"Gertcha" | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Single by Chas & Dave | ||||
from the album Don't Give a Monkey's | ||||
Released | May 1979 | |||
Studio | Portland Studios | |||
Genre | Novelty | |||
Length | 3:50 | |||
Label | EMI | |||
Songwriter(s) | Chas & Dave | |||
Chas & Dave singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
Music video | ||||
"Gertcha" on YouTube |
"Gertcha" is a song from Chas & Dave's 1979 album Don't Give a Monkey's, which was released as a single in May 1979 and entered the UK Singles Chart at No. 67. [1] The song stayed in the charts for 8 weeks [1] and peaked at number No. 20 on 30 June 1979. [2] The song was used as the music behind a notable television commercial for Courage Bitter. [3]
The song is based around an expletive traditionally said in the East End of London when someone is in disbelief of something, or wants to give a mild threat. [4] According to Chas Hodges, the word is a more polite way of saying "Get out of it you little bastard!" where "get out of it you" becomes contracted to "gertcha". [5] The song was originally titled "Woortcha!" in the first album of Chas & Dave released in 1975, One Fing 'n' Anuvver, but they decided to use "Gertcha" as the title for the single as it was the more commonly used version of the word. [6]
The song was first written in 1972 or 1973. [7] An advertising executive Dave Trott heard the duo performed "Woortcha!" in a pub in the East End in 1978, and decided to use the song for a series of adverts for Courage bitter. [8] The original version in One Fing 'n' Anuvver was slower, and Chas & Dave recorded a short version at a faster tempo so that it may fit into the adverts. The advert was released in early 1979 and became popular, the record label EMI then requested a faster version of the song so that it may be released as a single. The duo re-recorded the song at Portland Studios in London, and the faster version was released as "Gertcha" early May 1979. [5] The song is included in the album Don't Give a Monkey's.
When Chas & Dave performed the song on Top of the Pops , the BBC producer demanded that they not sing the word "cowson", an old-fashioned swear word meaning "son of a bitch". [9] [10] The duo obliged by omitting the word, leaving a brief pause instead (although they did sing it once, in the first instance at the end of the first verse), [10] but only after multiple takes as they kept forgetting not to sing it. [5]
The Adverts were an English punk band who formed in 1976 and broke up in late 1979. They were one of the first punk bands to enjoy chart success in the UK; their 1977 single "Gary Gilmore's Eyes" reached No. 18 in the UK Singles Chart. The Virgin Encyclopedia of 70s Music described bassist Gaye Advert as the "first female punk star".
Chas & Dave were an English pop rock duo, formed in London by Chas Hodges and Dave Peacock.
Charles Nicholas Hodges was an English musician and singer who was the lead vocalist of musical duo Chas & Dave.
David Victor Peacock is an English musician and bass guitarist. He was brought up in Ponders End and the Freezywater areas of Enfield. Peacock is best known as having been one half of the English musical duo Chas & Dave between 1974 and the death of Chas Hodges in 2018.
"My Name Is" is a song by American rapper Eminem from his second album The Slim Shady LP (1999). It is also the opening song and lead single of the album. The song samples British singer Labi Siffre's 1975 track "I Got The..." as a bass and guitar riff played by British pop rock duo Chas & Dave. The song was ranked at #26 on "VH1's 100 Greatest Songs of the '90s". "My Name Is" was also ranked #6 on Q Magazine's "1001 Best Songs Ever". "My Name Is" peaked at number 36 on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming Eminem's first top 40 hit there. Outside the United States, "My Name Is" peaked within the top ten of the charts in Iceland, New Zealand, Norway, Ireland, and United Kingdom.
"Alley Oop" is a song written and composed by Dallas Frazier in 1957. The song was inspired by the V. T. Hamlin-created comic strip of the same name.
"One Step Beyond" is a tune written by Jamaican ska singer Prince Buster as a B-side for his 1964 single "Al Capone". It was covered by British band Madness for their debut studio album of the same name (1979). Although Buster's version was mostly instrumental except for the song title shouted for a few times, the Madness version features a spoken intro by Chas Smash and a barely audible but insistent background chant of "here we go!". The spoken line, "Don't watch that, watch this", in the intro is from another Prince Buster song, "Scorcher" — and is also used at the start of Dave and Ansell Collins' "Funky Funky Reggae" — whilst the next line "This is a heavy heavy monster sound" is taken from another Dave and Ansell Collins song, "Monkey Spanner". The first of those also became a trademark during the early promos of MTV, where the video was in heavy rotation.
