Arctic Monkeys influenced by Chas and Dave?

Chas and Dave hope they influenced Arctic Monkeys to sing in their regional accent.

The London duo are famed for singing in cockney voices and using rhyming slang in their songs, and pianist Chas Hodges hopes this has influenced younger bands - such as the North English group - to be proud to incorporate their roots into their tracks.

He told the Norwich Evening News newspaper: "You can hear from my voice I'm not putting any of it on. The idea of singing like this came when I was on tour in America and singing with an American accent.

"I felt a fraud and so came back to England and met with Dave with the idea of songs in my own accent. I love someone like the Arctic Monkeys who do the same with a Sheffield accent. Maybe they're taking a leaf out of our book."

The 'Gertcha' group - completed by David Peacock - are currently playing their final tour together, but aren't sad as their records are already proving to have a lasting legacy.

Chas added: "The beauty of it is, there's always the records, which will always be around. There was a little coincidence yesterday - my wife told me a friend of hers was speaking about a funeral she'd been to, and as they played the fellow out they were playing 'The Sideboard Song 'by Chas and Dave. That's the great thing, the songs are not just made for the moment, they're made forever."