Essex
Motto of County Council: Essex Works. For a better quality of life
Geography
Status	Ceremonial and (smaller) non-metropolitan county
Origin	Historic
Region	East of England
Area - Total - Admin. council - Admin. area	Ranked 11th 3,670 km2 (1,420 sq mi) Ranked 11th 3,465 km2 (1,338 sq mi)
Admin HQ	Chelmsford
ISO 3166-2	GB-ESS
ONS code	22
NUTS 3	UKH33
Demography
Population - Total (2010 est.) - Density - Admin. council - Admin. pop.	Ranked 6th 1,737,900 474 /km2 (1,230 /sq mi) Ranked 2nd 1,412,900
Ethnicity	96.8% White 1.2% S. Asian
Politics
Essex County Council http://www.essex.gov.uk/
Executive	Conservative
Members of Parliament	David Amess (C) John Baron (C) Simon Burns (C) Douglas Carswell (C) Jackie Doyle-Price (C) James Duddridge (C) Mark Francois (C) Robert Halfon (C) Rebecca Harris (C) Alan Haselhurst (C) Bernard Jenkin (C) Eleanor Laing (C) Stephen Metcalfe (C) Brooks Newmark (C) Priti Patel (C) Eric Pickles (C) Bob Russell (LD) John Whittingdale (C)
Districts
Harlow Epping Forest Brentwood Basildon Castle Point Rochford Maldon Chelmsford Uttlesford Braintree Colchester Tendring Thurrock (Unitary) Southend-on-Sea (Unitary)

Essex ( /ˈɛsɨks/) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west. Essex County Council is the principal local authority for much of the county, sharing functions with twelve district councils. The county town is Chelmsford. The southern Essex boroughs of Thurrock and Southend-on-Sea are governed separately as unitary authorities. It was established in antiquity and formed the eastern portion of the Kingdom of Essex. Sections of the county closer to London are part of the Metropolitan Green Belt, which prohibits development. It is the location of the regionally significant Lakeside Shopping Centre and London Stansted Airport; and the new towns of Basildon and Harlow.

History[link]

The name Essex originates in the Anglo-Saxon period of the Early Middle Ages and has its root in the Old English Ēastseaxe (i.e. the "East Saxons"), the eastern kingdom of the Saxons. Originally (in 527 AD) it occupied territory to the north of the River Thames, incorporating all of what later became Middlesex and most of what later became Hertfordshire, though its territory was later restricted to lands east of the River Lea.^[1] Colchester in the north east of the county is Britain's oldest recorded town, dating back to before the Roman conquest, when it was known as Camulodunum and was sufficiently well-developed to have its own mint. Subsequently the Kingdom of Essex was subsumed into the Kingdom of England and Essex eventually became a county.

Essex County Council was formed in 1889. However the County Borough of West Ham and, from 1915, the County Borough of East Ham formed part of the county but were not under county council control.^[2] A few Essex parishes were transferred to other counties. In earlier times, parts were transferred to Hertfordshire near Bishops Stortford and Sawbridgeworth. At the time of the main changes around the turn of the 19th/20th centuries; parts of Helions Bumpstead and Sturmer were transferred to Haverhill Suffolk, Kedington and Ballingdon-with-Brundon both went to Suffolk, and Great Chishill, Little Chishill and Heydon to Cambridgeshire. Southend-on-Sea also formed a county borough from 1914 to 1974.^[3] Later still, part of Hadstock was transferred to Linton, Cambridgeshire, part of Ashdon to Bartlow, Cambridgeshire, part of Chrishall to Cambridgeshire, part of Great Horkesley to Nayland in Suffolk, and several other small territories were transferred to all of those three counties.

The boundary with Greater London was established in 1965 when East Ham and West Ham county boroughs and the Barking, Chingford, Dagenham, Hornchurch, Ilford, Leyton, Romford, Walthamstow and Wanstead and Woodford districts^[2] were transferred to form the London boroughs of Barking, Havering, Newham, Redbridge and Waltham Forest. Essex became part of the East of England Government Office Region in 1994 and was statistically counted as part of that region from 1999, having previously been part of the South East England region. In 1998, the boroughs of Southend-on-Sea and Thurrock were separated from the shire county of Essex becoming unitary boroughs.

The county of Essex is divided into a number of local government districts. They are Harlow, Epping Forest, Brentwood, Basildon, Castle Point, Rochford, Maldon, Chelmsford, Uttlesford, Braintree, Colchester, Tendring, Thurrock, and Southend-on-Sea.^[4] The last two boroughs are unitary authorities which form part of the county but are not administered by the county council.^[5] Essex Police also covers the two unitary authorities.^[6]

The county council meets at the County Hall, in Chelmsford. Before 1938, it regularly met in London near Moorgate, which had been more convenient than any place in the county. It currently has 75 elected councillors. Before 1965, the number of councillors reached over 100. The County Hall, which dates largely from the mid-1930s, and is decorated with fine artworks of that period, mostly the gift of the family who owned the textile firm, Courtaulds, was made a listed building in 2007.

Geography[link]

The plaza of the new town of Basildon

The highest point of the county of Essex is Chrishall Common near the village of Langley, close to the Hertfordshire border, which reaches 482 feet (147 m). The ceremonial county of Essex is bounded to the south by the River Thames and its estuary (a boundary shared with Kent); to the southwest by Greater London; to the west by Hertfordshire with the boundary largely defined by the River Lea and the Stort; to the northwest by Cambridgeshire; to the north by Suffolk, a boundary mainly defined by the River Stour; and to the east by the North Sea.