"Lollipop" is a pop song written by Julius Dixson and Beverly Ross in 1958. It was first recorded by the duo Ronald & Ruby, with Ross performing as "Ruby." It was covered more successfully by The Chordettes whose version reached No. 2 in the US, and The Mudlarks in the UK.
"Soul Man" is a 1967 song written and composed by Isaac Hayes and David Porter, first successful as a number 2 hit single by Atlantic Records soul duo Sam & Dave, which consisted of Samuel "Sam" Moore and David "Dave" Prater. In 2019, "Soul Man" was selected for preservation in the National Recording Registry as "culturally, historically, and aesthetically significant" by the Library of Congress. It was No. 463 in "Top 500 Greatest Songs of All Time" by Rolling Stone Magazine in 2010 and No. 458 in 2004.
"Everybody Needs Somebody to Love" is a song written by Bert Berns, Solomon Burke, and Jerry Wexler, and originally recorded by Burke under the production of Berns at Atlantic Records in 1964. Burke's version charted in 1964, but missed the US top 40, peaking at number 58.
"Rabbit" is a song by Chas & Dave from the album Don't Give a Monkey's, which was released as a single on 23 November 1980 and entered the UK Singles Chart at number 66. The song stayed in the charts for 8 weeks and peaked at number 8 on 17 January 1981. The song was used in a series of adverts for Courage Bitter.
"I Thank You" is a song written by David Porter and Isaac Hayes originally recorded by Sam & Dave, released in early 1968. The single was Sam & Dave's final release on Stax Records, reaching #9 on the Billboard Pop Singles chart and #4 on the R&B chart. Shortly after its release, Stax severed its distribution deal with Atlantic Records and Sam & Dave, who were actually signed to Atlantic and loaned out to Stax, began recording for Atlantic proper. The song begins with Sam's spoken introduction that goes: "I want everybody to get off your seat,/ And get your arms together,/ And your hands together,/ And give me some of that old soul clapping". First, Sam sings the refrain, plus the first verse, and the refrain, while Dave sings the second verse, the refrain, and the third verse, with both Sam and Dave sharing on the repeated "Thank Yous" portion. Following a brief instrumental, Sam sings the refrain, with Dave, joining him, on the Coda with the repeated "thank yous".
"Hold On, I'm Comin'" is a 1966 single recorded by soul duo Sam & Dave, issued on the Atlantic-distributed Stax label in 1966.
"Ossie's Dream " is a single by the English football team Tottenham Hotspur, released as a souvenir to commemorate the team reaching the 1981 FA Cup Final. It was written by Dave Peacock of Chas & Dave and produced by the duo. The song reached number 5 in the UK Singles Chart after Tottenham won the FA Cup that year. It is still frequently chanted by Spurs supporters during matches. The B-side of the single is "Glory, Glory, Tottenham Hotspur".
"Ain't No Pleasing You" is a song by Chas & Dave from the album Mustn't Grumble, which was released as a single on 5 March 1982 and entered the UK Singles Chart at No. 62. The song stayed in the charts for 11 weeks, peaking at No. 2 on 17 April 1982. It was also the duo's first and biggest hit in Ireland, peaking at No. 3 on the Irish Singles Chart in April 1982.
"Margate" is a song from the album Job Lot by Chas & Dave. It was released as a single on 11 July 1982 and entered the UK Singles Chart at number 67. The song stayed in the charts for 4 weeks and peaked at number 46 on 24 July 1982.
"Stars Over 45" is a song by Chas & Dave which was released as a single on 6 December 1981 and entered the UK Singles Chart at No. 59. The song stayed in the charts for 8 weeks and peaked at number No. 21 on 2 January 1982.
"The Sideboard Song" is a song by Chas & Dave from their album Don't Give a Monkey's, which was released as a single on 26 August 1979 and entered the UK Singles Chart at No. 66. The song stayed in the charts for three weeks and peaked at number No. 55 on 15 September 1979.
"Strummin'" is a song by Chas & Dave from the album Rockney, which was released as a single on 5 November 1978 and entered the UK Singles Chart at number 74. The song stayed in the charts for 3 weeks and peaked at number 52 on 25 November 1979.
"Cherry Pie" is a song written by Joe Josea and originally performed by Marvin & Johnny in 1954 as the B-side to their single "Tick Tock".