Christmas bonus! The British festive classics still racking in thousands each year - including one tune that makes an estimated MILLION annually
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Once the first chill of the year hits the nation, supermarkets, radios and Spotify playlists slowly but surely start to churn out repeated plays of Christmas classics to kick off the festive spirit. And while new contenders are released each year, there are timeless, legendary tunes that never fail to get everyone in the Yuletide mood.
![[Noddy Holder, Dave Hill, Jimmy Lea and Don Powell from Slade, pictured in 1973. Their festive hit has proven itself to be a classic]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/12/17/11/93228253-14201021-Noddy_Holder_Dave_Hill_Jimmy_Lea_and_Don_Powell_from_Slade_pictu-m-39_1734435069474.jpg)
Wham!'s Last Christmas leaves everyone reaching for a glass of mulled wine, and no office end-of-year party is complete without a tinsel-strewn rendition of All I Want For Christmas Is You. There are several songs by British artists that earn their keep in the month of December, despite not getting much airtime the rest of the year, racking up thousands in annual royalties.
![[Holder wasn't far off when he said that owning the rights to his band's 1973 hit was 'like winning the lottery every December 25 for the rest of your life']](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/12/17/11/93228251-14201021-image-a-37_1734434929777.jpg)
Slade are rumoured to get up to a million each year due to the roaring success of their 1973 classic Merry Xmas Everybody. Elsewhere, The Pogues and Kirsty MacColl's Fairytale of New York earns an estimated £400,000. Here, FEMAIL looks at the other contenders that are sure to be bringing in a hefty paycheck come January...
![[The band's frontman Noddy Holder, 78, wrote the iconic song with bassist Jim Lea, and the money made from this song continues to come in more than half a century later (Holder in 1972)]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/12/17/11/93228255-14201021-The_band_s_frontman_Noddy_Holder_78_wrote_the_iconic_song_with_b-m-22_1734434745072.jpg)
MERRY XMAS EVERYBODY (1973). SLADE. UP TO £1 MILLION A YEAR. Slade's Merry Xmas Everybody topped the charts when it was released in 1973 and it continues to be a festive classic. Noddy Holder pictured in 1993. Noddy Holder, Dave Hill, Jimmy Lea and Don Powell from Slade, pictured in 1973. Their festive hit has proven itself to be a classic.
![[The band was formed in Wolverhampton in 1966 with drummer Don Powell and violinist/bassist Jim Lea alongside Holder and Dave Hill]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/12/17/11/93228249-14201021-The_band_was_formed_in_Wolverhampton_in_1966_with_drummer_Don_Po-m-42_1734435146156.jpg)
