The ongoing East Cheshire Hospice Art Fair has gained the support of a local legend.

Macclesfield resident Noddy Holder MBE and his partner Suzan recently 'felt the noize' at the popular Art Fair, which launched this week of Macclesfield Town Hall.

And it was inside there, where the former Slade frontman and his wife noticed a papier-mâché of himself, as Suzan explained:

"We loved the Art Fair exhibition," said Suzan.

Imagine walking into an art exhibition and seeing a mini version of yourself, we bet it feels 'wild, wild, wild'! (Image - Suzan Holder / @HolderSuzan x.com)

"We were surprised to find an exhibit featuring Noddy when we arrived at the launch event.

"It's is a papier-mâché figurine made by artist Patty Callaghan.

"The Noddy Holder piece was called Cum On Feel The Noize after Slade's 1976 number one hit (one of six number ones they had) and we discovered it had sold in the first five minutes of the exhibition being open."

Noddy and Suzan purchased another piece of art that caught their eye instead. 

Proud artist Patty Callaghan will be hosting a talk about her artwork and holding a demonstration at Macclesfield Town Hall on Sunday. (Image - East Cheshire Hospice)

Last year, Noddy performed in Cheshire with local performer Tom Seals.

Suzan went on to detail the reason why the pair went to support the Art Fair, on Market Place.

"We were there to be announced as new patrons of the East Cheshire Hospice," revealed Suzan.

"Funds raised from the sale of artwork exhibited at the Art Fair at Macclesfield Town Hall will go to support the essential and amazing work the Hospice does in the area."

The Art Fair is free to enter. (Image - Macclesfield Nub News)

Suzan and Noddy join famous patrons of East Cheshire Hospice alongside journalist Nick Robinson and ex-footballer Joe Corrigan.

Macclesfield artist Patty Callaghan, who you may know from providing free arts and crafts events with the charity MaccArtSpace, was chuffed with the celebrity endorsement of her work. (And indeed, the sale!)

"I was so chuffed when I saw Suzan's Instagram post," she said.

"I thought she or Noddy had bought it but it turns out someone else had beaten them to it!

The Art Fair started 25 years ago, and this year's exhibition is open until October 3. (Image - East Cheshire Hospice)

"I wondered if it would be cheeky to ask if they'd like me to make another version for them - with 40% going to the Hospice of course!

"I was a big fan of Slade back in the day, as was my brother, so there was a nostalgic element to the project which was nice. 

"The trickiest thing was his guitar, just the scale of it and all the strings! 

"As fate would have it, when I was tearing up the red of his shirt, I discovered it said Christmas on the magazine, and I thought, that must be appropriate for Noddy, so it put it as an Easter Egg on the neckline of his shirt." 

Patty will host a talk and demonstration at the Art Fair, Macclesfield Town Hall, from 2pm on Sunday. (Image - Paul Quirk)

"Thank you for your support."

The 'mini Noddy' sold for a price of £208.

Monies raised from sales of artworks raise funds for the Millbank Drive good cause, which provides end-of-life care.

East Cheshire Hospice had this to say on the rocker's endorsement of the free event.

The identity of the buyer has not been revealed. (Image - Paul Quirk)

"We were delighted to welcome our newest Hospice Patrons, Noddy and Suzan Holder, to the VIP preview event for Art Fair Cheshire 2024 at Macclesfield Town Hall," they said.

"It was the perfect opportunity to present Noddy and Suzan with an award for becoming Hospice Patrons, and to showcase one of our most popular and successful fundraising events. It was a brilliant coincidence that one of our artists had created a papier-mâché model of Noddy, though it had already sold before he got to see it!

"There is a huge range of work on display at the Art Fair, and each exhibiting artist donates a percentage from the sale of their work to East Cheshire Hospice, with some generously donating the full amount, so it has a huge positive impact.

"There is also work on display from local college students, and a special area with artwork by children using the Hospice's childhood bereavement service.

The Wallsall-born musician was awarded with an MBE in 2000. Noddy is pictured in this photo, rocking Cardiff in 1981. (Image - WikiCommons see asterisk*)

"There's even a pop-up café with drinks and cake available each day, so it's well worth a visit!"

The exhibition runs until October 3.

Holder recently gave an interview with the BBC about how his oesophageal cancer diagnosis has changed him as a performer, and his hopes to go on the road next year.

Throughout this weekend, artists will be holding talks as part of the Art Fair, please click HERE for more information.

East Cheshire Hospice requires almost £10,000 per day to run, so the sale of 'mini Noddy', will help massively towards that. (Image - East Cheshire Hospice)

It is a busy time of year for East Cheshire Hospice, with Will Month having also recently launched.

*Image Credit Image - CC BY 2.0 Unchanged Andrew King https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Noddy_Holder_holds_up_guitar_at_Cardiff_University_(1981).jpg / https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/deed.en )