Exploring Ian Dury, The Blockheads & HIT ME WITH YOUR RHYTHM STICK | New British Canon

[@TrashTheory]

So what's your favourite Ian Dury song? Comment down below! Trash Theory playlist - Spotify: tinyurl.com/yxp32pjf Apple Music: tinyurl.com/2p83px9m Deezer: tinyurl.com/y2mdp8h2 Also if you want to help support the channel, here's my patreon link: patreon.com/trashtheory

[@electrolinks]

Reasons to Be Cheerful, Part 3 is a standout. Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll, My old man... I always learn something new from your well researched videos. Thanks and Cor Blimey.

[@GrahamMilkdrop]

It has to be 'Reasons to Be Cheerful, Part 3. '.... where else would you get lyrics like: 'Dominica camels... All other mammals and equal votes...'! and a shoutout to Rico Rodriguez in the same song?

[@daemonnice]

too many to name

[@dambrooks7578]

Billericay Dickie, a fascinating story about the Essex Boy mentality, of course being born in Essex and being a male doesn't influence my choice at all 😇

[@dambrooks7578]

I really should have said Plaistow Patricia shouldn't I...?

[@meboppie]

One piece of trivia is that Ian’s funeral was paid for by his label mate at Stiff Records, Kirsty MacColl (who I also adore). Nine months later she was killed in a careless boating accident in Cozumel. She died saving her oldest son.

[@janinebedfordl]

At the risk of sounding exactly like the old fart that I am, I'm so glad I grew up at a time when the pop singles chart was full of such diverse music / artists. Ian Dury - a huge talent and a fascinating man

[@LividImp]

My wife and I say this to each other all the time. I feel bad for the kids that grew up in the last 30ish years. So much of the music is so bland and lifeless, and that goes a long way to explain why the top song in the world right now is from 1985.

[@frangarcia7774]

I assure you there's a lot of great stuff coming out every year... It's only harder to find

[@janinebedfordl]

@@frangarcia7774 Exactly and as a result my youngest son has little interest in music in general and what he does listen to is mostly old stuff that he's picked up on through his older brother's collection. It used to be all around you

[@LividImp]

@@frangarcia7774 There is still some great stuff, but the shear volume and variety is just not the same. It took me decades to catch up with all the music I wanted in the 80s. The big difference now is that it is super easy to hear music from halfway around the world. In the 80s I would have never guessed that I'd be mostly listening to bands from places like Turkey, Spain, or New Zealand.

[@TheOnlyCathyCat]

the charts is STILL full of diverse music......boomers, man, I swear they get high off their own farts.

[@iainjohnson1235]

worth remembering that his song 'Spasticus Autsticus' was banned at the time by the BBC. But used at the opening of the Paralaympics in London 2012. I'm sure he would have enjoyed that!

[@V8AmericanMuscleCar]

Great song! ❤

[@rockymaldonado7758]

Coolest thing ever

[@antschiari8000]

The Blockheads are hugely underrated as musicians!!!

[@rickjones4133]

Truth.

[@sd3457]

Ian couldn't have been Ian, without such a fantastically tight and awesome band behind him. I never got to see the Blockheads, but I've seen Norman Watt-Roy a few times with Wilko and he is for my money the most underrated bassist ever.

[@decairn]

Super tight band, they always amaze me when I sit and listen.

[@geraldfriend256]

They’re unreal

[@bruffie]

Best rhythm section ever. Norman was astonishing.

[@cogsnbanjo]

Seriously, Ian Dury and the Blockheads was the best live act I ever saw. So much energy and humour. He was exhausted at the end of the gig - he gave it everything.

[@pcno2832]

1:28 Gene Vincent kept performing not only after his 1955 motorcycle accident, but even after his body was wrecked further in the Wiltshire crash that killed Eddie Cochran. As his career waned, he developed a habit of pointing guns around recklessly and in 1968 he even took a few shots at Gary Glitter. For better or worse, he missed.

