Quite fittingly scheduled for the day before St George’s Day, this most English of dynamic duos had the fans queuing around the block for this leg of their final farewell tour. Split into two sets, the first half focused on the songs they sang in their pre-fame days. A mix of Cockney boozer rocking boogie and music hall saucery, most of the songs were not dissimilar to the hits that came in the 80’s. A rocking cover of Benny Spellman’s ‘Lipstick Traces’ was pure New Orleans and, bizarrely, sat comfortably next to Harry Champion’s ‘End Of My Old Cigar’. This slice of risqué end-of-the-pier frippery was followed by an early Chas effort in which he reminisced about his North London childhood.

Things warmed up considerably with Dave stepping up for a rare lead vocal while Chas hammered on the ivories on ‘The Shape I’m In’. This really showed the piano skills he learned while playing bass for Jerry Lee Lewis. The set finished with ‘Gertcha’ that showed why a seated show was not the best idea for the boozy mockney lads who’d had a bit too much sun and beer. It was all good-natured but the seats should have been removed for the second half.

Back from the bar, the Geezers and Gels were well up for a right old knees up but only, it seemed, for the songs they knew. The great ‘arms around your mate’s shoulder sing along’ ‘London Girls’ turned everyone into booming pissed-up ‘you’re my best mate, you are’ Cockneys and we all agreed that you could stick your Costa Brava in favour of ‘Margate’. An authentic old-school ‘My Blue Heaven’ was a breath of fresh air after the novelties and The Killer’s ‘Breathless’ really saw Chas showcasing his finger work. It was rather disturbing that so many people knew the words to ‘Snooker Loopy’ and a lame attempt at a stage invasion didn’t detract from the fun of ‘The Sideboard Song’. A big nod must go to the lone security guy at the front who kept his cool when a more zealous type would have lost his rag. It all went mental for ‘Rabbit’ and the show ended perfectly with ‘Ain’t No Pleasing You’. Dave’s parting “See you soon” could mean this may be the first of many farewell tours.

A great night that would have taken first prize for booziest crowd of the year had I not caught the end of the Fish Brothers gig at The Rose Hill. Now there’s an audience who know how to put it away.

Chas ‘n’ Dave
Komedia
Friday 22nd April 2011

Words by Steve Clements