Ian Dury
Punk Rock gave us a lot of things and personalities and one of those was Ian Dury. Sure he was in failed combo Kilburn & The Highroads, but it was highly unlikely that without Punk Rock he would never have had a second bite of the cherry and made it the way he did and an amazing talent would have lain unfulfilled. For this alone Punk needs a hefty pat on the back. Perceptions of Punk rock have of course narrowed since then to the angry noiseniks in punk uniform banging out a heavy metal din. Back in early 1977, when there weren’t many bands around, anyone remotely punk/attitude orientated was held closely to spiky haired punkers bosoms.
One of those was Ian Dury. As English as the white cliffs of Dover and an absolute 24 carat genius when combined with the Blockheads band. Wordsmith, raconteur and a mix of vaudeville, music hall, cockernee, pub rock, funk and punk. It gives me great pleasure to think that some angry little punker will go and listen to Dury expecting some noize after reading this and encounter the funky lilt of Sex, Drugs and Rock ‘n’ Roll or the majesty of Rhythm Stick.
Ian Dury passed away in 2000 but I can’t play the sublime New Boots & Panties without thinking “fuck this is as good as it gets!
“There ain’t half been some clever bastards” Ian! I hope none of them are “pissing in your pool” wherever you are!
Thanks to Ian Part Time for the feature
Though it took a while for the Blockheads to assemble into the act we would come to know and love, the roots of the next stage of Ian Dury’s career, one that would raise him firmly into the public eye, began to form with the addition of Chas Jankel to what was now Ian Dury and the Kilburns. This did not get off to the most auspicious start for what ended up being one of the most fertile partnerships in music: Dury thought that Jankel was just another hanger on appearing straight after the gig, not the proposed replacement for errant keyboardist Rod Melvin, and told him in no uncertain terms to “f**k off”!
However despite this sticky beginning, after the Kilburns finally dispersed, Chas and Ian began to make demos in the Summer of 1976 which would make up the bulk of the first Ian Dury solo LP. One which would be his biggest success and would finally bring him the fame and critical plaudits Kilburn and the High Roads had been denied. Dury was well aware that the Kilburns biggest failing had been not having the musical muscle to back up his smart word-play and the erratic nature of the band had been part of the reason why their records had never captured their live show successfully. Signing to Stiff seemed like a last chance saloon and one he could not afford to fluff. A bad omen was that the single proceeding it “Sex And Drugs And Rock N Roll”, though going on to be regarded as a classic, did not chart.
But now with Jankel in position as his musical foil, Davey Payne back in the fold and newcomers Norman Watt-Roy and Charley Charles making for an awesome rhythm section, Dury was well set to deliver finally. And with the “New Boots And Panties” album he did so with a record that still resonates over the years with a variety of styles and sounds and above all great song writing and performance. Dury was smart enough to see which way the winds was blowing and “Plaistow Patricia” and “Blackmail Mail” were as profane and exciting as the Punk bands whipping up a storm in the UK. But also there are many softer moments, including the touching “My Old Man” and the brilliant evocation of his hero “Sweet Gene Vincent”. It even begins with the horny and slightly creepy love song of “Wake Up And Make Love To Me”!
Soon after the Stiff tour was organised and featuring the now unbelievable line up of Ian Dury and the Blockheads (though the band name doesn‘t feature on “New Boots, the core that was in place were joined by guitarist Johnny Turnball and keyboardist Micky Gallagher, making up for Jankel who didn‘t make the tour bus, was back in the fold soon afterwards. The name Blockheads came about when drummer Charley was reading the lyrics to the song and blurted out that the way the “Blockheads” were attired in the song sounded just like the way he was dressed at the time), Elvis Costello and his brand new backing band the Attractions, Nick Lowe with a band featuring Dave Edmunds and new signing to Stiff, Wreckless Eric. This provided a key moment in Dury’s elevation: on the first night having noticed not too much reaction from the crowd, he stirred them up with what was to become his famous greeting “Oi, oi” and from then on it was plain sailing and the Blockheads were the success of the tour. Costello was miffed at this and all attempts to raise his game never really came off.
In October 1977 “New Boots” entered the charts and would stay there for a massive 90 weeks in total, making number five in the national charts. All that was missing now was a hit single and that duly arrived with “What A Waste” in April 1978. Better still, the next single would become one of the first “New Wave” chart-toppers. Ian Dury had hit the top, the most unlikely Pop Idol you could imagine, at the age of 36.
Early in 1979 the first genuine Ian Dury And The Blockheads LP arrived. “Do It Yourself” featured neither of the hit singles and was afforded a frosty critical reception, although it actually made number 2 in the charts. It’s still viewed by most as a far inferior follow-up to “New Boots”, which I find hard to believe personally. It might have less rough edges and the Blockheads smooth, funky sheen might be a bit over-powering for some, but it’s stuffed full of great songs and dry wit with a slightly dark touch like “This Is What We Find” and “Uneasy Sunny Day Hotsy Totsy”. Perhaps the journalists of the time felt that Dury’s time had been and gone and he couldn’t compete with the bright young Post Punk things.
