Chas and Dave's Christmas Beano, Eventim Apollo, review: The duo's appeal is broader than ever

In support, the rolling back the years set by doo-wop's Dad's Army is a nice nod to the TV series they hosted in 1983

Chas and Dave (Splash News)

As the capacity audience throws itself into the rollicking ''Gertcha'', the duo's introductory hit which closes the first half of their Christmas show, it feels like London has shifted on its axis and the East End has shoved Hammersmith in the general direction of Heathrow and taken over the legendary West London venue. I can't believe me mincers, a Pearly King-wanna-be is wearing a gold lamé suit and a Christmas pudding bobble hat. Not to be outdone, the comedian Noel Fielding is sporting flashing antlers. And a party is waving a Leicester banner! Indeed, Chas & Dave's appeal is broader than ever, and has grown beyond the three generations of cockneys, and the football fans who can't quite muster the Lambeth Walk, to also include the hipsters who discovered them via The Libertines.

The duo take it all in their stride as they deliver sterling, history lesson covers of Lonnie Donegan, Clarence 'Frogman' Henry and the spiritual ''Dry Bones''. The very British boogie woogie meets the music hall style they forged after ditching the US singing accent in the mid-'70s, has proved incredibly enduring and justifies their standing in the pantheon of great London bands alongside Ian Dury & The Blockheads and Madness. Chas Hodges plays 'piana' solos worthy of the legendary rock'n'roller Jerry Lee Lewis whom he backed in the '60s. The hit-laden second half takes in ''Margate'', ''London Girls'' and ''Brother-In-Law'', as well as the ones we all know, and they turn the Apollo into a bierkeller holding a cockney knees-up. The ''VE Day Medley'' might make Angela Merkel and David Cameron cringe but everyone joins in the playful, inevitable closer ''The Sideboard Song (That's Where I Keep My Beer)''. Prosit!

In support, the rolling back the years set by doo-wop's Dad's Army – aka special guests Darts – is a nice nod to the TV series Chas & Dave hosted in 1983. The maniacal Den Hegarty, his three co-vocalists and the five musicians who make up Darts sound as fresh as when they reintroduced ''Daddy Cool'' and ''Duke Of Earl'' to the charts.