[@Vinyladdict95]

Definitely for worse. Gary Glitter is trash

[@kieranmclaughlin8920]

Thankyou. #legend 👊

[@marsh443]

Too bad he missed! Tkx PC

[@philsurtees]

He probably would have been a better shot if not for that plane crash, dammit!

[@benpotaka5893]

That's a shame he didn't ice that nonce

[@simoncoker3180]

Thank you. Always loved IDATB, Thanks for expanding my knowledge.

[@plasticsoundwavecult]

My dad was in the USAF and our family were stationed in England. I still remember when “Hit Me…” was in the charts and watching it on TotP. 1978 was a wonderful year to hear all of that new music.

[@Spectrescup]

The difference between chart music in the US and the UK between about 78 and 82 was enormous. You picked a good time to be here.

[@kevincross9206]

I think Ian is often overlooked when thinking about the influential people in British music. I saw the Blockheads at a local venue a few years back, and they blew me away, being a would be bassist, Norman is a legend!

[@martinmcwilliams]

Meet Ian Dury years ago in Belfast such a delightful guy he was everything you wanted him to be.

[@zyxxy]

Ian was a moody geezer, bit of a sulky but overall a top bloke. He's sorely missed.

[@markofsaltburn]

You were lucky you caught him on a good day 😀

[@kieranmclaughlin8920]

Excellent. 👏🙂

[@NewFalconerRecords]

The new wave era was a remarkably open time for artists in their 30s to suddenly be cutting-edge rock artists (which would have been unthinkable in earlier times). People such as Dury himself, Debbie Harry, Lemmy, Andy Summers of the Police and Dave Edmunds all had a new lease on their careers.

[@triffidkiller1234]

You can add Charlie Harper, Hugh Cornwell, Jet Black and Dave Greenfield.

[@NewFalconerRecords]

@@triffidkiller1234 Indeed!

[@dingdongism]

I don’t think Lemmy’s relevance had anything to do with being in the new wave era, other than coincidence. How is his success related in any way to new wave?

[@kieranmclaughlin8920]

@@dingdongism Hey Doug... em... as all musicians are... Lemmy was a total muso. He loved all types of music. Musos do, Doug. Stay cool, bro. 👊

[@blackmore4]

@@dingdongism All the punks I knew loved Motorhead. They were one of the few metal bands that still seemed cool in that era. Probably the only one come to think of it.

[@robbiem1961]

I'm an old git now, but was a youngster in the late 70s early 80s, it has to be said that MR DURY is probably my hero, along with John Lydon, my 24 year old son has grown up listening to These artist/LP's/songs and he rates them as well: bloody brilliant

[@robbiem1961]

@kyfaydfsoab whether you like it or not, but old age IS COMING TO YOU, one day at a time

[@jonnyfalimarcos]

The funny thing for me is that although he was the man who put cockney on the world stage his band reflected the whole of London life, Jankel was Jewish, Watt Roy was Asian, Charley Charles was black, a real cockney mix of all the people in the shit together, and as the video explains their musical influences were deep and varied, and completely original in their reworking of jazz, funk, soul and rock riffs. I loved them!

[@chasetower6773]

Ian is still Much loved in the US.

[@rudetuesday]

My favorite Ian Dury song is Reasons to Be Cheerful, Pt. 3. The combination of things I knew upon first listen and the incredibly puzzling and intriguing stuff said in a foreign accent fascinated me enough to play the song over and over again. Trying to figure out what all the things were before the internet existed was a big challenge. I think I became a fan through sheer effort.

[@ronfriedman8740]

My reply was Reasons as well ...while I never got to see the Blockheads, it was a dance favorite for sure.

[@marsh443]

What an insult, Drury' voice was the best! That deep clear rasp is stellar & can't be duplicated, ever. To this day, i go wild over Ian's music & miss him madly. RIP luv, you left us far too soon, there was so much more for you to create. Rock on!