The pattern of settlement in the county is diverse. The Metropolitan Green Belt has effectively prevented the further sprawl of London into the county, although it contains the new towns of Basildon and Harlow, originally developed to resettle Londoners following the destruction of London housing in World War II but since much expanded. Epping Forest also acts as a protected barrier to the further spread of London. Because of its proximity to London and the economic magnetism which that city exerts, many of Essex's settlements, particularly those on or within driving distance of railway stations, function as dormitory towns or villages where London workers raise their families.

The village of Finchingfield in north Essex

Skyline of Southend-on-Sea

Part of the south east of the county, already containing the major population centres of Basildon, Southend and Thurrock, is within the Thames Gateway and designated for further development. Parts of the south west of the county such as Buckhurst Hill and Chigwell are contiguous with Greater London and are included in the Greater London Urban Area. A small part of the south west of the county (Sewardstone), is the only settlement outside Greater London to be covered by a postcode district of the London post town (E4 ). To the north of the green belt, with the exception of major towns such as Colchester and Chelmsford, the county is rural, with many small towns, villages and hamlets largely built in the traditional materials of timber and brick, with clay tile or thatched roofs.

Economy[link]

Industry is largely limited to the south of the county, with the majority of the land elsewhere being given over to agriculture. Harlow is a centre for electronics, science and pharmaceutical companies, while Chelmsford is the home of Marconi (now called telent plc and owned by Ericsson of Sweden since 2005), Basildon home to New Holland Agriculture's European headquarters and Brentwood home to the Ford Motor Company's European HQ. Loughton is home to a production facility for British and foreign banknotes. Chelmsford has been an important location for electronics companies since the industry was born, is also the location for a number of insurance and financial services organisations, and is the home of the soft drinks producer Britvic. Other businesses in the county are dominated by light engineering and the service sector. Colchester is a garrison town, and the local economy is helped by the Army's personnel living there. Basildon is the location of State Street Corporation's United Kingdom HQ International Financial Data Services, and remains heavily dependent on London for employment, due to its close proximity and direct transport routes. Southend-on-Sea is home to the Adventure Island theme park and is one of the few still growing British Seaside resorts, benefiting from direct, modern rail links from Fenchurch Street railway station and Liverpool Street station (placing housing in high demand, especially for financial services commuters), which thereby maintains the town's commercial and general economy.

Parts of Eastern Essex suffer from high levels of deprivation, with one of the most highly deprived wards being in Clacton.^[7] In the Indices of deprivation 2007, Jaywick was identified as the most deprived Lower Super Output Area in Southern England.^[8] Unemployment was estimated at 44% and many homes were found to severely lack basic amenities. The Brooklands and Grasslands area of Jaywick were found to be the third most deprived area in England; only Liverpool and Manchester rated higher. In contrast, however, South West Essex is a mostly affluent part of Eastern England, forming part of the London commuter belt. South West Essex has a large middle class and the area is widely known for its Independent schools. In 2008, The Daily Telegraph found Brentwood and Ingatestone to be the 19th and 14th richest towns in the UK respectively.^[9]

Transport[link]

London Stansted Airport, in the north west of the county

The main airport in Essex is London Stansted Airport, serving destinations in Europe and Asia. The Lib-Con coalition government formed in May 2010 has agreed to resist an additional runway at Stansted, so curtailing the operator's ambitions for expansion. London Southend Airport, once one of Britain's busiest airports, opened a new runway extension, terminal building and railway station in March 2012.^[10] The station is on the Shenfield to Southend Line, with a direct link to the capital. Currently the airport offers scheduled flights to Ireland, the Channel Islands and multiple destinations in Europe. There are several smaller airfields, some of which owe their origins to military bases built during World War I or World War II. These are popular for pleasure flights or flying lessons; examples include Clacton Airfield, Earls Colne Airfield, and Stapleford Aerodrome.

The Port of Tilbury is one of Britain's three major ports, while the port of Harwich links the county to the Hook of Holland and Esbjerg (a service to Cuxhaven Having discontinued in December 2005). Plans have been approved to build the UK's largest container terminal at Shell Haven in Thurrock and although opposed by the local authority and environmental and wildlife organisations, it now seems increasingly likely to be developed.^[11][12][13]

Queen Elizabeth II Bridge spanning the Thames from West Thurrock, Essex, to Dartford, Kent

Despite the existence of the Dartford Road Crossing to Dartford, Kent, across the Thames River, a ferry for pedestrians to Gravesend, Kent, still operates from Tilbury during limited daily hours, and ferries for pedestrians operate across some of Essex's rivers and estuaries during spring and summer. The M25 and M11 motorway both cross the county in the extreme south and west, linking those parts of the county with Kent, Hertfordshire and Cambridge. The A127 and A13 trunk roads are important radial routes connecting London and the M25 to the south of Essex. The A12 runs across the county from the south west to the north east and not only carries traffic within Essex but also traffic between London and Suffolk, east Norfolk and the ports of Felixstowe and Harwich.

