Chas & Dave 2015 (By Andrew D. Hurley - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0)
Think you know Chas & Dave? Think again. Beyond ‘Gertcha and ‘Rabbit’ lies a goldmine of unreleased rockers, soul experiments and heartbreaking ballads that reveal Britain’s most loveable duo were far more than knees-up merchants.
Peter Checksfield – author of CHAS & DAVE – WALLOP!: THE MUSIC 1970-2018 – has raided the vaults to uncover five essential tracks that showcase nearly five decades of musical partnership. From wild ELO-style outtakes to their final, tear-jerking TV appearance, these songs prove Chas Hodges and Dave Peacock were genuine artists who just happened to make you smile.
Time to dig deeper into the Rockney legacy…
I CAN MAKE IT
[‘One Fing ‘N’ Anuvver’ outtake, 1975 – Released 1992]
Friends since 1963, Chas Hodges & Dave Peacock had been recording together under such names as ‘Black Claw’, ‘Country Pie’ and ‘Oily Rags’ since 1970, as well as building a formidable reputation as two of the top session players in the business. By the summer of 1974, Chas & Dave had started recording their debut album under their own name, initially with Derek Lawrence Producing. However, after three songs, the duo came to the conclusion that his skills lacked the subtlety they were looking for, so they produced the remaining sessions themselves.
Not released at the time, the Derek Lawrence-Produced I Can Make It is wild Rock ‘n’ Roll, with pounding piano, distorted guitars, heavy drums – and prominent strings! Far closer in sound to The Electric Light Orchestra than the Chas & Dave people would later know and love, it would stay in the can until surfacing on a 1992 CD reissue of ‘One Fing ‘N’ Anuvver’.
BILLY TYLER
[‘Rockney’ album, 1977]
By now signed to EMI, for their 1977 follow-up, Chas & Dave reluctantly agreed to a Producer in old friend Tony Ashton (of Ashton, Gardner & Dyke fame) – resulting in ‘Rockney’, an album that is a definite progression over their previous one. Played on an electric keyboard and with a fade-in, the poignant and sad Billy Tyler is about a couple scraping to get by (“By next Monday afternoon, we’re gonna be out on the street!”). Problem is, Billy Tyler is a bit of a Billy Liar character, and going away to supposedly get work, he actually “Met a well-made lady, who lived down by the coast”. Never played much live, it proved popular amongst other artists, with versions by Big Jim Sullivan, Albert Lee, Roger Humphries and even Jim Davidson, while Chas himself would later re-record the song with The Crickets’ drummer J.I. Allison.
BACK IN THE SOUL DAYS
[‘Flying’ album, 1987]
Following a hugely successful period with their biggest hit singles, and classic albums like ‘Don’t Give A Monkey’s…’ (1979), ‘Mustn’t Grumble’ (1981), ‘Job Lot’ (1982) and ‘Well Pleased’ (1984), by 1987 Chas & Dave’s chart success was in decline. So that year’s ‘Flying’ album saw some subtle changes in direction. Probably the biggest surprise was Back In The Soul Days, an up-tempo Stax-styled Soul song, similar to the kind of music Chas Hodges had played with Cliff Bennett and The Rebel Rousers back in the mid-’60s. With mentions of American Soul heroes like Sam and Dave, Joe Tex and James Brown, and ‘60s venues such as The Bag O’ Nails, The Cooks Ferry Inn, The Speakeasy and The Railway Tavern, the saxes riff away while both Chas & Dave sing about the days when “We all got funky and we got down with it!”.
YOU WON’T SEE ME
[Studio outtake, 1989 – Released 2014]
One of Chas & Dave’s biggest musical heroes was Lonnie Donegan, someone they worked with numerous times in concert and on TV, as well as writing and recording the song ‘Lonnie D.’ in tribute to him. However, the only time they worked together in the studio was in 1989, somewhat surprisingly on a version of The Beatles’ ‘Rubber Soul’ classic You Won’t See Me – and with prominent piano, throbbing bass, powerful drums, saxophones, and all three singers taking turns before harmonising in the middle-eight, it is wonderful! So why it took 25 years before finally surfacing on 2014’s ‘The Rockney Box 1981-1991’ CD box-set is anyone’s guess.
WONDER WHERE HE IS NOW (Live Version)
[‘A Little Bit Of Us’ album, 2018]
In early 2017, Chas was diagnosed with oesophageal cancer, but after successfully receiving treatment for it, he was well enough to play a concert in Hyde Park that summer, as well as a set of re-scheduled dates throughout the year. Then in early 2018, they surprised everyone with the self-Produced ‘A Little Bit Of Us’, one of Chas & Dave’s finest ever albums.
The lyrics for Wonder Where He Is Now were inspired by Chas waking up with thoughts of a long-lost friend (“I woke this morning thinking ‘bout him, don’t know why, don’t know”). A touchingly old-fashioned song with piano and ukulele, Chas & Dave did a stripped-down live version on ‘Later… with Jools Holland’, for what – very poignantly – turned out to be their final ever TV appearance.
On 29th April 2018, to coincide with the new album’s release, Chas & Dave did a spectacular sell-out concert at London’s Royal Albert Hall, featuring a full string section as well as saxophone players. Then on 8th July 2018 – following a June appearance on ‘Later… with Jools Holland’ – they played in front over 50,000 people in Hyde Park. It was Chas & Dave’s final concert. On 22nd September 2018, the world lost Chas Hodges, who, having beaten cancer, had succumbed to pneumonia. With near-blanket news coverage, the huge outpouring of grief culminated on 17th December 2018 in a joyous celebration of Chas’ life at a tribute show at Shepherd’s Bush Empire. Guests included Dave Peacock, Mike Berry, Ralph McTell, Joe Brown, Albert Lee, Gary Brooker, Eric Clapton, Paul Whitehouse and many more, with over £40,000 raised for charity. A very fitting send-off for a remarkable man and a unique talent, whose incredible legacy with his ol’ mate Dave Peacock will continue.