[@AutPen38]

I used to think Ian Dury's voice was unique, but then I discovered his son Baxter Dury (the kid on the front of "New Boots") sounds almost identical. Baxter delivers his vocals in similar way too, at least on the records of his from about 2010. Well worth checking out on Spotify.

[@marsh443]

@@AutPen38 OMG, tkx 4 the heads up. Rock on & live well Baxter D👍

[@Maldoror200]

@marsh443..Hey marsh.., I Love You, for that Beautiful Comment/ Declaration, to Ian Dury..Truly Beautifully spoken, and Clearly Sincere.., Righteous 🎸!!, Love, K

[@stephenryan7698]

Well done good job, have to say Ian was the real father of Punk and I was a Punk in 1976 what a great time the best Punk band I saw was Poly Styrene of X Ray Spex.

[@simplesimon5739]

Makes me realise how lucky I was to be a teenager and live with such great musicians.

[@freddysquirenaranjo4859]

In my late fifties now, probably like you and yes, we were very lucky.... to hear and see these great bands!!!!

[@greyguy.960]

This channel is a music lovers' delight .

[@kevinparker461]

Years ago i remember Elton John being on the radio & saying Ian Dury had some of the best musicians of the time in the Block heads, souded right to me!.

[@Frip36]

So he's like an English Captain Beefheart?

[@TheBobbymcd]

met Ian when i was a roadie at the glasgow apollo...i thought him and the band were the roadies for the blockheads as they looked so unshaven and wearing long coats..kinda cool looking roadies with htese great London geezer accents. I particularly got on really well with the head roadie...so, after speaking to Ian for quite some time ( my fellow mates and roadies were strangely quiet) i asked him, 'so are this mob any good!?' Ian's smile got even bigger as one of my mates said ' bobby ffsake, that IS the band! one of the nicest people i will ever meet in my life....god bless you Ian.

[@craigfoulkes]

I'm off to see the block heads on Friday night. The third time I've seen them. They are a great band even now. I would have loved to have seen them in their pomp with Ian at the front of the band.

[@camerondodge2070]

Even though a lot of acts like his have been kicked out of the punk pantheon for not being 'truly punk', I will always say that the greatest punk rocker was Ian Dury. Shame that punk had to be nailed down to a specific sound instead of the wide ranging movement it was. And a shame that more people in the States don't know about Dury and the Blockheads.

[@geraldfriend256]

In Austin Texas US A they got quite a bit of airplay on the aor stations mid 70s on

[@camerondodge2070]

@@geraldfriend256 Yeah, they got some decent regional play in some spaces, but the majority of people didn't know them. Heck, a lot of people over here still don't know them to this day. It's to the extent that you'd think the Blockheads, and others, had been written out of history. Of course, the change of punk in the late 70's didn't help any. Went from a wide ranging movement of many sounds to a specific sound and look, and if you didn't conform you were out. Because of that, acts that didn't fit in were forgotten about, and aren't brought up in the conversation.

[@johannbogason1662]

The first punks were probably The Kinks. Rest is history... ;)

[@DUNKIN_DEAN]

I remember hearing some of New Boots…in NYC. I really enjoyed it. I used to pour over the pages of NME or Trouser Press, looking for info on him and his band. I was totally blown away by its followup, Do It Yourself, with the wallpaper cover art. My all-time favorite Dury song was (and still is) “Inbetweenies”. Cockney accent aside, I could never understand why Ian Dury wasn’t bigger here in the U.S. I miss Lord Upminster all the time.

[@Qlyphy]

After a bloody busy week at work, a trash theory video is a great start to the weekend, much appreciation from a 70's child :-)

[@kevintyerman1906]

As an Australian I have a number of times been surprised to learn, via Trash Theory, that British bands that I thought were alternative turned out to be mainstream in Britain (eg: Echo and the Bunnymen). This time my surprise was that Sex and Drugs and Rock and Roll didn't get radio airplay in Britain, as it got decent airplay here in Australia (although by Wikipedia it didn't chart here - Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick made number 2).

