CHAS AND DAVE Chas Hodges and Dave Peacock - more colloquially known as "Chas n Dave" are now firmly established as one of the top song-writing partnerships in the country. In the current time of five minute fashions, be it punk, salsa, synthesizers, ska or soul revivals, Chas n Dave have consistently brought real tunes and their unique brand of humour to the pop world with classic songs like "Gertcha", "Rabbit", and "Ain't No Pleasing You" to name but a few. Other bands are now paying them the compliment of imitating them, but there is only one Chas n Dave and their success was not instant but hard won. Chas and Dave come from Edmonton and Ponders End respectively and first met up in North London in the mid-sixties. At the time Chas was playing with Mike Berry and the Outlaws, they had the honour of headlining over a very unknown band from Liverpool called the Beatles. Although the two men were constantly meeting, it never occurred to them to play together as both of them preferred the guitar. What really spurred them on was that when they met over a jar, they would constantly find themselves expressing dissatisfaction with the pop scene of the early seventies - the big superstar groups with phoney American accents playing pretentious music. Chas n Dave wanted to go back to their rock-n-roll roots and sing in their own accents about subjects they cared about. They built up a good London following playing the London pubs, and impressed Big Jim Sullivan who owned Retreat Records with Derek Lawrence and he offered them the chance to record their own material. The result was the album "One Fing and Annuvver" released in 1975 which so impressed the distributors EMI they signed them immediately. It was then that they were joined by Mick Burt their drummer. He was with Cliff Bennett and the Rebel Rousers when Chas was with them but had left showbiz. Enthused by a call from Chas he became part of their group and "Rockney" had been born - the unique blend of Cockney and rock. A brewery executive who happened to be in a pub in Islington when they were playing heard them singing "Gertcha". He thought the song perfect for the new Courage Beer Campaign and the rest is history. They have toured constantly around the world and performed a number of sell-out seasons at the London Palladium and London Dominion Theatres. Their party albums have sold in millions. [ Back ]