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Chas and Dave the one and only Cockney Rockers! So sad that we have just lost Charles. Below is the tribute by the British Music Hall Society.
Chas’ wife Joan, his children, and Dave have been overwhelmed by the many thousands of messages of love and support and would like to thank everyone for those.
Fans of cockney musicians Chas and Dave were today left saddened by the news of Chas’ passing this morning at the age of 74, after a 52-year-long marriage to his loving wife Joan Hodges.
Joan was instrumental to the success of the band in the peak of their career in the 1980s and Chas has spoken about her behind-the-scenes role – not least because she assisted the inception of Chas and Dave, intentionally or not.
The band formed in the mid-1970s when Chas was still a bass player in the band The Outlaws and their first meeting came about because of Chas’ then-sweetheart and later life partner Joan.
Joan led a rather glamorous life before marrying one half of the cockney duo – in 1965 she left the UK to train in the Chicago Playboy Club to become one of the original six Playboy Bunny Girls.
When she returned to England the following year she began auditioning and training girls for the opening of the London Playboy Club in Park Lane.
During this time she was also chosen by Frank Sinatra to appear in his film The Naked Runner .
It wasn’t until October 1966 that Joan wed Chas Hodges, a day that would mark the start of a long loving relationship.
