Yesterday we heard that the very sad news that Chas and Dave are to split. Like many Tottenham fans, I was introduced to the duo via their Spurs songs, but grew to love the other tunes in their repertoire. I campaigned very hard for Ain’t No Pleasing You to be the first dance at our wedding, but ironically the wife wasn’t best pleased about it.
When I heard the news, one of the first things that I thought was that at least I could dust off my story about Chas and David and use it on the blog.
A couple of years ago I attended a gig of theirs at the 100 Club. They went down a storm and after the show Messers Chas and Dave appeared behind trestle tables to sign autographs and pose for photos. Curiously, they did this separately (an early sign of what was to come), making the Chas and Dave fanatic have to decide as to whether they liked the Hodges or the Peacock more. It was like Sophie’s Choice but with more cockneys.
I choose to join the Chas queue, primarily so that I could post a picture of the two of us on Facebook, along with the caption ‘Chas and Dan’. I met Chas and posed for the photo below, in which I look decidedly sweaty.
With the snap having been taken, there was just one question that I had to ask before leaving Chas alone. The gig came just days before the second leg of the Carling Cup semi final against Arsenal (the 5-1 one). “Chas, are we going to do it against Arsenal on Tuesday?” I asked.
Chas shook his head wearily and uttered the following immortal words: “All that matters is Chas and Dave”.
As a philosophy to lead your life by, it is a rather simplistic one, but it still made me laugh for hours. I must admit that I was a little disappointed that a supposed Uber-Spurs fan like Chas couldn’t answer my simple question, but I suppose it must be annoying when a large percentage of the people that attend your gigs ask you questions about Tottenham, rather than the time you spent working with Joe Meek and Jerry Lee Lewis.
That though is the deal that Chas and Dave signed with the devil, when they agreed to record Ossie’s Dream and many other songs with the Tottenham squad. So now you’re a solo artist Chas, don’t think of your association with Spurs as a burden. I don’t suppose there are many other areas of the world, where the pubs play nothing but Chas and Dave every other Saturday afternoon.
As a tribute to these legends, here are some video highlights of the Rockney duo.
