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Chas & Dave have split up, the duo have confirmed.

Singer and pianist Chas Hodges today confirmed that he and bassist Dave Peacock are going their separate ways, though he vowed to continue playing music on his own.

"Obviously it's sad. It's the end of an era but the start of another one - the show goes on," Hodges told the Daily Mail, adding that the death of Peacock's wife Sue in July was a contributing factor to the split.

"I still see Dave every week and he's coping, but I don't think he wanted to do the gigging any more. He has horses and loves driving them round his grounds and painting gypsy wagons, which he's very good at, so I don't think he'll miss the gigging."

Chas & Dave's agent Barry Collings said Peacock is retiring from the music business completely.

"Understandably Dave has taken his loss very badly and he hasn't the heart to continue gigging. With regret he has decided to retire from the music business," he said.

Both Hodges and Peacock began their careers as session musicians, playing on the likes of Labi Siffre's 'I Got The (Blues)', which Eminem later sampled heavily in his single 'My Name Is'.

In the 1970s they began to release their own songs and in 1979 achieved their first Top 20 hit in the UK singles chart, 'Gertcha'. 1982's 'Ain't No Pleasing You', released on their own Rockney label, reached Number Two in the charts and more hits followed, including 'Snooker Loopy' and 'Margate'.

The band also recorded several songs for Tottenham Hotspur, including the club's official FA Cup songs in 1981 and 1982.

The Libertines' Pete Doherty and Carl Barat were also massive fans of the band, with Doherty hailing 'Ain't No Pleasing You' as "the song that saved [my] life". In 2005, Doherty and Barat paid tribute to Chas & Dave by performing an impromptu rendition of their version of 'Harry Was A Champion' backstage at the NME Awards. Watch video of the performance by scrolling down now.

Speaking to NME.COM today (September 22), Barat paid tribute to Chas & Dave and revealed that he was saddened by their split, saying:

"I'm shocked to my socks. A cultural earthquake. Maybe they'll get on the reformation train. Seems to be the way of things, y'know?"

In recent years, Chas & Dave also played Glastonbury Festival, drawing huge crowds to see them at the Park Stage in 2007.

Peacock has been replaced for the moment by Darren Juniper, whose father first introduced Hodges and the bassist, reports the Telegraph. They will continue to tour under the name Chas And His Band, and the line-up will also feature longtime drummer Mick Burt.

Watch video footage of The Libertines covering Chas & Dave below.

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Date/Time	Venue	Town/City	Seetickets	Viagogo
Dec 08, 2012 19:00	Indigo2	Greenwich	Tickets not currently available.	Buy Chas & Dave Tickets from £110
Dec 08, 2012 19:30	Indigo2 At The O2	London	Buy Chas & Dave Tickets from £29	Buy Chas & Dave Tickets