[@kieranmclaughlin8920]

Well cool, bro. 👊 Kieran, from Glasgow.

[@AutPen38]

Britain was going through a bit of a puritanical phase where we didn't like any mention of sex and drugs or swearing. It was quite controversial when people found out that "Hit Me" was basically a euphemism for sex. It was also a bit shocking that the b-side was called something like "There ain't half been some clever bastards". Britain was a country that was terrified of punks and the Sex Pistols were being prosecuted for having the word "Bollocks" on their album sleeve. Daytime radio was very anodyne, but the youngsters were getting some controversial artists in the charts, and sometimes their parents quite liked the tunes when the bands appeared on Top of the Pops. A lot of it was "noise" though, as mums across the nation just wanted to hear Cliff Richard.

[@reginaldside4575]

@@AutPen38 Also Dury had soaked up so much working class diction. Following 'There ain't half been some clever bastards' with the response 'Lucky bleeders, lucky bleeders' was just spot on.

[@ampersand2001]

I don't have enough superlatives for your work. I just fucking love it. All of it. Thank you for spreading music knowledge in an accessible and interesting way. Even as a hardcore music nerd I always learn something from your videos. 🖖🖖🖖

[@bacht4799]

He is one of the reason why KZbin is too tolerant besides the garbage.. it’s such a great work he does and we very thankful for it .. 😎

[@austintrousdale2397]

An upload by TT is appointment viewing 👏💯

[@johnpresnell]

Agreed!

[@SebastianGrantElKiva]

This is pure love.

[@cattycakes64]

Hugely influential, hugely talented and incredibly funny. Ian and the lads set my small suburban dance and life on fire. I still play their songs and smile everytime I do.

[@robertmyers5269]

I just watched the 'Sex and Drugs and Rock and Roll' movie. Came to youtube to get a little more Dury and stumbled on this. Great video, could be a bonus track for the movie.

[@johnanthonycafe2993]

That’s how you do it blending different styles.

[@paulgmarriott]

As an early Costello fan, I went along to the Stiff tour in Birmingham - in my red shoes, as I recall - yet was impressed by the unique, eccentric stage persona and physical stance of Dury, whom I'd never seen nor heard of before. It was only later that I learned of his unfortunate tangle with Polio and how that contributed to that stance. Top geezer, gawd bless 'im.

[@danneumann3274]

I am going to see elvis in august. 2nd row center seats.

[@kieranmclaughlin8920]

Well cool. 👊

[@markcandlin2635]

I was privileged to see them live at crystal palace bowl on "Red Kens" alternative Charles and Diana's marriage day. It was awesome and i think Spirit played before them i seem to remember.

[@ruangrant4147]

Brilliant as always. Would love to see you do something about XTC. Never thought they got the credit they deserved for how influential they were and they were effectively new wave's Lennon and McCartney.

[@kieranmclaughlin8920]

Bloody hell. They weren't bad. Not the same as Ian Dury though. Stay cool. 👊

[@KoenraadWeiss]

I first thought you meant the drug

[@Frip36]

i like that xtc song where the singer starts yelling like a madman.

[@TrickyNinjaProds50]

Now world famous former Alternative station WHFS 102.3 - later 99.1 on Washington DC/Maryland/Virginia airwaves would host Dr Demento radio broadcasts. It would be where I first heard of the genius of lyricist Ian Dury and guitarist/keyboardist Chaz Jankel. "Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll" was a killer single back then. This was the beginning of my love affair of this man and his crew of compadres. I'm still listening forty some years later. Folks say we Yanks don't like anything with an accent (possibly except a Southern US one). The BRITISH accent was part of my appeal to Ian and The Blockheads - THIS STUFF ISN'T FAKE B.S." And anyone that has come from the UK since hasn't had to sing in a FAKE US accent to be able to make a song and for it to be a popular one. Granted, Dury or the Blockheads weren't the only artists pushing this . The Sex Pistols and artists like Elvis Costello and Kate Bush were pushing for stuff like this, too. But when I first heard the single "Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll" and had to cram because of words I heard with accents in the song, I knew this group was on point. They made you FEEL where they came from, and where they were coming from within a song.