There is an extensive public transport network. The main railway routes in Essex include two lines from the City of London to Southend-on-Sea, operated by c2c from Fenchurch Street railway station (including a route via Tilbury) and by Greater Anglia from Liverpool Street station; the Great Eastern Main Line from Liverpool Street connecting to Harwich and onwards into Suffolk and Norfolk; and the West Anglia Main Line from Liverpool Street linking to Stansted and onwards into Cambridgeshire. The Epping Forest district is served by the London Underground Central Line. The routes operated by Greater Anglia were formerly operated by National Express East Anglia and have been previously branded as 'one'. There are also a number of branch lines including the Sunshine Coast Line linking Colchester to the seaside resorts of Clacton-on-Sea and Walton-on-the-Naze via the picturesque towns of Wivenhoe and Great Bentley. The Crouch Valley Line, another branch line, links Wickford to a number of riverside communities via South Woodham Ferrers and Burnham-on-Crouch to Southminster.

South Essex Rapid Transit is a proposed public transport scheme which would provide a fast, reliable public transport service in, and between, Thurrock, Basildon and Southend.^[14]

Education[link]

Education in Essex is substantially provided by three authorities being Essex County Council and the two unitary authorities, Southend-on-Sea and Thurrock. In all there are some 90 state secondary schools provided by these authorities, the majority of which are comprehensive, although one in Uttlesford, two in Chelmsford, two in Colchester and four in Southend-on-Sea are selective. There are also various Independent Schools providing education in Essex.^[15][16]

The University of Essex, which was established in 1963, is located just outside Colchester, with two further campuses in Loughton and Southend-on-Sea. University Campus Suffolk, with a main campus in Ipswich and five centres in the counties of Norfolk and Suffolk, is a joint venture between University of Essex and University of East Anglia. Anglia Ruskin University was awarded university status in 1992 and has campuses in Chelmsford and Cambridge.

Culture[link]

Depiction of the first king of the East Saxons, Æscwine, his shield showing the three seaxes emblem attributed to him (from John Speed's 1611 Saxon Heptarchy).

The County's coat of arms comprises three Saxon seax knives (although looking rather more like scimitars) arranged on a red background; the three-seax device is also used as the official logo of Essex County Council having been granted as such in 1932.^[17] The emblem was attributed to Anglo-Saxon Essex in Early Modern historiography. The earliest reference the arms of the East Saxon kings was by Richard Verstegan, the author of A Restitution of Decayed Intelligence (Antwerp, 1605), claiming that "Erkenwyne king of the East-Saxons did beare for his armes, three [seaxes] argent, in a field gules". There is no earlier evidence substantiating Verstegan's claim, which is an anachronism for the Anglo-Saxon period seeing that heraldry only evolved in the 12th century, well after the Norman conquest. John Speed in his Historie of Great Britaine (1611) follows Verstegan in his descriptions of the arms of Erkenwyne, but he qualifies the statement by adding "as some or our heralds have emblazed".^[17]

The Hay Wain by John Constable shows the Essex landscape on the right bank

Essex is also home to the Dunmow Flitch Trials, a traditional ceremony that takes place every four years and consists of a test of a married couple's devotion to one another. A common claim of the origin of the Dunmow Flitch dates back to 1104 and the Augustinian Priory of Little Dunmow, founded by Lady Juga Baynard. Lord of the Manor Reginald Fitzwalter and his wife dressed themselves as humble folk and begged blessing of the Prior a year and a day after marriage. The Prior, impressed by their devotion bestowed upon them a Flitch of Bacon. Upon revealing his true identity, Fitzwalter gave his land to the Priory on the condition a Flitch should be awarded to any couple who could claim they were similarly devoted. By the 14th century, the Dunmow Flitch Trials appear to have achieved a significant reputation outside the local area. The author William Langland, who lived on the Welsh borders, mentions it in his 1362 book The Vision of Piers Plowman in a manner that implies general knowledge of the custom among his readers.^[18]

Landmarks[link]

Over 14,000 buildings have listed status in the county, and around 1000 of those are recognised as of Grade I or II* importance.^[19] The buildings range from the 7th century Saxon church of St Peter-on-the-Wall, to the Royal Corinthian Yacht Club which was the United Kingdom's entry in the "International Exhibition of Modern Architecture" held at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City in 1932.

• 

  The church of St Peter-on-the-Wall, Bradwell-on-Sea.

• 

  The Grade I listed Hedingham Castle.

• 

  Thaxted Guildhall dating from around 1450.

• 

  The 17th century Audley End House in Saffron Walden.

• 

  The Royal Corinthian Yacht Club, Burnham-on-Crouch.

• 

  Colchester Castle

• 

  Hylands House

• 

  Southend Pier

Places of interest[link]

Key
	Abbey/Priory/Cathedral
	Accessible open space
	Amusement/Theme Park
	Castle
	Country Park
	English Heritage
	Forestry Commission
	Heritage railway
	Historic House
	Museum (free/not free)
	National Trust
	Theatre
	Zoo

Notable persons[link]

• See Category:People from Essex.

