Chas and Dave singer Chas Hodges has died, a tweet from the musical duo’s Twitter account has announced.
The musician passed away in his sleep on Saturday morning after suffering organ failure. The 74-year-old had recently undergone successful treatment for oesophageal cancer.
The statement issued on Saturday afternoon reads: “It is with tremendous sadness that we announce the passing of our very own Chas Hodges.
“Despite receiving successful treatment for oesophageal cancer recently, Chas suffered organ failure and passed away peacefully in his sleep in the early hours of this morning.”
Chas and Dave were known for their lively ‘knees up’ music - or rockney as it became known.
Chas, along with his bandmate Dave Peacock, rose to fame in the 1970s, scoring a string of chart hits including ‘Rabbit’, ‘Gertcha’ and ‘Snooker Loopy’.
They also performed four FA Cup final songs with Tottenham Hotspur FC including ‘Glory Glory Tottenham Hotspur/Ossie’s Dream’ in 1981 and ‘Tottenham Tottenham’ in 1982.
Legend has it that they were offered the chance to record the theme song for ‘Only Fools And Horses’ but turned it down as they were busy promoting their biggest hit ‘Ain’t No Pleasing You’ in Australia.
The duo released their first album of new material in over three decades earlier this year. ‘A Little Bit of Us’ included a track that addressed Chas’s cancer diagnosis.
At the time of release, Chas said: “This is our first Chas & Dave-produced album for over thirty years. Tell you what, though, we ain’t waiting another 30 years before we do the next one. The older you get, it seems time goes quicker.
“Yet as soon as we got in the studio it seemed like yesterday that we were producing our last album. My mum used to say the same thing in 1960: ‘30 years ago I was 17 and it seems like yesterday.’ ‘How can 30 years ago seem like yesterday?’ says I, slightly mockingly. ‘Well it bloody well does’, says mum, getting the deserved last word, and that’s that.”
Tributes have already begun to pour in for the star...
As recently as July, the duo played to a sold-out crowd at London’s BST festival, where they were one of the support acts for headliner Eric Clapton.
Chas is survived by his wife Joan and two children Nik and Kate.
Watch Chas and dave perform ‘Rabbit’ in the video below...