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The Review - MUSIC - grooves with RóISíN GADELRAB
Published: 18 June 2009

All that Chas: Let’s all go loopy for good sing-along!

PREVIEW - CHAS n DAVE
Proud

IT’S my totally favourite night out, bar none, and even after years and years of following Chas and Dave around Britain for a proper sing-song, I still get shivers when I know they are about to step on stage.
This Monday the trio – legendary drummer Micky Burt is the ’n’ – fire up their amps and snap up the piano lid at the Proud Gallery, and if you have yet to see them play live, forget any preconceptions you may have, any prejudices about gimmick hits Snooky Loopy or Spurs FA Cup triumphs, and check out the finest rock ’n’ roll band gigging today.
There are a variety of reasons I can make this bold statement: firstly, there is the sheer longevity of the trio’s professional careers. All have been playing since they were teenagers in the 50s and so they know their way round their instruments. Chas is north London’s answer to Fats Domino.
Secondly, they are super songsmiths and are genuine chroniclers of social history – their tune That’s What I Like is a litany of 20th-century pastimes.
They open their gigs with their old-style rock ’n’ roll number I Wonder In Whose Arms You Are Tonight?, a simple song of jilted love sung in a music hall style – but it sums up what’s in store.
You are also bound to hear their riposte to the Beach Boys’ praising of Californian women: “London girls are the best in the world – and there ain’t no doubt about it – if you can’t find a girls from London Town, you are better off doing without.”
But, above all, as well as their concerts being a workout for the vocal chords and the dancing shoes, Chas ’n’ Dave are protectors of a unique London musical heritage, and to hear them live is like taking a trip through a magical musical time machine.
DAN CARRIER

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