Chas & Dave - still Rockney and rolling

10:38am Friday 29th February 2008

EVERYONE knows Chas & Dave - they're a couple of Spurs-mad cockney geezers, self-styled ambassadors for London on a mission to teach the provincials about the wonders of our nation's capital city, aren't they?

"A lot of people get the wrong end of the stick about the whole London thing," explained Chas Hodges, 'the slightly bigger one sitting at the piano' as the duo's website describes him.

"We're not saying London is the be-all-and-end-all," he continued. "We just think that wherever you come from you should sing in the accent.

"It's like the Arctic Monkeys for example. They come from Sheffield and they sing in Sheffield accents. We're not flag-flying for London or anything like that."

OK then, but surely he and band-mate Dave Peacock ('the slightly thinner one on the bass') must be delirious about the recent resurgence of their beloved Spurs?

"That's something else that's become a myth," said Hodges. "I'm a gentle Spurs fan. I like to see them do well but I don't follow them or anything. I couldn't name any of the team or the manager."

So with two illusions well and truly torpedoed, I don't bother asking whether, after having a hit with Snooker Loopy in the 1980s, they spend a lot of time on the baize. I can guess the answer.

Chas & Dave formed more than 30 years ago and the Edmonton-born duo are still going strong with a tour that includes a weekend's worth of shows the Millfield Theatre this month.

They got together in the early 1970s, by which time they were already established musicians after more than decade of solid, and sometimes lucrative, work with the likes of Ritchie Blackmore, who went on to form Deep Purple and Rainbow, Jerry Lee Lewis, Screaming Lord Sutch and pioneering producer Joe Meek.

Hodges was part of British blues rockers, Heads Hands and Feet, alongside guitarist Albert Lee, when he first had the idea for a change in direction.

"It was lodged in my head when I came back from playing in America," he said. "I'd been singing in an American accent and I just wanted to be myself and enjoy it a bit more."

Hodges and Peacock, who had both previously been members of another group, Black Claw, set about developing their style - observational and humorous lyrics performed to rock'n'roll tunes - which later became known as 'Rockney'.

Hit singles, including Rabbit and Ain't No Pleasing you followed. Chas & Dave have also recorded a number of cup final songs with various Spurs squads, but don't play them live these days.

"It was great getting the players in the studio recording the stuff that we'd written. It was a bit of fun," said Hodges. "But even when Spurs won the double in 1961 and I was living right on top of White Hart Lane I didn't go to watch the parade or anything. Music was always my number one."

Chas & Dave shows are now split between an improvised opening acoustic set followed by their best-known material after the interval.

"The first half is just us and guitars. We call it 'Whatever comes into our heads'", said Hodges.

"We'll play some of the stuff that we listened to and take questions from the audience as well. Then, in the second half, we'll play our hits."

In recent years, Chas & Dave have reached a new, younger, audience. They have supported the Libertines, who cited the duo as a major influence, on a few London dates and appeared at the Glastonbury Festival in 2005.

And Hodges said fans should expect some surprises on the current tour as well.

"We loved making our hits at the time, and love playing them now," he said. "If I went to see my favourite artiste I'd want them to do the songs that made me love them in the first place, but I'd also like to come away having seen them do something new."

Hodges is a busy man. "Dave's retiring away from recording now but I'm still steaming on," he said.

He has his own group, the Chas Hodges band, and there is a solo album in the pipeline.

Hodges is also writing a biography of the duo's career after already completing a book about his life before teaming up with Peacock. A Chas & Dave songbook is also due for release.

And after starting out in 1960 as 16-year-old playing bass in a band called the Outlaws, Hodges has no intention of slowing down and is looking forward to the 'hometown' shows at the Millfield.

"The older I get the more I just want to get up and play," he said.

Chas & Dave play the Millfield Theatre, Silver Street Edmonton, N18 1PJ, on March 14 , 15, 16. Tickets cost £18/£17 concs. Box office: 020 8807 6680.

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