Chas & Dave in 250 words (ish)
Chas & Dave was a British pop rock duo from London, made up of Chas Hodges and Dave Peacock. The pair met in 1963 and started to write songs together in 1972. Between the 60s and 70s, Hodges and Peacock were in various bands and groups.
In 1972, Hodges contacted Peacock about creating a band where they could use their own accent and sing about topics and thing that they were familiar with. They recorded their first album as Chas & Dave in 1974 and ‘One Fing ‘n’ Anuvver’ was released in 1975.
Their music can be described as comical and rockney (a combination of rock and cockney). They sang using a London accent and often used speaking rather than singing to help keep the London accent in the music.
The duo released 51 singles and 15 studio albums. They had 3 singles in the top 10: ‘Rabbit’ (1980) r
reached no.8, ‘Ain’t No Pleasing You’ (1982) reached no.2 and ‘Snooker Loopy’ (1986) reached no.6.
The band also had 3 albums in the top 10: ‘Chas and Dave's Knees Up - Jamboree Bag Number 2’ (1981) reached no.7, ‘Street Party’ (1995) reached no.3 and their ‘Gold’ album released in 2018 reached no.8.
In 1983, Chas & Dave presented their own variety show ‘Chas and Dave’s Knees Up’ on ITV which was set in an East End Pub. The show lasted for 6 episodes in 1983 and one Christmas special in 1982. Each episode featured many famous faces including Lulu, Paul Shane and Eric Clapton.
Chas Hodges died in 2018 and their music has influenced many artists including The Libertines.