Chas and Dave singer Chas Hodges has been given the all-clear from his doctor to perform at British Summer Time Hyde Park following radiotherapy.
The legendary duo – completed by Dave Peacock – will perform on June 30 in support of Phil Collins along with The New Power Generation, KC and the Sunshine Band and Cats in Space.
The 73-year-old singer was diagnosed with cancer of the oesophagus earlier this year and has been undergoing treatment, but he’s been advised that he doesn’t need to visit the doctors for the next three months.
He said: "I had five weeks of radiotherapy, five days a week, and saw the doctor on Tuesday and he said he doesn’t want to see me for three months – that’s when you know things are going alright."
The ‘Ain’t No Pleasing You’ hitmaker has been taking it easy and doing "gentle exercise" to keep fit.
On his road to recovery, he said: "They told me to try to get 20 minutes of gentle exercise every day, so I’ve still been playing the piano and going around the allotment every day, and cycling there.
"It’s kept me going, but I haven’t overdone it. I feel fit. There hasn’t been one day I haven’t been able to do that. There were a couple of days during the chemo where I was getting a bit sleepy. I would just have a 20 minute nap and that worked perfectly. It hasn’t really changed my life at all."
Chas had been suffering to swallow due to the effects of the radiotherapy, but has been taking painkillers to allow him to eat
Chas says taking a break from singing as made his voice "purer" and hopes it will hold out for Hyde Park.
He told the Daily Mirror newspaper: "My voice is actually a bit purer because I haven’t been singing – every week since I turned professional, I’ve performed two or three times every week. This is the longest break I’ve had since then! I hope my voice will sustain.
"We’re going straight in with Hyde Park. My voice is better than it was, surprisingly enough. But I wont overdo it on the first one, because its not gig fit."
Like most, Chas started to lose his curly locks due to chemo, but he wasn’t fazed by it and it is growing back anyway.
He said: "It didn’t bother me about my hair – I did lose my hair, but it’s coming back now. It’s about half an inch long – my beard stopped growing but it didn’t actually drop out."
Chas Hodges fit for British Summer Time Hyde Park