Dury and the Blockheads came back fighting with “Reasons To be Cheerful (Part Three)” which was funkier, smarter and catchier than anything the would be Punk Funk gang could ever come up with. However, things were fragmenting and despite Ian’s image as a “diamond geezer” he was notoriously difficult to work with and Jankel for one had enough and left the band to go solo, feeling that his huge contribution to the Blockheads had been marginalised. He was replaced by Wilko Johnson for the uneven “Laughter” LP and although both album and accompanying single met with some success, soon Ian decided to go solo (again).
Mickey Gallagher Blockheads Keyboardist He was a fantastic frontman in front of a very professional musical unit,” Gallagher says. “He expounded violence, so the atmosphere at the gigs was full of testosterone. It was fantastic to be a part of that, but later on, when he’d had too much Guinness and Budweiser, the Devil would come out. He used to bring people down when they wanted to be celebrating. It was a decadent time, lots of sex and drugs coupled with an ultra-punk, fuck everything attitude. Stiff exploited that brilliantly – they were superb for the artist – although when they locked in with EMI they lost the creative playground. The changing atmosphere affected Ian more than us. At his peak he was a stimulating man, great to be around when he was on form. I liked him, but I never loved him. Classic Rock Feb 2008
What followed was some records of varying quality (“The Bus Drivers Prayer And Other Stories” probably being the best of his records without the Blockheads), acting on the small and large screens and even an ambitious but ultimately catastrophic shot at staging a musical “Apples”. Dury was a decent actor, but it could never get near his strengths as a musical performer and he never truly managed to break away from his past existence as a singer.
Eventually Dury and the Blockheads came back together to play some concerts raise money for an ailing Charley Charles who subsequently passed away. After a few live gigs, the band reformed on a more formal basis and produced the wonderful “Mr Love Pants” LP in 1997 which went back to the earlier sound of the band and captured it brilliantly with ease.
Ian, who had always struggled with his health, sadly passed away because of liver cancer on 27th March 2000, leaving an inspiring and original body of work that few could equal. The Blockheads continue to this day and offer fine performances of Ian’s material, often with his friend Derek the Draw supplying Dury-esque vocals.
I believe that Punk in the UK couldn’t have happened the way it did without Ian Dury. His influence on Johnny Rotten, the scene’s pivotal figure, whilst never having been officially acknowledged, I believe was substantial. Dury bought things back down to the street level years before Punk, whilst others were writing rock operas about faraway planets and pixies. He sang of rough kids, drug addicts, council estates and street life, but he was a world away from Lou Reed (who he fell out with on an ill starred US tour). There was no glamour, just the reality. Ian Dury and the Blockheads despite their style, attitude and inspiration, never really played Punk Rock. But then again, they didn’t have to.
If you’ve read the history you’ll know by now you won’t be getting yer standard sub Ramones thrash will you? What you’ll be getting is the essentially English wordsmithery and cockney delivery of Dury set against a shit hot band playing a combination of jazz, funk, rock, pub rock and yes punk.
Now I appreciate this may sound like a recipe for disaster but it works…trust me!! Dip in and enjoy.
Sex & Drugs & Rock’n’Roll / Razzle In My Pocket
(Stiff 1977)
Does it really get much better than this? A funky aggressive number with the most quotable title in history. The B side is an amusing ditty about porn mags!
What A Waste!/ Wake Up! (Stiff 1978)
Another jazzy funky number this time almost wistful as Dury ruminates on being in a band or what else he could have been before the furious headcharge at the end.
Reached No.9 in the charts.
Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick / There Ain’t Half Been Some Clever Bastards (Stiff 1978)
Arguably the pick of the singles combining Dury’s lyrical excellence and the Blockhead’s musical prowess with a fluid funky number and a double sax solo.
You try playing that bass line!! Rightfully this got to number one in the charts.
Reasons to be Cheerful, Part 3 / Common As Muck
(Stiff 1979)
The penultimate Chart hurrah sees the band now entering a kind of dancey/rap vein but done Dury style – the whole lyric is like one gigantic list! As good as anything they’ve ever done it once again shows off their versatility and Dury’s refusal to be typecast. I dare you not to dance it with smile on your face. It reached No.3 in the charts.
New Boots & Panties (Stiff 1977)
NME Book of Modern Music 1978 New Boots And Panties!! (references to the requisite Dr. Martens and a predilection for crotchless unmentionables) places Dury’s Cockney fixations-principally women; blockheads and his father, which covers just about everyone–and ambiguous characters like Clever Trever and Billericay Dickie in a seductive, unique rock environment.
Duty’s word-mongering, his facility with outrageous rhyme (‘hyena’ with ‘obscener’), is lent powerful persuasion when allied to music (particularly Chas Jankel’s) which is often as redolent of decrepit Music Hall as it is true to the spirit of rock and roll (Billericay Dickie, Razzle In My
Pocket, the Sex And Drugs And Rock And Roll anthem).
Struck down by polio when seven, Dury has such humour and strength of character that he would be a star if he were selling squashy tomatoes.