Sister counties and regions[link]

• Jiangsu, China
• Picardy, France
• Thuringia, Germany
• Henrico County, Virginia
• Accra, Ghana

See also[link]

• The Earl of Essex
• List of Lord Lieutenants of Essex
• List of High Sheriffs of Essex
• Custos Rotulorum of Essex - Keepers of the Rolls
• Historical list of MPs of Essex constituency
• Q Camp: WWII camp in Essex
• List of civil parishes in England

Notes and references[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Essex

• Essex at the Open Directory Project
• Visit Essex
• Essex County Council
• Seax – Essex Archives Online

Neighbouring counties

	Cambridgeshire	Cambridgeshire / Suffolk	Suffolk
	Hertfordshire		North Sea
		Essex    East
	Greater London	Kent	Thames Estuary

David Essex OBE (born David Albert Cook on 23 July 1947)^[1] is an English musician, singer-songwriter and actor. Since the 1970s, Essex has attained nineteen Top 40 singles in the UK (including two number ones), and sixteen Top 40 albums.^[1] He has also had an extensive career as an actor performing on stage and screen.

Biography[link]

Essex was born in Plaistow, which was at that time in Essex (hence his stage name), but now falls within the borders of Greater London.^[2] His father, Albert, was an East End dock worker and his mother, Olive (née Kemp), was a self-taught pianist and an Irish Traveller. His grandfather, Thomas Kemp, was named 'Philimore' which was the anglicised version of 'Philly Mor' - being Irish for 'Big Philly'. Essex was two years old when his parents moved out of the overcrowded home the family was sharing with relatives, to Canning Town where he grew up. Essex attended Star Lane Primary School, he loved playing football and did not answer any of the questions in the Eleven plus exam for entry into a Grammar School, so that he could ensure he attended Shipman County Secondary School where he knew they played the game.^[3] He was also a member of West Ham United Juniors for a while and dreamed of one day being a professional player.^[4] He then also became interested in music and played drums with a local band, before becoming a singer.

Early career[link]

He made his first record entitled "And The Tears Came Tumblin' Down" for the Fontana label^[5] in 1963. He then toured with a band called 'David Essex and the Mood Indigo' for two years. His first notable acting role aside from small appearances in the films Assault and All Coppers Are... was the lead in the stage musical, Godspell^[6] in 1971 at the age of 23. Two years later, he starred in the film That'll Be The Day (1973)^[7] and recorded his only international hit single, the self penned "Rock On", in the same year. It sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc by the R.I.A.A. in March 1974.^[8] A second single, "Lamplight", also reached the Top 10 in the UK Singles Chart.

In the 1970s, Essex emerged as a performer of some note. His biggest hits during this decade included two UK Number One singles: "Gonna Make You a Star" (1974), and "Hold Me Close" (1975). He also appeared in Stardust, a 1974 sequel to That'll Be The Day;^[9] the title song was another Top 10 hit. In 1976, Essex covered the Beatles song, “Yesterday”, for the musical documentary All This and World War II.

Essex's pop idol looks gave him a strong female fan base and his British tours created scenes of hysteria reminiscent of Beatlemania. According to The Guinness Book of British Hit Singles^[10], he was voted the number one British male vocalist in 1974, and was a teen idol for more than a decade.

Musical roles[link]

In December 1973, Essex appeared in the stage version of Tommy at London's Rainbow Theatre.^[11]

In 1978, he appeared on Jeff Wayne's concept album, a musical version of The War of the Worlds, as the Artilleryman. In the UK the two-record set remains a bestseller.^[12]

In the same year, Essex played the character Che, loosely based on Che Guevara, in the original production of the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical Evita,^[13] and his recording of the show's "Oh What a Circus"^[14] reached Number 3. Two years later, he starred in the film Silver Dream Racer; and the soundtrack song "Silver Dream Machine" was yet another Top 10 hit in the UK Singles Chart.

In 1985, he co-wrote and starred as Fletcher Christian in the West End musical Mutiny!, based on the novel Mutiny on the Bounty by Charles Nordhoff and James Norman Hall. The score produced two more hit singles, including "Tahiti," his tenth Top 10 success.^[15]

Essex continued to perform in all areas of show business, to varying degrees of success. A 1988 sitcom, "The River", achieved good ratings. In 1991, a compilation entitled His Greatest Hits reached Number 13; a 1993 album, Cover Shot, featuring a cover version of the Buzz Cason/Mac Gayden song "Everlasting Love", peaked at Number 3. His autobiography, A Charmed Life, was published in 2002, and became a bestseller.

In 1999, Essex was named an Officer of the Order of the British Empire. He still tours the UK every year and releases albums through his website. Despite his long and successful British career, he remains largely unknown in the United States. "Rock On" reached Number 5 in 1974, and was his only US Billboard Top 40 hit single.

Essex, who comes from a family of Irish Travellers, played a kind-hearted nomad in one episode of ITV1's 1960s Yorkshire-based drama Heartbeat in 2000.^[16] Essex told Jake Bowers of the BBC's Rokker Radio, a programme for Gypsies and Travellers, on 30 July 2006, that he has always been openly proud of his Traveller roots, but that having moved to the US, Essex has said he feels it inappropriate for him to continue as Patron of Britain's National Gypsy Council, which works for equal rights, education, and services for Romany and Irish Travellers.^[6]

In 2005, he appeared as a guest vocalist on Saint Etienne's album Tales from Turnpike House.^[17] Also that year, he appeared in the Channel 4 documentary Bring Back...The Christmas Number One.

Essex was due to join the cast of soap opera EastEnders, in early 2006, as new character Jack Edwards. However, the role was expanded beyond the three weeks planned, and Essex was unable to commit the time.^[18] The role instead went to Nicky Henson.

