Gertcha

"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]

For the word, see Gertcha at Wiktionary.
"Gertcha"
Single by Chas & Dave
from the album Don't Give a Monkey's
ReleasedMay 1979
StudioPortland Studios
GenreNovelty
Length3:50
LabelEMI
Songwriter(s)Chas & Dave
Chas & Dave singles chronology
"Strummin'"
(1978)		 "Gertcha"
(1979)		 "The Sideboard Song"
(1979)

Background

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!" or "Fuck off!" 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.

Performance

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,[10] but only after multiple takes as they kept forgetting not to sing it.[5]

See also

References
  1. "The Official Charts Company - Gertcha by Chas And Dave Search". The Official Charts Company. 10 August 2013.
  2. "1979-06-30 Top 40 Official UK Singles Archive". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 6 August 2013.
  3. Fletcher, Winston (January 17, 2006). "Obituary: John Webster". London: The Guardian. Retrieved 2008-06-27.
  4. "Gifted Chas loved to keep it simple". Daily Express. 23 September 2018. Retrieved 25 September 2018.
  5. Hodges, Chas (October 2009). "Chapter 22: Bob England and 'Gertcha!'". Chas and Dave: All About Us. ISBN 9781857828269.
  6. Hodges, Chas (October 2009). "Chapter 20: First Record Deal". Chas and Dave: All About Us. ISBN 9781857828269.
  7. Rees, Jasper (23 September 2018). "theartsdesk Q&A: Chas and Dave". theartsdesk.
  8. Clarke, Donald (1998). The Penguin encyclopedia of popular music. Penguin Books. p. 239.
  9. "Rockney geezers". The Guardian. 20 June 2005. Retrieved 25 September 2018.
  10. "Top of the Pops - The Story of 1979". Top of the Pops. 2019-12-23. BBC Television. Retrieved 26 December 2019.
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