Noddy Holder, the frontman of Slade, was diagnosed with oesophageal cancer five years ago, his wife has revealed.
Doctors told Holder that he had six months to live, Suzan Holder wrote in Cheshire Life magazine on Thursday, but she said Holder, 77, had responded well to experimental chemotherapy and “coped with amazing good humour and breath-taking bravery”.
“Here we are five years later and he’s feeling good and looking great,” Suzan said.
Noddy Holder was the lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the glam rock band Slade from 1966 to 1992, fronting hits such as Merry Xmas Everybody and Cum On Feel the Noize. After Slade, Holder went on to do TV and radio work, including acting in the ITV comedy series The Grimleys from 1999 to 2001.
Holder was treated at the Christie hospital in Manchester where he “agreed to a gruelling course of experimental treatment as part of a brand-new trial of intense chemotherapy”, his wife said.
“There were no guarantees, no one knew if it would have any effect, let alone work miracles, but he responded well.”
She attributed his current health to him always being “great at living in the moment, not hankering for the past or worrying about the future”.
“That attitude served him well and a lot of his recovery has been credited to his positive mental attitude,” she said. “You need so much mental strength to get through something like this. I’ve always been impressed by my husband’s focus and determination, but now I am completely in awe.”
She wrote that her husband returned to the stage earlier this year, putting on a number of shows over the summer and “captivating an audience with hilarious, slightly naughty stories and singing his heart out with a voice still distinctive and powerful”.
“He had fans roaring with laughter at his unique take on 60 years in the crazy showbiz world and then holding back tears as he talked for the first time about his cancer journey,” she said.
The couple hope there will be more shows in the future, with Holder already committed to being a special guest of Tom Seals and his band at their Christmas spectacular in December.
“For now I am simply grateful my husband continues to be his mischievous, irrepressible self whatever he is up to,” Suzan said.