A model and recording of Essex is featured in the museum of West Ham United Football Club. In the recording, he explains his reasons for supporting West Ham and his love of the team.

Essex spent six years as an ambassador for Voluntary Service Overseas, which earned him an OBE in 1999. "That was a big day. I took my two eldest kids, and me mum even went out and bought a hat".^[19]

Present[link]

Essex used to record and release records on his own 'Lamplight' record label. He has since changed the name of his company to Joseph Webster Ltd, named after his first grandchild. He tours regularly and still treads the boards, appearing in Boogie Nights 2, Footloose and Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical Aspects Of Love.^[20] From September 2008 to the summer of 2009 he took his own musical, All The Fun Of The Fair, on a tour of the United Kingdom. He followed this in the autumn with a sell out tour of the UK, named the Secret Tour. Essex has released a DVD on his website of the last night of the tour, filmed in Bournemouth. He returned to London's West End with All The Fun Of The Fair.

In 2010, Essex married Welsh actress Susan Hallam-Wright, his third wife, at St Cross Church, Talybont, near Bangor, Wales.^[21] He had previously been married to Maureen Neal (in 1971) and Carlotta Christy (in 1997).^[22]

In January 2011, it was announced that Essex had finally joined the cast of EastEnders as Eddie Moon, five years after he was initially supposed to appear in the show.^[23] His first on-screen appearance was on 3 June 2011. Eddie left the square on Thursday 6 October 2011

UK discography[link]

Singles[link]

• "Rock On" - 1973 - Number 3
• "Lamplight" - 1973 - Number 7
• "America" - 1974 - Number 32
• "Gonna Make You a Star" - 1974 - Number 1
• "Stardust" - 1975 - Number 7
• "Rolling Stone" - 1975 - Number 5
• "Hold Me Close" - 1975 - Number 1
• "If I Could" - 1975 - Number 13
• "City Lights" - 1976 - Number 24
• "Coming Home" - 1976 - Number 24
• "Cool Out Tonight" - 1977 - Number 23
• "Stay With Me Baby" - 1978 - Number 45
• "Oh What A Circus" - 1978 - Number 3
• "Brave New World" - 1978 - Number 55
• "Imperial Wizard" - 1979 - Number 32
• "Silver Dream Machine (Part 1)" - 1980 - Number 4
• "Hot Love" - 1980 - Number 57
• "Me And My Girl (Night-Clubbing)" - 1982 - Number 13
• "A Winter's Tale" - 1982 - Number 2
• "The Smile" - 1983 - Number 52
• "Tahiti (From 'Mutiny In The Bounty')" - 1983 - Number 8
• "You're In My Heart" - 1983 - Number 59
• "Fishing For The Moon" - 1984 - Number 76
• "Welcome" - 1984 - Number 80
• "Fallen Angels Riding" - 1985 - Number 29
• "Friends" - 1985
• "Myfanwy" - 1987 - Number 41^[24]
• "The River" - 1988
• "Rock On" (remix) - 1989
• "The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Anymore" - 1989
• "True Love Ways" - 1994 (with Catherine Zeta Jones) - Number 38^[1]

Albums[link]

• Rock On - 1973 - Number 7
• David Essex - 1974 - Number 2
• All The Fun Of The Fair - 1975 - Number 4
• On Tour - 1976 - Number 51
• Out On The Street - 1976 - Number 31
• Gold and Ivory - 1977 - Number 29
• David Essex Album - 1979 - Number 29
• Imperial Wizard - 1979 - Number 12
• Hot Love - 1980 - Number 75
• Silver Dream Racer - 1980^[25]
• Be-Bop the Future - 1981^[26]
• Stage-Struck - 1982 - Number 31
• The Very Best Of David Essex - 1982 - Number 32
• The Whisper - 1983^[27]
• This One's For You - 1984^[28]
• Central Stage - 1987
• Living in England - 1995
• A Night at the Movies - 1997 - Number 14
• I Still Believe - 1999
• Thank You - 2000
• Wonderful - 2001
• Theatre Of Dreams - 2001
• Forever - 2001
• Sunset - 2004
• It's Gonna Be Alright - 2004
• Greatest Hits - 2006
• Beautiful Day - 2006
• Happy Ever After - 2007
• All The Fun Of The Fair - Greatest Hits - 2008 - UK #23^[29]

Selected filmography[link]

• Smashing Time (1967)
• Assault (1971)
• All Coppers Are... (1972)
• That'll Be the Day (1973)
• Stardust (1974)
• The Big Bus (1976)
• Silver Dream Racer (1980)
• The River (1988)
• Tribe (2011)
• EastEnders (2011) Eddie Moon

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official David Essex website
• David Essex on Myspace
• David Essex discography at Discogs
• Allthefunofthefair.com
• David Essex at the Internet Movie Database
• Jeff Wayne's "The War Of The Worlds" 1978
• Andrew Lloyd Webber's Evita, song "Oh What a Circus" by David Essex
• David Essex to appear in "Aspects Of Love" a new musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber
• Saint Etienne: Tales From Turnpike House released: 13 June 2005
• former patron of the Gypsy Council in Britain
• David Essex awarded the OBE in 1999 in recognition of his charity work with Voluntary Service Overseas (VSO)
• Essex starred in and wrote score for movie "Silver Dream Racer"
• A Charmed Life: The Autobiography of David Essex - published 2002 (Orion)
• "Essex played Fletcher Christian in his own musical Mutiny! (co-written with Richard Crane) which played at the Piccadilly Theatre for sixteen months

