 70s.

"The travel and organisation is a lot more together now. We're able to fly everywhere and you can get to one country to the next in no time at all. The only thing is half the time you don't know where you are. I usually find out by looking at my boarding card or hotel room key."

I imagine he must feel incredibly proud the band are still going strong, and of course he is.

"It's a wonderful feeling," he said. "When we started you wouldn't imagine 30 odd years on you'd still be doing it. Dave and myself have been together for 45 years. I've known him from school and I probably know Dave better than I know my brother.

"There's still a market there and I'm proud people still want to see the show."

And are you still in touch with the old members of the band?

"Of course," he said. "Remember the old band, with Nod and Jim, were together right from school. That doesn't just go out of the window. I was with them about three weeks ago. We were in London together having a good time. You can't wipe out that amount of time."

And there are no hard feelings about them leaving the band?

"It was their decision they didn't want to tour anymore and they gave us their blessing for Dave and myself to carry on," he said.

Apart from the changing line-up, according to Don, very little has changed, especially when it comes to the live shows.

"We still involve the audience in the show," he said. "It's like a big party really. When we go on stage now we always say this is not a concert it it's a party' and that's the way it ends up.

"The thing is now fans come along way back from the 70s and now they have their children with them, which is nice."

This is the proof for any Slade-hater out there who thinks Merry Xmas Everybody is all they've got up their floppy 70s sleeves. A new generation of fans and a throng of modern bands who speak publicly of their admiration speak volumes for their credibility. Oasis' Noel Gallagher and Nirvana's Kurt Cobain and Paul Weller are among many musicians who have cited Slade as a direct influence or band they enjoy.

Slade has a tendency to attract fans from all corners of the globe though, it seems.

Don said: "We were in Australia a few years ago and had long drives across the desert to get to different places. We were in the middle of nowhere and we bumped into an aborigine. We'd been driving for five hours and stopped to have a break.

"He came over and we found out the album cover where we had Slade on our fists 1972's Slayed?, he had that. He came towards us putting his fist out like on the cover. It was so strange. It is the middle of the desert but it was like being on the moon."

The band is still writing new music and Don hopes a new album will be recorded in the new year. He's also in the middle of an autobiography, compiled from diaries he kept from when the band first formed to document experiences and help with his memory troubles.

"It's in the process of being sorted out at the moment so it will be in the new year sometime," he said.

"I had diaries from all over the years and I was approached to do this. I had been approached many times before and I'd just said no. I felt now is the time. I want to do this and it's going to be interesting.

"It's in the infant stages at moment. But revisiting my diaries was just as much fun for me to read again. Going through them I thought is that where we were back then?'.

It's hard to imagine the band were so manically busy, Don needed a diary to keep track. But he insists this is the case.

"The thing is, in the 70s when we were just going non-stop. Half the time we didn't know where we were. People may think it's a bit blaze just saying that but it wasn't.

"We did an eight and a half week tour of America and at the end of every show Noddy Holder always used to thank the city and hope we see you again sometime.

"It happened a few nights, but I remember the first time he said thank you very much' and then he stopped and turned round to me and said where are we?'.

"That's how it became."

He added: "It was a fun time because we had each other. We were always together from school and we were like brothers really. I think that helped and was a big factor in us being together for so long. We were in each other's pockets 24 hours a day, but because we were such good friends it didn't make a difference. We were just having a laugh and a good time."

And, as I'm sure it's clear, he still is.

Merry Xmas Tour featuring Slade at Fairfield Halls, Croydon. Dec 14.