My coast: Chas & Dave

Cockney duo Chas & Dave immortalised the British seaside with their song 'Margate'. Chas Hodges of the band talks shrimps and the Southeast coast. By Kate Langrish

'I grew up in Edmonton, north London, so Southend was our nearest resort for day trips. My brother and I would do all the normal things boys do at the beach - swimming, making sandcastles, rockpooling and just messing about.

 

'I love eating seafood - cockles, jellied eels and whelks. Southend was where I first got my taste for them as a boy. I was always more of a winkles fan and my brother liked shrimps. But later I grew to like shrimps and he grew to like winkles.

 

'The first time I went away for more than a day was down at Jaywick, near Clacton.

 

'We stayed in a chalet there. The year before, they'd had huge floods on Canvey Island, and I remember thepeople who owned the chalet had put all the chairs and furniture on top of the tables in case there was another flood. It must have been around 1953.

 

'Margate is pronounced "Margit" where I'm from.

 

'I actually knew Southend better but we chose Margate for the song because of commercial reasons, really. We were doing an advert for Courage Best Bitter about going down to Margate, so we used that to give it an extra plug on the telly.

 

'It was easy to write "Margate"; I just picked out things I could remember from family holidays.

 

'Like, my mum would say, "Don't forget to bring home some shells for Nan" - things like that.

 

'We do a lot of touring, right round the coast, with the band.

 

'Twenty years ago, when the kids were young, we'd take them with us and we'd all enjoy the seaside during the day. We loved Brighton, Hastings and Eastbourne. Nowadays, we don't get out to the beaches so much when we tour, which is a shame. But now I've got grandkids who come to see us play, so hopefully we can enjoy them again.

 

'Our audiences are changing. We get more youngsters these days and they see us as musicians more than entertainers.

 

'They come up and say, "You're a great piano player", whereas, in the early days, people didn't notice that. Pete Doherty [of Babyshambles] says songs like "Margate" and "Gertcha" inspired him to play the guitar. We've played with him a few times - he's a lovely chap.

 

'The seaside is something very special. Every year my wife Joan and I go to East Sussex and walk along the beach. I don't think these resorts will ever disappear, as people like to be beside the sea.

 

'I always take my writing book wherever I go.

 

'Recently we were staying at the Palace Hotel in Southend. I sat on the balcony, looking over the sea, and wrote a song. It's about my love of rain - not unusual on the British coast.'

 

For Chas & Dave's tour dates, visit chasndave.com. 'Chas and Dave - All About Us' by Chas Hodges (John Blake Publishing, £18.99) is out now.

 

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