My Legends of Pop Music – Part Twenty-Eight – Chas ‘n’ Dave

If get this right, there will be many cover versions by future bands. I shall try and link live versions if they exist from the tellybox or a film, the sound quality may not be the best, but there is nothing like watching a real talent live.

So, in a sort of chronological order, my twenty eighth legends are: Chas and Dave

Perhaps an unusual choice, but I have been a big admirer of Chas and Dave since “Gertcha“.  I do like happy music and their tunes tend to be happy and funny.  The featured song is my second favourite tune of all time after Hotel California.

I have put a link to their documentary BBC Four documentary Chas & Dave: Last Orders, which if you have not seen, is well worth a watch.

Curtesy of Wiki:

Chas & Dave (often billed as Chas ‘n’ Dave) were a British pop rock duo, formed in London by Chas Hodges and Dave Peacock. They were most notable as creators and performers of a musical style labelled rockney (a portmanteau of rock and cockney), which mixes “pub singalong, music-hall humour, boogie-woogie piano and pre-Beatles rock ‘n’ roll”. For a time, Rockney was also the name of their record label, their major breakthrough being “Gertcha” in 1979, which peaked at No. 20 in the UK Singles Chart, and was the first of eight Top 40 hit singles the duo played on. They had their biggest success in the early 1980s with “Rabbit” and “Ain’t No Pleasing You“. They also had nine charting albums. In October 2013 they released That’s What Happens, their first studio album in 18 years.

Charles Nicholas “Chas” Hodges and David Victor “Dave” Peacock met in 1963, but the duo only started writing songs together in 1972. In the 1960s and 1970s, Hodges and Peacock were in various groups. Hodges was with The Outlaws and then Cliff Bennett and the Rebel Rousers in the 1960s, while Dave Peacock was with a group called the Rolling Stones (formed before the more famous one), and The Tumbleweeds, and worked with Mick Greenwood and Jerry Donahue. Hodges and Peacock were both part of Black Claw with Harvey Hinsley and Mick Burt, three of them (Hodges, Peacock and Burt) would later be in Chas & Dave. They recorded with Albert Lee, and released an EP called Country Pie. After Black Claw, Hodges joined Heads Hands & Feet in 1970. Both Hodges and Peacock had worked as session musicians and in backing bands for a wide range of artists; Hodges as part of The Outlaws had worked with Jerry Lee LewisGene VincentBill Haley, and also supported the Beatles as the Rebel Rousers. The hook of the song on which Hodges and Peacock played guitar and bass in 1975, Labi Siffre‘s “I Got The…”, was later sampled on Eminem‘s “My Name Is“.

After Heads Hands & Feet broke up, in November 1972, Hodges spoke to Peacock about forming a band together where they can sing in their own accent and about things they knew. This would be the beginning of Chas & Dave. They had initially considered a few names, including Chubby. The name Chas & Dave came about when they were doing sessions together, and a producer often referred to them as one and said, “Here comes Chas and Dave”, and later suggested: “Why don’t you just call yourselves Chas and Dave?”

The duo recorded their first album as Chas & Dave in 1974, and this album, One Fing n ‘Anuvver, was released in 1975 under the Retreat Records label. Burt joined the duo in 1976 as a drummer, and although they were in fact a trio since, the duo of Hodges and Peacock remained the main focus of the band. They were signed by EMI in 1977, and the album Rockney was recorded that year and released in 1978. A song from the album, “Strummin’“, was their first song to reach the chart. In early 1979, a song from their first album “Woortcha!” was used for a television commercial for Courage Bitter, and this song was then re-recorded and released as a single, retitled “Gertcha“, which reached No. 20 on the singles chart. They opened for Led Zeppelin at the 1979 Knebworth Festival on two consecutive Saturdays on 4 and 11 August.

In October 2013, they released That’s What Happens, their first studio album in 18 years. In July 2014, On 19 October, the official website announced the death of Mick Burt, their original drummer, the previous day.

On 22 September 2018, Chas Hodges died from pneumonia following treatment for cancer, aged 74.  Dave is still going strong and is now 76.

A full discography is here: – Chas ‘n’ Dave

Strummin’ – released in 1978, this is a live version from 1982

Gertcha  – ToTP from 1979

The Sideboard Song Their own show, live performance in 1979

Rabbit – TV show in 1981

Poor Old Mr Woogie  Live 1982 – I do like a bit of boogie woogie.

Stars Over 45  Hamming it up a bit on ToTP in 1981.

Margate – Official promo video from 1982

One Fing ‘n’ Annuver From their 1983 TV show.

A Little Bit Of Mev (Official Video, Live at The Borderline)

Another firm favourite of mine is this one:
London Girls – Chas and Dave on ‘The Kenny Everett Television Show’, 14th April 1983.

As promised:
Chas & Dave Last Orders 2012 Documentary

Well worth a watch 1 hour long.

Singalong, enjoy and be happy!

Links to previous Legend articles:

1-Buddy Holly 2-Elvis Presley 3-Everly brothers 4-Cliff Richard 5-Joe Brown
6-Gerry and the Pacemakers 7-Roy Orbison 8-The Seekers 9-The Hollies 10-The Rolling Stones
11-Beach Boys 12-The Monkees 13-Rod Stewart 14-T-Rex 15-Slade
16-10CC 17-Pussycat 18-The Kinks 19-Blondie 20-Bryan Ferry/Roxy Music
21-David Bowie 22-Meatloaf 23-The Temptations 24-Dusty Springfield 25-Fleetwood Mac
26-Gilbert O’Sullivan 27-The Four Tops 28-Chas ‘n’ Dave

Featured image: “Weyfest 2014” by williamsdb is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0
 

© Phil the ex test manager 2022