"Gertcha" is a song from

Chas & Dave Chas & Dave (often billed as Chas 'n' Dave) were an English pop rock duo, formed in London by Chas Hodges and Dave Peacock (musician), Dave Peacock. They were most notable as creators and performers of a musical style labelled ''rockney'' (a p ...

's 1979 album ''Don't Give a Monkey's'', which was released as a

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

in May 1979 and entered the UK Singles Chart at No. 67. The song stayed in the charts for 8 weeks and peaked at number No. 20 on 30 June 1979. The song was used as the music behind a notable television commercial for

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Bitter.

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. According to

Chas Hodges Charles Nicholas Hodges (28 December 1943 – 22 September 2018) was an English musician and singer. He was the lead vocalist, pianist and guitarist of the musical duo Chas & Dave, whose most successful singles include "Rabbit" (1980) and " Ai ...

, 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". 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. The song was first written in 1972 or 1973. 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. 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. 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 ''Top of the Pops'' (''TOTP'') is a British record chart television programme, made by the BBC and broadcast weekly between 1January 1964 and 30 July 2006. The programme was the world's longest-running weekly music show. For most of its histo ...

'', the BBC producer demanded that they not sing the word "

cowson "Gertcha" is a song from Chas & Dave's 1979 album ''Don't Give a Monkey's'', which was released as a single (music), single in May 1979 and entered the UK Singles Chart at No. 67. The song stayed in the charts for 8 weeks and peaked at number No. ...

", an old-fashioned swear word meaning "

son of a bitch In the English language, ''bitch'' () as a slang term is a pejorative for a person, usually a woman. When applied to a woman or girl, it means someone who is belligerent, unreasonable, malicious, controlling, aggressive, or dominant. When app ...

". 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), but only after multiple takes as they kept forgetting not to sing it.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gertcha 1979 singles Novelty songs Chas & Dave songs 1979 songs EMI Records singles

Background

Performance

See also

References