The Blockheads
Left to right: Norman Watt-Roy (bass), Charley Charles (drums), Ian Dury (vocals) and Davey Payne (sax)
Background information
Also known as	Ian Dury and the Blockheads
Origin	London; Cambridge
Genres	New Wave, funk
Years active	1977 (1977)-Present
Labels	Stiff, Statik Records, Demon Music Group, Ronnie Harris, Blox, EMI,
Associated acts	Ian Dury, Kilburn & the Highroads
Website	www.theblockheads.com
Members
Chaz Jankel Norman Watt-Roy John Turnbull Mick Gallagher Derek Hussey John Roberts Lee Harris Gilad Atzmon Occasional Davey Payne Dave Lewis Luke Gallagher
Past members
Ian Dury Charlie Charles Stephen Monti Merlin Rhys-Jones Will Parnell Dylan Howe Wilko Johnson

The Blockheads are an English rock and roll band. Originally fronted by vocalist Ian Dury as Ian Dury and the Blockheads, the band has continued to perform since Dury's death in 2000. Current members include Chaz Jankel (guitar), Norman Watt-Roy (bass guitar), Mick Gallagher (keyboard/piano), John Turnbull (vocals/guitar) and Davey Payne (saxophone). The band are best known for their hit singles "What a Waste", "Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick", "Reasons to be Cheerful, Part 3" and "Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll".

History[link]

Formation and early years[link]

This section may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. No cleanup reason has been specified. Please help improve this section if you can; the talk page may contain suggestions. (April 2010)

Live at The Roundhouse, Chalk Farm, London, 1978

Under the management of Andrew King and Peter Jenner, the original managers of Pink Floyd, Ian Dury and the Blockheads quickly gained a reputation as one of the top live acts of New Wave music. They built up a dedicated following in the UK and other countries and scored several hit singles, including "What a Waste", "Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick" (which was a UK number one at the beginning of 1979, selling just short of a million copies), "Reasons to be Cheerful, Part 3" (number three in the UK in 1979), and the rock and roll anthem, "Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll". (Although it is sometimes claimed that Dury coined the phrase, there is evidence that it was already in common use and a virtually identical wording was used by Australian band Daddy Cool for the title of their second album Sex, Dope & Rock'n'Roll: Teenage Heaven, released in 1972.^[1]) The tune is based on part of Charlie Haden's bass solo on "Ramblin'" on Ornette Coleman's 1959 album Change of the Century.)

Live at The Roundhouse, Chalk Farm, London, 1978

Dury's lyrics are a distinctive combination of lyrical poetry, word play, observation of British everyday (working-class) life, acute character sketches, and vivid, earthy sexual humour. "This is what we find ... [H]ome improvement expert Harold Hill of Harold Hill, Of do-it-yourself dexterity and double-glazing skill, Came home to find another gentleman's kippers in the grill, So he sanded off his winkle with his Black & Decker drill." The song "Billericay Dickie" continues this sexual content, rhyming "I had a love affair with Nina, In the back of my Cortina" with "A seasoned-up hyena, Could not have been more obscener".

The Blockheads' sound drew from its members' diverse musical influences, which included jazz, rock and roll, funk, and reggae, and Dury's love of music hall. The band was formed after Dury began writing songs with pianist and guitarist Chaz Jankel (the brother of noted music video, TV, commercial and film director Annabel Jankel). Jankel took Dury's lyrics, fashioned a number of songs, and they began recording with members of Radio Caroline's Loving Awareness Band—drummer Charley Charles (born Hugh Glenn Mortimer Charles, Guyana 1945), bassist Norman Watt-Roy, keyboard player Mick Gallagher, guitarist John Turnbull -- and former Kilburns saxophonist Davey Payne. An album was completed, but major record labels passed on the band. However, next door to Dury's manager's office was the newly formed Stiff Records, a perfect home for Dury's maverick style. Their classic single, "Sex & Drugs & Rock and Roll", marked Dury's Stiff debut and although it was banned by the BBC it was named Single of the Week by NME on its release.^[2] It was soon followed by the album New Boots and Panties!!, which was eventually to achieve platinum status.

Live at the Roundhouse, Chalk Farm, London 1978

In October 1977 Dury and his band started performing as Ian Dury and the Blockheads, when the band signed on for the Stiff "Live Stiffs Tour" alongside Elvis Costello and the Attractions, Nick Lowe, Wreckless Eric, and Larry Wallis. The tour was a success, and Stiff launched a concerted Ian Dury marketing campaign, resulting in the Top Ten hit, "What a Waste", and the classic hit single, "Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick", which reached #1 in the UK, was notably not included on the original release of their subsequent LP Do It Yourself. Both the single and its accompanying music video featured Davey Payne simultaneously playing dual saxophones during his solo, in evident homage to jazz saxophonist Rahsaan Roland Kirk, whose 'trademark' technique this was.