[@CheGenasim]

Wonderfull work on this video, thank you!

[@ETBrenner]

Billericay Dickie was actually the first of his songs I ever heard - even though I'm in the USA, I happened to be living in Boston at the time, which had some awesome FM radio stations that were on top of the punk rock thing from the gitgo. And I fell in love with the song, despite or even because of all the Britishisms - but most of all because of Drury's wonderful anarchic music-hall delivery, as he takes his working-stiff protagonist from drunken bawdy cheek to drunken weepy pathos and back.

[@luxford60]

His 1981 single Spasticus Autisticus, written as a counter to he saw as the patronising nature of the International Year of the Disabled, was banned by broadcasters at the time but a version was performed in the opening ceremony of the 2012 Paralympics.

[@jonhelmer8591]

I never knew that tune was banned back in the day.

[@arthurmcgonnell1179]

i can still remember going to school as a 6 yr old , the day after watching Rhythm stick was performed on TOTP & the whole class was going mad hitting each other with anything stick like! ..Top Magician ! x

[@davidhoward3376]

I was very lucky to see Ian and The Blockheads perform at the Old Waldorf in San Francisco.....opening for Lou Reed..2 nights in a row...March 21 & 22 1978!! I still have the ticket stubs...Good Memories!!

[@AdrianDunevein]

Great documentary but i would have loved to hear you talking about "aint half been some clever bastards" !

[@davebell3684]

Rat trap, hit me and heart of glass! No wonder I was glued to top of the pops and the sunday radio chart countdown as a kid.

[@bernardtonge5518]

Saw them play the Olympic Ballroom in Dublin, late 70's. Probably the best gig ever.

[@NathanWind99]

Reasons To Be Cheerful, Pt 3 is great, it's just Ian name-checking all his favorite things. Years ago I saw a clip from I think a benefit concert for Ian, where Saffron from Republica sang Mash It Up Harry, it seems to have disappeared from the internet but I'd love to see it again.

[@gethappycyclingcampingoutdoors]

Seen Ian Dury & the Blockheads in Australia round 1978/79, one of the best concerts I've ever seen.

[@allanrussack2844]

I’m so glad to see this documentary on Ian Dury. I love his words and funky tight bands!

[@corkpop8401]

Ian Dury and the Blockheads toured the SUNY colleges in upstate New York in 1978. He was very gracious and glad to be there. He opened for Lou Reed. It was a hard act to follow. Dury was throwing to the audience little badges each with one word of SDRR. Great performer

[@stevejohnson1231]

Very interesting. I saw The Who in 1973 at Kings Hall Manchester and always thought later on it must have been Ian Dury backing them up but didn't know at the time because nobody paid any attention to them. You just confirmed it for me, thanks!

[@DrDooDah]

I was lucky enough to see Ian & the Blockheads in 1999, on their final tour. Fantastic night. Incredible band.

[@imogenx9145]

Watching this I was surprised by how many of these songs I know but had never realised were Ian Dury and the Blockheads which is weird because he sounds so unique. I've been in a bubble of Cool for Cats and I Wanna Be Straight my whole life.

[@ThreadBomb]

Cool for Cats isn't by Dury! It's Squeeze copying Dury.

[@imogenx9145]

@@ThreadBomb oh thanks for the info, that makes sense!

[@stepheng8779]

@@ThreadBomb Copying?? 😂

[@reginaldside4575]

@@ThreadBomb They were South London. They wouldn't have been copying.

[@bobbenson6825]

So happy you did this, Ian Dury was one of my absolute favorites during the 70's punk explosion. So unique and funny, with wonderful songs. I was able to get Melody Maker in my college town and he was one of the best I learned about through it.

[@neonwind]

Really well covered. But one simple factor was, someone singing a local dialect, it was, exotic. That was so new, strange really, after all those years.

