Chas and Dave: No more knees-up as duo split
Posted: Tue Sep 22, 2009 12:25 pm
Or Rabbit rabbit rabbit .... silence.
Chas and Dave, the popular cockneys whose knees-up music was as much part of the soundtrack to the 1980s as U2 or Madonna, announced today they are to split up.
Responsible for hits like Rabbit, Rabbit, Ain't No Pleasing You and Snooker Loopy, Chas and Dave performed together for nearly four decades. They have called it a day after Dave Peacock's wife, Sue, died from lung cancer.
Singer and pianist Chas Hodges, 65, who will continue to perform as Chas and his Band, confirmed the split today. "Obviously it's sad. It's the end of an era, but the start of another one - the show goes on," he told the Daily Mail.
"I still see Dave every week and he's coping, but I don't think he wanted to do the gigging any more. He has horses and he loves driving them round his grounds and painting gypsy wagons, which he's very good at, so I don't think he'll miss the gigging," he added.
Chas and Dave took the cockney knees-up (in the rub-a-dub round the old joanna) and turned it into something that sold beyond the sound of the Bow bells. After opening for Led Zeppelin at the 1979 Knebworth festival, the duo quickly made a name for themselves, and despite only having three top 10 hits, they became national symbols, the musical equivalent of pie and mash. In 2005 they were invited to play at Glastonbury festival, which Chas claimed was one of the proudest moments of their career.
A statement from the band paid tribute to Sue Peacock, who worked with the band throughout their career. "Sue worked tirelessly on the side of the business that musicians just aren't good at. It's accurate to say that without Sue and Joan (Chas's wife), there wouldn't have been Chas and Dave.
"To say that Sue's death leaves a gaping hole in the lives of so many is an understatement beyond compare."
It is thought that Dave may occasionally perform again with Chas in the future.
Chas and Dave, the popular cockneys whose knees-up music was as much part of the soundtrack to the 1980s as U2 or Madonna, announced today they are to split up.
Responsible for hits like Rabbit, Rabbit, Ain't No Pleasing You and Snooker Loopy, Chas and Dave performed together for nearly four decades. They have called it a day after Dave Peacock's wife, Sue, died from lung cancer.
Singer and pianist Chas Hodges, 65, who will continue to perform as Chas and his Band, confirmed the split today. "Obviously it's sad. It's the end of an era, but the start of another one - the show goes on," he told the Daily Mail.
"I still see Dave every week and he's coping, but I don't think he wanted to do the gigging any more. He has horses and he loves driving them round his grounds and painting gypsy wagons, which he's very good at, so I don't think he'll miss the gigging," he added.
Chas and Dave took the cockney knees-up (in the rub-a-dub round the old joanna) and turned it into something that sold beyond the sound of the Bow bells. After opening for Led Zeppelin at the 1979 Knebworth festival, the duo quickly made a name for themselves, and despite only having three top 10 hits, they became national symbols, the musical equivalent of pie and mash. In 2005 they were invited to play at Glastonbury festival, which Chas claimed was one of the proudest moments of their career.
A statement from the band paid tribute to Sue Peacock, who worked with the band throughout their career. "Sue worked tirelessly on the side of the business that musicians just aren't good at. It's accurate to say that without Sue and Joan (Chas's wife), there wouldn't have been Chas and Dave.
"To say that Sue's death leaves a gaping hole in the lives of so many is an understatement beyond compare."
It is thought that Dave may occasionally perform again with Chas in the future.