The band's second album Do It Yourself was released in June 1979 in a Barney Bubbles-designed sleeve of which there were over a dozen variations, all based on samples from the Crown wallpaper catalogue. Bubbles also designed the Blockhead logo^[3] which received international acclaim, and continued to be used by the Blockheads after Dury's death, e.g. on their DVD: Live in Colchester 2004.

Jankel left the band temporarily and relocated to the U.S. after the release of "What A Waste" (his organ part on that single was overdubbed later) but he subsequently returned to the UK and began touring sporadically with the Blockheads, eventually returning to the group full-time for the recording of "Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick"; according to Mickey Gallagher, the band recorded 28 takes of the song but eventually settled on the second take for the single release. Partly due to personality clashes with Dury,^[2] Jankel quit the group again in 1980, after the recording of the Do It Yourself LP, and he returned to the USA to concentrate on his solo career. The group worked solidly over the eighteen months between the release of "Rhythm Stick" and their next single, "Reasons To Be Cheerful", which returned them to the charts, making the UK Top 10. Jankel was replaced by former Dr. Feelgood guitarist Wilko Johnson, who also contributed to the next album Laughter and its two minor hit singles, although Gallagher recalls that the recording of the Laughter album was difficult and that Dury was drinking heavily in this period.^[2] In 1980-81 Dury and Jankel teamed up again with Sly and Robbie and the Compass Point All Stars to record Lord Upminster. The Blockheads toured the U.K and Europe throughout 1981, sometimes augmented by jazz legend Don Cherry on trumpet, ending the year with their only tour of Australia.^[4]

The Blockheads disbanded in early 1982 after Dury secured a new recording deal with Polydor Records through A&R man Frank Neilson. Choosing to work with a group of young musicians which he named The Music Students, he recorded the album Four Thousand Weeks' Holiday. This album marked a departure from his usual style and was not as well received by fans for its American jazz influence.

"Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll"[link]

The song was written by Ian Dury and Chas Jankel in Dury's flat in Oval Mansions, London (nicknamed "Catshit mansions" by Ian) that overlooked The Oval cricket-ground. The way the pair worked was for Ian Dury to present Jankel with lyric sheets hand-typed by the singer. According to Chas in Sex And Drugs And Rock And Roll: The Life of Ian Dury he would be repeatedly given the lyric for "Sex And Drugs And Rock And Roll" but Jankel kept rejecting the song only for it to be at the top of the pile again the next time only to be rejected again. This went on until Dury sung the song's guitar riff to Chas and sang the song's title in time with it. Sometime later Jankel heard "Ramblin", a tune by Ornette Coleman (from the album Change of The Century that also included Charlie Haden and Don Cherry) and heard exactly the same bass riff being played by Haden. Ian Dury once apologised to Coleman for lifting the riff but, as Coleman explained, he (or possibly Haden) had lifted it himself from a Kentucky folk tune called Old Joe Clark. An alternative version to this story exists: as Dury explained when he guested on BBC Radio 4'sDesert Island Discs, he had apologied to Charlie Haden at Ronnie Scott's Club for the riff lift, who responded by saying there was no need for an apology as he had lifted it from an old cajun tune.

The single did not chart, selling only around 19,000 copies (a small amount for a single in 1977) but won critical acclaim. A factor of this poor sales could be Stiff Record's singles deletion policy designed to promote initial sales and as such, chart success. The original single was deleted after only two months.

Released as it was in the height of the popularity of punk rock, the song was misinterpreted (as it is often is to this day) as a song about excess as its title and chorus would suggest. Although the single was banned by the BBC, a number of Radio 1 disc jockeys, including Annie Nightingale and John Peel, continued to promote the record by playing the mildly salacious B-side "Razzle In My Pocket". Dury himself, however maintained that the song was not a punk anthem and said he was trying to suggest that there was more to life than a 9-to-5 existence (such as in his track-by-track comments in the sleeve-notes of Repertoire Records' Reasons To Be Cheerful: The Best Of Ian Dury & The Blockheads compilation). The verses themselves are at times somewhat riddle-like, although always suggestive of an alternative lifestyle:

Here's a little bit of advice, you're quite welcome, it is free

Don’t do nothing that is cut-price, you'll know what they'll make you be

They will try their tricky device, trap you with the ordinary

Get your teeth into a small slice, the cake of liberty

The title of the song became part of the English language and was later used in many other song lyrics.

"Billericay Dickie"[link]

Narrated by a bragging bricklayer from Billericay, the song is filled with name-checks for places in Essex. It is based around naughty rhymes such as:

I had a love affair with Nina

In the back of my Cortina

A seasoned up hyena

could not have been more obscener

Each verse tells a different short story, relating one of Dickie's sexual conquests around south-eastern England, while in the choruses the character insists he is a caring, conscientious lover and 'not a thickie', even giving the names of two girls ("a pair of squeaky chickies") as references to attest this. Dickie is a character most commonly referred to in the media as an 'Essex lad'. Ironically the song, perhaps the best example of Dury's 'Englishness' and 'Essexness', was given its oompah, fairground like arrangement by an American, Steve Nugent.