[@TomMouat]

Great video as always. What a legend Ian was. I never realised how much he changed music

[@Phreestyle1]

I had the pleasure of seeing Ian and the Blockheads when they toured Australia in the late '70s. They were at our concert hall and the place was only half full, but it is still one of the best gigs I have ever seen. Great musos and a great energy.

[@PelleSpokes]

The geat thing about this channel is that I discover some of the most interesting stories about music history. Stories you'd never have heard of if they weren't still being told.

[@lincbond442]

Trash Theory does the best music documentaries on KZbin. The information is very well articulated and I always learn so much after watching these videos. Thanks!!!

[@gerryedwards9738]

Great film! Possibly one of the best funk bands to have come out of the UK. And the lyrics! Poetry you can dance to.

[@petermanley7525]

My favourite song is ‘Sink my boats’ (and every other song Ian and the boys wrote!)

[@papalazarou6674]

It was the first record I owned, and it still sounds great to this day I've told my children I want this played at my funeral

[@ocevicheband502]

Love the ol ' Blockheads always! KIWI IN Oz

[@--pbrstreetgang--]

I heard "Hit me with your Rhythm Stick" on a NY FM station on the way home from high school the year it came out. It blew me away, and then I didn't hear it again for years. Nobody played it over here - because he had lost his US distribution. A huge million selling hit in the UK, but radio silence across the pond.

[@billbennett9309]

Love this, thanks for making it. Been re-listening to a lot of Ian Dury recently. My 14YO enby child is very hard to impress with my crappy old Gen X tunes, but even they give props to "Sex & Drugs & Rock'n'Roll" - surely the funkiest, most musically accomplished of punk songs to ever trouble the charts.

[@SyntaxErr19287]

Enby :/

[@trentonbaird8956]

I was driving to work this morning, listening to the Stranglers, and thought, “This would be a great subject for ‘New British Canon’.” And then I learned that they supported Ian, and had a nice chuckle. Thanks for sharing.

[@kadiummusic]

A true genius! By any measure Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick and Reasons To Be Cheerful Pt.3 are two of the greatest pop songs every written, performed and produced, period!

[@bojohnbonham]

First single i ever bought at a car boot sale, aint half been some clever bastards on the B side. I cant tell you how important i think Ian and these exceptionally talented musicians are to British music! 'Probably got help from their mums who got help from their mums!'

[@barrypotter5751]

In my opinion the first British rap record was possibly sreet life by roxy music from 1973 don't get me wrong I still have a lot of respect for Ian dury and his music to this day he was the people's poet

[@SlackrUk]

Frightens me to think how young I was when I was listening to his music, but it's stuck with me all these years :) The older I get the more I appreciate it :)

[@MultiAmbivalent]

I love this series and the concept behind it. I admire how you are almost archiving musicians and songs which warrant further examination. For a lot of artists there is LITERALLY nothing more to be said about them. They have been studied and analysed from every possible angle that any new book or journal article is merely a re-hash. I'm referring to the Beatles, Dylan, Bowie, Springsteen, Pink Floyd as examples. Any new book written about them is merely being done to sell books, not to explore un-chartered territory. Ian Dury is one who deserves more exposure and I applaud you for this. I have found myself writing drafts in my head for similar Australian songs and bands deserving of more discussion. For many outside Australia (as well as in) Australian bands consist of AC/DC, Nick Cave, The Bee Gees (Brit-Australian, I know, but Barry Gibb still identifies as such), INXS. But there are many artists who have done incredible work and don't even get recognised here. So you might see rip-off of this at some point ha ha. But well done! Keep up the great work.

[@roxy_muso]

What a treat to see this drop on my homepage this evening! Huge fan of the Blockheads and the Kilburn & the High Roads album, Dury's work has such wit and a funny endearing - and enDuring - quality, and he's a fascinating character having transcended incredibly difficult circumstances growing up disabled in the '50s. He also studied art under Peter Blake, and in turn taught Clive Langer who went on to form Deaf School (a wonderful band from that era who still remain largely unknown despite having a very unique sound and approach) and produce Elvis Costello (small world) among others. 'Upminster Kid' is one of my all-time favourite songs, thanks for giving the Kilburns and Blockheads their due recognition. Great video that didn't disappoint, look forward to who'll you cover next in this series.

