Chas & Dave are an English "Rockney" band formed by Chas Hodges (Piano, Vocals) and Dave Peacock (Bass, Vocals) with Mick Burt on Drums and percussion. Formed in the mid-1970s, they remained active until shortly before Hodges' death in 2018.
Trope it, trope it, trope it, trope it...
- A Song In The Limelight: "Give It Some Stick, Mick" for drummer Mick Burt.
- Anti-Love Song: "Aint No Pleasing You"
- Genre Mashup: Although the Rockney sound is unmistakable, their albums, specifically on "Mustn't Grumble", incorporate R&B (Behave Yourself), Funk (Turn That Noise Down), Rock & Roll (That's What It's All About), Ballads (Flying), 30s Pop (Word From Anne) and Classical (Give It Gavotte).
- Lesser Star: Dave Peacock. Casual punters at their gigs often say "That Chas knows how to write songs".
- Meta Fiction: "Strummin'", "It's Only A B-Side"
- Motor Mouth: "Rabbit" parodies this and the vocal arrangement reflects this.You've got a lot without a doubt, but I'm thinking about blowing you out, cos you won't stop talking...
- Non-Appearing Title: by the crumb of its drum: "Give It Some Stick, Mick", although the refrain is "Oi Mick," "What?", "Give it some stick!"
- Ode to Sobriety: "The Banging In Your Head"
- Record Producer: Tony Ashton of Ashton Gardner And Dyke produced "Rockney", "Don't Give A Monkeys" and "Live At Abbey Road" for EMI. After this, and for the Rockney line of albums, they started producing their own material again. There's a noted change in sound.
- Red Oni, Blue Oni: Chas is the bubbly talker and Dave is the humbly walker.
- Self-Backing Vocalist: In studio they multi-tracked their own voices to create a layered sound, and most notably in the verses, which remains pretty unique.
- Serious Business: Chas & Dave are nearly always remembered as a "novelty" band with reasons for this including "Gertcha", "Sideboard Song", lyrical content and the style of musical arrangement. However, Chas Hodges, who had played with Jerry Lee Lewis and Heads Hands And Feet amongst others, and Dave Peacock, who had played with Magna Carta and Dave Edmunds amongst others, are clearly very competent musicians and songwriters.
- Step Up to the Microphone: Dave Peacock on "Strummin'", (parts of) "Beer Belly", "Wallop" (2nd and 4th verses) amongst others.
- Vocal Tag Team: Perhaps one of the most well known examples, and especially in regards to "Rabbit", their layered vocal arrangements are unique.
