Chas 'n' Dave

Chas 'n' Dave

Chas 'n' Dave are a London pop rock duo made up of Chas Hodges and Dave Peacock. They are also known as Chas & Dave, and are sometimes incorrectly billed as Chaz 'n' Dave. The pair are associated with folk, folk rock, pop rock and rock and roll, and their sound is also described as Rockney, a term combining rock and Cockney.

Formation and style

The group comes from London, United Kingdom and is active from 1974 to 2018. Hodges performs piano, vocals, banjo and guitars, while Peacock plays bass guitar, vocals, banjo and guitars. Mick Burt plays drums with them. Their use of Cockney singing is intentional from the start, as they present it as an alternative to British bands copying American accents. Their songs are closely associated with London pub culture.

Career and recordings

They become regulars on British television from 1975 onwards and gain wider recognition through a television advertising campaign for Courage Bitter. Their first hit is Gertcha, followed by songs including Rabbit and The Sideboard Song. In 1982 they reach number 2 with Ain't No Pleasing You, a more romantic recording than much of their earlier comic material and one that adds strings to their usual piano, drum and bass arrangement.

Snooker Loopy is a comic snooker song credited to Chas and Dave with The Matchroom Mob and featuring Tony Meo, Dennis Taylor, Terry Griffiths, Willy Thorne and Steve Davis. They also record a large number of songs linked to Tottenham Hotspur F.C., which both men support. These include Glory Glory Tottenham Hotspur, Ossie's Dream, Hot Shot Tottenham, When the Year Ends in One, Tottenham Tottenham and the Spurs Medley.

Later recognition and performances

Their work remains influential with other artists. Carl Barat and Pete Doherty of the Libertines cite them as an influence, and the group supports the Libertines at several gigs in 2002. They also appear at Glastonbury in 2004 and 2007. A hook played by Chas and Dave on Labi Siffre's I Got The is later used by Eminem in My Name Is.

The pair publish the autobiography Chas & Dave – All About Us in 2008. After an announcement in 2009 that they will no longer work together, they reunite for a final tour in 2011. They also stage Christmas shows at the IndigO2 in 2011 and 2012, appear at Rebellion Festival as part of the farewell tour, and tour the UK again under the name Back By Demand in 2013. In 2012 the BBC Four documentary Chas & Dave: Last Orders is made about them.

In 2013 they release That's What Happens, their first studio album in 18 years. Hodges appears in Graham Fellows' BBC Radio 4 comedy series John Shuttleworth's Lounge Music in 2014. The following year they perform at VE Day 70: A Party to Remember in Horse Guards Parade, London, play their Christmas show at the Hammersmith Apollo, and appear on the main stage at the Sunshine Festival in Upton-Upon-Severn. Mick Burt dies in 2014, and Chas Hodges dies in 2018.