[@jean_con]

New Boots and Panties is a transcendent record for me, I adore Ian Dury, thank you for covering him!

[@benjammin8184]

The man was a rare gem. Technically brilliant and a poet.

[@johnpresnell]

Because I follow your channel I watched this dutifully, without knowing much about the act. I was so knocked-out that I watched it a couple more times before buying an album and the 2010 biopic. Nothing more fun than discovering great music!

[@erictk869]

Very good. Love Ian Dury.

[@jemwand2530]

I thoroughly enjoyed this video, I felt that it was well researched, succinct, yet covered the major aspects of a much loved British icon, who is so sadly overlooked today.

[@jamesgrover2005]

Thanks, born 1970 i grew up on this madness 💕

[@janescott7605]

Really enjoyed this but disappointed that you didn't mention Drury's contribution to Disability Pride "Spasticus-Autisticus" - a brilliantly honest and confronting song about the way disabled people were seen at the time - and things haven't changed that much

[@donaldanderson6604]

I saw the Blockheads at Leeds in 1980. One of the tightest bands I've ever heard with Ian Dury channelling his inner Noel Coward. Amazing.

[@CdEmm50]

I saw them in the Portsmouth Guildhall, it was 1979 I believe. I joined the RAF the next summer, in 1980.

[@bingbong7316]

I remember the breath of fresh air that arrived as the antidote to musicians disappearing up their own chuffs in waves of self-indulgent pomp. Great energy, and "New Boots" was breathtaking to my ears. A great time to be young, we were spoiled. Edit: Clever Trevor.

[@fasthracing]

Clever bastard

[@laurieharper1526]

Thanks for this. Always had a soft spot for My Old Man and Clever Trever, off New Boots & Panties. I was living in Peckham at the time and had a pal who was an engineer at the Workhouse studio on the Old Kent Road. We were at his flat one evening and he played us rough mixes of some of the songs on NB&P before it came out. We were blown away by them.

[@MichaelDembinski]

Marvellous. I was fortunate enough to have caught the Stiff Live Stiffs tour in late 1977 - hadn't seen Ian Dury before; he opened the set with Billericay Dickie and I was immediately entranced by this eclectic mixture of fairground Cockney wideboy and rock'n'roll. Incidentally, Sex and Drugs and Rock and Roll - nothing more than the phrase 'Wine, Women and Song' in a late 20th century context.

[@brokl26]

Everything with Ian Dury is fantastic. I may be a bit off my normal empathetic rocker, but I truly dig Spasticus Autisticus. I enjoy the fact Dury used the song as an anthem to speak out against the International Year of Disabled Persons. Dury didn’t like the condescending message of the nature of the year. Being one of the coolest cats of his generation, he wrote a tune. And a a damn fine one at that.

[@briteness]

The only thing I ever knew of Ian Dury when I was a kid was a live version of Hit Me on a charity benefit album. I liked the song, but he was just completely off the radar for most of us in the US. Seems like his music and story have aged well. Thank you for this.

[@stephenwalker2924]

I could be the catalyst that sparks the revolution. I could be an inmate in a long-term institution. I could lean to wild extremes. I could do or die. I could yawn and be withdrawn and watch them gallop by... What a waste. Ian Dury 'What a Waste' (1978)

[@jxy566]

This is a brilliant vid! Bloody love Ian Dury thanks in no small part to my Dad who was a big fan, still playing his earlier stuff in the 80s when I grew up. Still remember the Christmas he slipped on "New Boots and Panties" when my rather straight-laced Grandparents were over and claimed he had forgot about the sweary intro to "Plaistow Patricia" whilst clearly delighted with the shock and outrage it caused in his in-laws!

