BIOGRAPHY
Chas was born in Glasgow, Scotland and moved to Camberley, Surrey, when he was a child. As a teenager, he taught himself the banjo and began corresponding with blues artists, including Josh White. He also joined a local Dixieland jazz group. By 1955, he had moved to London and began playing with the Crane River Jazz Band. He formed a small skiffle group, which busked and performed in coffee bars and jazz clubs in Soho. Winning a major talent contest, organised by Radio Luxembourg.
In late 1956, whilst recording the song "Freight Train" – written by folk blues singer Elizabeth Cotten, studio owner Bill Varley suggested they should add a female singer and as a result, folk singer Nancy Whiskey was invited to join the Chas McDevitt Skiffle Group, and they re-recorded the song with her vocals.
The record became a hit in the UK in 1957 at the height of the skiffle boom, reaching Number 5 in the UK Singles Chart.
In the United States, the song was covered by Rusty Draper, who had the bigger hit. Nevertheless, McDevitt's group appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show, their record became a million seller, and their success led them to tour with acts such as Slim Whitman and Frankie Lymon & The Teenagers.
They also replaced Jerry Lee Lewis on his ill-fated 1958 tour of the UK. The Chas McDevitt Skiffle Group was the only British skiffle group, other than Lonnie Donegan's, to achieve international success.
Although “Freight Train” was the biggest hit, Chas and his band had a string of record releases over the years, including “Cotton Song”, “Greenback Dollar”, “Facing the Rain”, “Sing Sing Sing” and “Johnny O”.
The Chas McDevitt Skiffle group disbanded around 1959. He then formed a duo with Shirley Douglas until the mid-1970s.
Since then, the band reformed and has toured in theatres and festivals worldwide, including the Kihveli Soikoon Festival in Finland.
He has numerous TV appearances over the years and also appeared in the film “Tommy Steele Story” / “Rock around the World”
Recently, Chas appeared on the BBC Television show, Never Mind The Buzzcocks.
Chas was King Rat in 2003 and 2004.
He has released a book “Skiffle, The Definitive Inside Story”, and it is available on Amazon.
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