NME Review Roy Carr, 1.10.77
WHAT WE have in “New Boots And Panties!!” is a long overdue solo album from one of Britain’s most unique and uncompromising talents. If, through circumstances beyond his control, the “Handsome” album never fulfilled Dury’s potential with Kilburn & The Highroads then “New Boots And Panties!!” enables the singer to vindicate himself with a vengeance after two year’s silence.
It’s impossible to bag Ian Dury except to say that he has taken the essence of the Cockney music hall and utilised rock as a contemporary means of expression. On occasions Ray Davies has dallied with a similar approach, but Dury has none of the self-conscious pretensions that Davies exposed in his flawed Flash Harry caricature. Ian Dury feels no need to adopt a transatlantic rock voice to comply with his subject matter, preferring to deliver ribald and bittersweet monologues in the tone of voice he Was born with. Max Wall with a backbeat. Max Miller on mandies.
New Boots and Panties!!” is concerned with two aspects of tragi-comedy: The first side, a mixture of earthy erotica is interspersed with two reflective tributes in “Sweet Gene Vincent” and “My Old Man”, is offset by the second, itself almost entirely devoted to Dury’s more manic side. The album’s unqualified success owes as much to Dury’s performance as to the deftness with which Charley Charles (drums), Norman Watt-Roy (bass), Chaz Jankel (guitar, keyboards), Davey Payne (saxes), Edward Speight (guitar) and Geoff Castle (moog) interpret the mood of each song. Gentlemen, stand up and take a bow.
In recounting his sexual exploits, Duty deviates between the unashamed romanticism of being an early morning riser (!) on “Wake Up And Make Love With Me” with observations like: “You come awake me in a horny morning mood, and have a little wriggle in the naughty naked nude/Roll against my body, get me where you want me, what happens next is private, it’s also very rude!” By night, Duty favours a vaudervillian wham-bang-thank-you-ma’am approach of a public bar Casanova, winning the heart of a fair damsel. At the other extreme, “If I Was With A Woman” reveals a kamikaze approach to more serious ‘matters of the heart: “If I was with a woman, I’d often offer my indifference and make quite sure she never understood. If I was with a woman, she’d have to learn to cherish the purity and depth of my disdain”. I’d like to observe Duty and his label mate E. Costello comparing notes. As a matter of interest, Elvis is currently performing the Kilburn’s “Roadette” on live dates.
By their very nature, records of tribute are often nauseating. The only one that ever did any justice to an artist’s memory was Mike Berry’s “Tribute To Buddy Holly”. Ian Dury’s musical memorial to the late Gene Vincent is delivered with affection and accuracy. With freeze-frame lyrical economy, he portrays Vincent’s charisma with a time-stop chant of “White face-black shin-white socks-black shoes-black hair-white Stratbled white-died black “.
“My Old Man”, one assumes, is a poignant “all the best mate from your son,” celebration of Old Man Dury. “Clever Trevor” depicts a Dury stream, of consciousness word game set against a surreal fairground atmosphere of swirling moog scales, whilst his last three vignettes: “Blockheads”, “Plaistow Patricia” and “Blackmail Man” are prime-cut Brit-rock, each one faster and more psychotic than its predecessor.
Not since George Harrison’s “Piggies” has any one song numbered an unpleasant sector of society with as much venom as Dury’s “Blockheads”. While dementoid moog and sax play tag similiar to Eno and MacKay at their most inspired, Dury remains inconsolable in his tirade “You must have seen parties of blockheads with blotched and larded skin, blockheads with food particles in their teeth, what a horrible state they’re in. They’ve got womanly breasts and permo vests, shoes like dead pigs’ noses, cornflake packet jackets, catalogue trousers, a mouth that never closes”.
Stand up and be counted! “Plaistow Patricia” is an indictment of council estate conditions, the lure of Up West and the final degradation of strictly-kicks drug abuse. Finally, “Blackmail Man” is a garbled full-tilt primal cockney-slang screamer that leaves the listener unnerved.
I really don’t know if the public is ready for eccentricities of Ian Dury. Perhaps they never will be. Whether or not you buy “New Boots And Panties!!” at least make hearing the album a priority.
It’s your loss if you pass
Roy Carr, NME, 1.10.77
Do It Yourself (Stiff 1979)
Inevitably suffered from comparisons to ‘New Boots’ but as the review shows there was a lot still going for it.
“Look beyond the commonly-held image of Ian Dury and the Blockheads as riotous, sweary and irreverent, and you’ll find one of the tightest bands that ever trod a stage, and a frontman who wrote about the whole range of human emotion – not just Sex, Drugs and Rock and Roll.
“Do It Yourself” is more complex lyrically and musically than “New Boots and Panties”, but doesn’t suffer by comparison. “Inbetweenies” and “Sink My Boats” verge on introspective, but the vice-like funk of “Quiet”, the bravado of “Mischief” and the infectious energy of “Dance of the Screamers” make sure that the album isn’t downbeat at all. The band’s on top form throughout, and Ian’s lyrics are never less than thought-provoking. And in “Lullaby for Franci/es”, we’re given one of the finest album-closers ever.” Amazon – Shark Sandwich
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