[@JackJack-sv3ip]

Sadly missed and never replaced, I miss his, on the ball and frank lyrics...."what a jolly bad show If all you ever do is business you don't like" is so true to life... I saw him play a festival at Wollaton hall in Nottingham in summer 1998, he was near the end of his life but his perfomance is still one of my favorites, thank you Ian.

[@TimScottSuiGeneris]

I've only recently became familiar with Ian Dury in 2017, what a glorious discovery his group was. The Blockheads were an excellent assembly of musicians, thanks for this video.

[@jaschul]

Bless you for this one. What a great band. I wish they'd "made it" here in the US. What other band sounded like the Blockheads in the 70s? Not a one.

[@robertoc2485]

Great documentary. I enjoyed it! Thank you 👍👌♥️

[@grippindik]

So glad I got to see him and The Blockheads in Brisbane when they toured Australia in the early 80's, one of the best shows I've ever been to and Its so sad that he left us so early,, thanks for the music and the memories mate.

[@TrulyMadlyShallowly]

I never before heard the echoes of Sex and Drugs and Rock 'n Roll before in Blur but my goodness, how could I have misses that

[@euge1210]

Congrats for this excelent video! Will share with all my friends woho also love ID & The Blockheads!

[@ashleybarker937]

very well put together, thank you

[@Stepherner]

being a fourteen year old kid (living in Germany) at the time the song was played on the radio, i bought the single in a record store from my pocket money. three years later i got my first money to buy a record player (until then, i got a cassette player). it was my first single to play and with every play i recognized how complex this masterpiece was. after playing it again & again, even my mum sung the rhyme in the kitchen (she never learned english). I kept the original single until today. Thank you, Ian.

[@taniacummings9207]

I've still got mine. It was one of the few records I brought with me to Australia in '86. Still give it a whirl occasionally.

[@weehudyy]

Saw them at the old Capitol Theatre in Sydney , the Blockheads were c'est fantastique ... Dury was wonderful , but Charlie Charles and Norman Watt-Roy were a revelation live . A great great live act .

[@johnmeehan1124]

I loved this video. Got all his albums and saw him back in the day in Finsbury Park. Sadly miss his wonderful sense of humour!!

[@dluap569161]

I was lucky to see Ian Dury & the Blockheads at the Civic Theatre, Newcastle, Australia in the early 1980s. I wasn't a big fan at the time, but they blew me away. Still one of the best gigs I've sever seen.

[@illustratievormgevinglivet5770]

he is/was brilliant, a real original artist, great legacy

[@ItchyBoyEnt]

Can you do one on Mark E Smith?

[@telophasemusic]

I second this-

[@Oldtanktapper]

Definitely, an excellent choice.

[@terrytube5247]

Thanks for these great videos. They fill in the gaps of my middle-aged music knowledge, but they are also great for showing to kids who've heard an old song, like it, but want to consume the music as a meal, not as a snack. I'm in Canada, my kid is 19, and he is all-in for rap and hip hop -- as kids are these days. But, through me, he grew up with BB King, Ray Charles, soul, funk, funk-based disco, and a lot of new wave-era stuff (Gary Numan is a huge fave for my kid -- even the recent industrial stuff that I find harsh). Yet...my kid has asked me to buy him doo-wop, the Ventures, the Shadows...music from before my time, of which I had none on disc. We recently watched an hour-long doc about the Ventures! And we're going to watch a bunch of your videos once baseball season is over. So thanks again for this wonderful education.

[@patrickholt2270]

You're classing them in the punk movement, but that was only a co-incidental relationship. They really came out of Pub Rock, which began before punk, and was related very much to the Mod revival. Hence the relationship with Stiff Records and Nick Lowe. The Pub Rockers were rebelling against hippy and pychedelia and flower power folk, back into R&B and basic rock n' roll. That's why the Blockheads sound combined soul and funk elements with rock n' roll. It was Pub Rock because this was going on outside of the record lables, on a largely informal basis in the London pubs.