335 Hello Chas and Dave* - Strummin' / I'm In Trouble

(*  with  Rockney )

Chart  entered : 11  November  1978

Chart  peak : 52

Number  of  hits : 10 ( plus  4  with  Tottenham  Hotspur  FC )

Well  now, almost  a  dozen  years  on  from  his  sordid  demise  you  wouldn't  have  thought  one  of  Joe  Meek's  acolytes  would  be  just  embarking  on  a  run  of  hits.

Charles  Hodges  was  born  in  1943. His  father  committed  suicide  when  he  was  3  and  his  mother  was  a  working  pianist. He  was  inspired  by  Lonnie  Donegan   and  Jerry  Lee  Lewis   to  learn  the  guitar  and  piano  respectively. In  1960  he  started  out  as  a  professional  musician  and  a  year  later  joined  The  Outlaws, the  backing  band  for  Mike  Berry  ( not  Heinz  as  the  film  Telstar  made  out  )  as  a  bassist. He  played  on  Berry's  three  hits  and  on  the  two  instrumental  hits  they  had  without  Berry  in  1961, "Swingin  Low"  and  "Ambush". Both  sound  like  Duane  Eddy  tunes  given  the  usual  sonic  treatment  from  Joe;  the  latter  tune  is  bookended  by  a  maelstrom  of  gunshots  and  shrieking   horses.  Chas  often  helped  to  translate  Joe's  ideas  into  musical  notation. Despite  Ritchie  Blackmore  joining  in  1963  they  couldn't  keep  the  hits  coming  and  earned  their  corn  as  a  pick-up  band  for  visiting  American  artists  like  Gene  Vincent  and  Chas's  idol  Jerry  Lee  Lewis.

When  The  Outlaws  hung  up  their  guns  in  1965  Chas  drifted  out  of  Meek's  orbit  , joining  Cliff  Bennett  and  the  Rebel  Rousers. Chas  joined  in  time  to  tour  as  support  to  the  Beatles  in  Gemany  and  Japan  and  play  on  their  biggest  hit, the  cover  of  "Got  To  Get  You  Into  My  Life" in  1966.  Two  years  later  the  rest  of  the  band  dumped  Bennett  and  released  their  one  single  without  him  "Should  I"  , a  raucous  R  &  B  number  which  went  nowhere. They  changed  their  name  to  the  Roy  Young  Band   to  no  real  effect  and  in  December  1969  Chas  and  drummer  Mick  Burt  left  to  form  a  new  band  Black  Claw.

Chas  wanted  to  switch  back  to  guitar  so  a  new  bassist  was  found  in  Dave  Peacock . Dave  was  born  in  1945  and  had  a  similar  background  to  Chas. They'd  first  met  in  1963  and  Dave  had  been  in  Cliff  Bennett  and  the  Rebel  Rousers  earlier  in  their  career.  Black  Claw  didn't  last  long  , releasing  just  one  single  on  Bell  "Across  The  Great  Divide"  which  I  haven't  heard.

Chas  then  hooked  up  with  talented  guitarist   Albert  Lee  in  Heads  Hands and  Feet.  They  achieved  the  distinction  of  being  the  first  band  on  The  Old  Grey  Whistle  Test  playing  their  then-current  single  "Warming  Up  The  Band"  in  1971. The  band   blended  country  and  blues  in  a  similar  way  to  Little  Feat  and  produced  four  albums  in  total  ( though  their  first  wasn't  released  until  1996 ) .  Chas  did  his  fair  share  of  the  vocal  duties  in  the  band  and  it  was  while  on  tour  in  America  that  he  claims  to  have  had  his  musical  epiphany, a  feeling  that  singing  in  an  American  accent  was  wrong  and  he  should  make  music  that  reflected  his  roots. He  got  his  chance  when  Heads  Hands  and  Feet  split  up  in  December  1972.

Chas  got  back  in  touch  with  Dave  and  sold  him  his  new  ideas. Mick  Burt  was  with  them  for  the  duration  but  as  he  didn't  contribute  to  the  songwriting  he  wasn't  included  in  the  band  name.   After  backing  Teresa  Brewer  on  a  re-recording  of  her  hit  "Bo  Weevil"  under  the  name  Oily  Rags,   Chas  and  Dave  started  playing  on  the  fringes  of  the  pub  rock  scene  in  1975 , eschewing  the  usual  venues  in  favour  of  pubs  which  had  larger  number  of  older  drinkers.  Their  music , which  they   christened  "Rockney",   was  a  blend  of  music  hall  singalong   and  pre-Beatles  rock  and  roll,  as  calculated  to  tap  into  the   nostalgia   market  as  Max  Bygraves  although  they  were  writing  new  songs  rather  than  rocking  up  Any  Old  Iron. Dressing  in  flat  caps  and  braces  would  soon  attract  the  criticism  that  they  were  "Professional  Cockneys".

They   started  recording  for the  small  Retreat  label  owned  by  top  session  guitarist  Big  Jim  Sullivan  that  same  year.  Their  first  single  "Old  Dog  And  Me "  in  May  1975  is  an  unhurried  piano  tune  sung  by  Dave  and  taking  the  point  of  view  of  an  older   guy  sat  in  his  garden  watching  the  day  go  by.  It  does  strike  me  that  we're  not  too  far  away  from  Parklife-era  Blur  here. The  follow-up  "I  Am  A  Rocker"    is  a  boogie  tune  somewhere  between  Status  Quo  and  Mott  the  Hoople.  Their  LP  "One  Fing  And  Anuvver"  got  some  support  from  John  Peel. I  haven't  heard  their  third  and  last  Retreat  single  "Old  Time  Song"  but  I'm  guessing  the  title  is  fairly  indicative.  That  was  actually  the  last  release  on  Retreat  which  folded  in  1976  leaving  them  without  a  label.

They  were  picked  up  by  EMI  in  1978  and  this  was  their  first  release  for  the  label. I'm  not  sure  what  the  "with  Rockney"  credit  was  trying  to  say. The  single  was  produced  by  Tony  Ashton  ( presumably  recovered  from  his  tumble ) and  he  appeared  with  them  when  they  did  "Strummin" on  Top  of  the  Pops.  The  song  is  basically  a  rewrite  of  Lonnie  Donegan's  Talking  Guitar  Blues  with  Dave  talking  his  way  through  an  account  of  his  guitar  playing  days  through  to making  a  record. It's  untypical  in  being  set  to  a  country  rock  backing  without  a  piano  on  the  track. "I'm  In  Trouble" is  a  dialogue  between  two  blokes  procrastinating  their  way  through  to  last  orders  despite  phone  calls  from  the  missus. It's more  what  you'd  expect  being  set  to  Chas's  rolling  bar-room  piano. Maybe  it's  because  I'm  not  a  Londoner  that  both  sides  leave  me  totally  cold; it  may  well  be  100%  authentic  in  representing  working  class  culture  at  the  time  but  it  has  no  appeal  for  me  at  all.