Chas and Dave star Dave Peacock has paid tribute to his bandmate Chas Hodges following the musician’s death on Saturday at the age of 74.
Dave hailed Chas “a fabulous musician and a fabulous friend” after the pair carved out a career spanning five decades.
“We were together 50 years. I am going to miss him so much,” Dave said.
“He would be singing or humming a tune when he was eating and I can tell you he was even singing when he was having chemotherapy. That was him.
“He was a fabulous musician and a fabulous friend. He was a music junkie because he couldn’t stop hitting the notes.
“Tonight I feel like I am in the twilight zone. I will miss him.”
Chas passed away in his sleep on Saturday morning after suffering organ failure. The 74-year-old had recently undergone successful treatment for oesophageal cancer.
A statement issued on the duo’s official Twitter page read: “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.
The duo 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 band 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.
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.