Ian Dury stated on numerous occasions (as mentioned in both his biographies, Sex And Drugs And Rock And Roll: The Life Of Ian Dury and Ian Dury & The Blockheads: Song By Song) that he saw Dickie as a pathetic figure. He would reflect this on-stage by breaking down, as if he were about to cry during the final part of the song, before returning to normal, to shout the final lines of the final verse. The song was rarely used as an opening track for live sets (another song from New Boots and Panties!!, "Wake Up And Make Love With Me", was used instead), but it does open the set recorded live at the Hammersmith Odeon, in 1985, that was released as the Hold Onto Your Structure VHS/DVD. Live versions can be found on both of Dury's live albums Warts 'n' Audience and Straight from the Desk.

"What a Waste"[link]

Essentially a song about being in a job that makes you happy, Dury claimed in an 1984 interview with Penthouse that while not condemning 9-to-5 jobs, he had written the song to make people question their lives, echoing the sentiments of his earlier single "Sex and Drugs and Rock and Roll". The song's verses list a number of things the song's narrator could have been, from a driver, poet, teacher or soldier to an inmate in a long-term institution and the ticket man at Fulham railway station before the chorus reveals that instead he chose to 'play the fool in a six-piece band' highlighting some of the pitfalls of this (loneliness specifically), before deciding that 'rock 'n' roll doesn't mind'.

The song was written following the break-up of Kilburn and the Highroads in a lull between the formation of Ian Dury & the Kilburns and was written with Rod Melvin in mid-1975, two year before it was released. Originally a third writing credit was given to Chaz Jankel (Dury's long-term songwriting companion): this third writing credit has gradually been phased out and the 2004 Edsel Records re-issue of Do it Yourself credits the song to Dury/Melvin solely. However in Ian Dury & The Blockheads: Song By Song, John Turnbull (guitarist with the Blockheads) claims that the middle instrumental section was brought over from one of the songs four of the The Blockhead had written while they were their previous band, Loving Awareness.

Dury's first hit, "What A Waste"/"Wake Up And Make Love With Me" was released in April 1978 just before the start of headlining tour, entering the Top 75 on 29 April and spending 12 weeks there. It peaked at number 9 in the UK Single Charts, becoming Stiff Record's biggest-selling single to date. A very limited 12" pressing was also released.

The single has most likely contributed to the confusion over exactly what Ian Dury songs are by 'Ian Dury & The Blockheads', including as it did "Wake Up and Make Love with Me" on its B-side: this is not a new version of the song re-recorded by the band but the version from New Boots and Panties!! which is not a Blockheads album (although some of the band do play on it). "What a Waste", however, is a Blockheads track.

"Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick"[link]

First released as the Stiff Records 7" single BUY 38, "Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick"/"There Ain't Half Been Some Clever Bastards" went to number one on the UK Singles Chart in January 1979, and is the band's most successful single ever.^[5] It also was named best single of 1979 in the Pazz & Jop poll.

Its lyrics mix various locations across the world and a number of phrases in non-English languages (including French and German). According to its author Ian Dury, the song has an anti-violence message.^{[citation needed]}

"Reasons to be Cheerful, Part 3"[link]

Initially released on 20 July 1979, the single BUY 50, "Reasons to be Cheerful, Part 3"/"Common as Muck", reached number 3 in the UK singles Chart the following month. It was the last single to be released by the band in their original line-up.

Later years[link]

The Blockheads briefly reformed in June 1987 to play a short tour of Japan, and then disbanded again. In September 1990, following the death from cancer of drummer Charley Charles, they reunited for two benefit concerts in aid of Charles' family, held at The Forum, Camden Town, with Steven Monti on drums. In December 1990, augmented by Merlin Rhys-Jones on guitar and Will Parnell on percussion, they recorded the live album Warts & Audience at the Brixton Academy.^[4]

The Blockheads (minus Jankel, who returned to California) toured Spain in January 1991, then disbanded again until August 1994 when, following Jankel's return to England, they were invited to reform for the Madstock Festival in Finsbury Park; this was followed by sporadic gigs in Europe, Ireland, the U.K. and Japan through late 1994 and 1995.^[4] In the early 1990s, Dury appeared with English band Curve on the benefit compilation album Peace Together. Dury and Curve singer Toni Halliday shared vocals on a cover of the Blockheads' track "What a Waste".

In March 1996 Dury was diagnosed with cancer and, after recovering from an operation, he set about writing another album. In early 1998 he reunited with the Blockheads to record the well-received album Mr Love-Pants. In May, Ian Dury and the Blockheads hit the road again, with Dylan Howe replacing Steven Monti on drums. Davey Payne left the group in August and was replaced by Gilad Atzmon; this amended lineup gigged throughout 1999, culminating in their last performance with Ian Dury on 6 February 2000 at the London Palladium. Dury died six weeks later on 27 March 2000.^[4]

Present day[link]

The Blockheads have continued after Dury's death, contributing to the tribute album Brand New Boots And Panties, then Where's The Party. They still tour, and are currently recording a new album. They currently comprise Jankel, Watt-Roy, Gallagher, Turnbull, John Roberts on drums, Gilad Atzmon and Dave Lewis on saxes. Derek Hussey (aka "Derek The Draw", who was Dury's friend and minder) is now writing songs with Jankel as well as singing. They are aided and abetted by Lee Harris, who is their 'aide de camp'.

Discography[link]

• Do It Yourself (1979)
• Laughter (1980)
• Live! Warts 'n' Audience (1990)
• Mr. Love Pants (1998)
• Straight From The Desk (2001)
• Ten More Turnips from the Tip (2002)

References[link]

External links[link]

• The Official Blockheads Website