Cancer survivor Chas Hodges made a triumphant return to the stage on Friday night (30.06.17) as Chas and Dave performed at Barclaycard presents British Summertime at Hyde Park.
The 73-year-old singer was diagnosed with cancer of the esophagus earlier this year and after having an operation to remove the tumour he recently completed his chemotherapy and radiotherapy sessions.
Chas’ illness meant that he and his musical partner Dave Peacock had to cancel a series of concerts but they made their comeback at the London music festival to rapturous applause.
Around 5,000 fans crammed around the Summer Stage to watch the duo, and before they played first song ‘Gertcha’ Chas said: "This is where it all started for me and Dave in 1977 – it’s ‘Gertcha’!"
The pair then played ‘London Girls’ and ran through all of their greatest hits including ‘Snooker Loopy’ and ‘Margate’ – which featured in the 1989 ‘Only Fools & Horses’ episode ‘The Jolly Boys’ Outing’.
Fan favourite ‘Rabbit’ prompted a mass singalong and after performing ‘Ain’t No Pleasing You’, Chas and Dave returned to play ‘The Sideboard Song’ as an encore.
Speaking exclusively to BANG Showbiz ahead of the concert – which was in support of headliner Phil Collins – Chas revealed he’s feeling "fit" after his cancer battle and is ready to get back on the road and gig again.
He exclusively told BANG Showbiz: "I got a nice message from all the doctors and nurses wishing me luck for the gig, which was lovely of them. They were great with me and I only suffered minor side effects, it was nowhere near as bad as I thought it would be. I stayed positive, I mean no one knows how they’re gonna feel when you get told, ‘I’m afraid you’ve got cancer,’ but after five or ten minutes of letting it sink in I just thought to myself I’ve caught it quick, I’ve got top doctors looking after me so I’ll just get on with my life and do what I’m told. I didn’t feel down about it, I didn’t wake up with a great big weight on my shoulders. All we did was reschedule the gigs because they would have clashed with my hospital treatments, but I still played my piano every day and now I’m raring to go again, I feel fit. We’re going to perform all the rescheduled gigs and keep going."
BST Hyde Park continues with Green Day headlining the festival on Saturday night (01.07.17) and fans can go to Bst-hydepark.com to purchase tickets.
Chas Hodges makes triumphant return to the stage
