Hello,
Today's artist was an English singer-songwriter and actor who rose to fame during the late 1970s, during the punk and new wave era of rock music. He was the lead singer of Ian Dury and the Blockheads and before that of Kilburn and the High Roads. He died of metastatic colorectal cancer on 27 March 2000, aged 57. An obituary in The Guardian read: "one of few true originals of the English music scene". Meanwhile, he was described by Suggs, the singer of Madness, as "possibly the finest lyricist we've seen." ......N-Joy
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Rock & roll has always been populated by fringe figures, cult artists who managed to develop a fanatical following because of their outsized quirks, but few cult rockers have ever been quite as weird, or beloved, as Ian Dury. As the leader of the underappreciated and ill-fated pub rockers Kilburn & the High Roads, Dury cut a striking figure -- he remained handicapped from a childhood bout with polio, yet stalked the stage with dynamic charisma, spitting out music hall numbers and rockers in his thick Cockney accent. Dury was 28 at the time he formed Kilburn, and once they disbanded, conventional wisdom would have suggested that he was far too old to become a pop star, but conventional wisdom never played much of a role in Dury's career. Signing with the fledgling indie label Stiff in 1978, Dury developed a strange fusion of music hall, punk rock, and disco that brought him to stardom in his native England. Driven by a warped sense of humor and a pulsating beat, singles like "Hit Me with Your Rhythm Stick," "Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll," and "Reasons to Be Cheerful, Pt. 3" became Top Ten hits in the U.K., yet Dury's most distinctive qualities -- his dry wit and wordplay, thick Cockney accent, and fascination with music hall -- kept him from gaining popularity outside of England. After his second album, Dury's style became formulaic, and he faded away in the early '80s, turning to an acting career instead.
At the age of seven, Ian Dury was stricken with polio. After spending two years in hospital, he attended a school for the physically handicapped. Following high school, he attended to the Royal College of Art, and after his graduation, he taught painting at the Canterbury Art College. In 1970, when he was 28 years old, Dury formed his first band, Kilburn & the High Roads. The Kilburns played simple,'50s rock & roll, occasionally making a detour into jazz. Over the next three years, they became a fixture on England's pub rock circuit. By 1973, their following was large enough that Dury could quit his teaching job. Several British critics became dedicated fans, and one of them, Charlie Gillett, became their manager. Gillett helped the band sign to the Warner subsidiary Raft, and the group recorded an album for the label in 1974. Warner refused to release the album, and after some struggling, the Kilburns broke away from Raft and signed with the Pye subsidiary Dawn in 1975. Dawn released Handsome in 1975, but by that point, the pub rock scene was in decline, and the album was ignored. Kilburn & the High Roads disbanded by the end of the year.
Following the dissolution of the Kilburns, Dury continued to work with the band's pianist/guitarist, Chaz Jankel. By 1977, Dury had secured a contract with Stiff Records, and he recorded his debut with Jankel and a variety of pub rock veterans -- including former Kilburn Davey Payne -- and session musicians. Stiff had Dury play the 1977 package tour Live Stiffs in order to support his debut album New Boots and Panties!!, so he and Jankel assembled the Blockheads, recruiting guitarist John Turnbull, pianist Mickey Gallagher, bassist Norman Watt Roy, and drummer Charley Charles. Dury & the Blockheads became a very popular act shortly after the Live Stiffs tour, and New Boots and Panties!! became a major hit, staying on the U.K. charts for nearly two years; it would eventually sell over a million copies worldwide. The album's first single, "What a Waste," reached the British Top Ten, while the subsequent non-LP single "Hit Me with Your Rhythm Stick" climbed all the way to number one.
Ian Dury had unexpectedly become a superstar in Britain, and American record companies were suddenly very interested in him. Arista won the rights to distribute Dury's Stiff recordings in the U.S., but despite overwhelmingly positive reviews, New Boots and Panties!! stiffed in America, and the label instantly dropped him. Despite his poor U.S. sales, Dury was still riding high in his homeland, with his second album, Do It Yourself, entering the U.K. charts upon its summer release in 1979. Dury supported the acclaimed album, which saw him delving deeply into disco, with an extensive tour capped off by the release of the single "Reasons to Be Cheerful, Pt. 3," which climbed to number three. Once the tour was completed, Jankel left the band and Dury replaced him with Wilko Johnson, former lead guitarist for Dr. Feelgood. With Johnson, Dury released his last Stiff album, Laughter, which received mixed reviews but respectable sales upon its 1980 release. The following year, he signed with Polydor Records and reunited with Jankel. The pair flew to the Bahamas to record his Polydor debut with reggae superstars Sly Dunbar and Robbie Shakespeare. The resulting album, Lord Upminster, received mixed reviews and poor sales upon its 1981 release; the album was notable for the inclusion of the single "Spasticus Autisticus," a song Dury wrote for the United Nations Year of the Disabled, but was rejected.
Following the failure of Lord Upminster, Dury quietly backed away from a recording career and began to concentrate on acting; 1984's 4000 Weeks Holiday, an album recorded with his new band the Music Students, was his last major record of the '80s. He appeared in several plays and television shows, as well as the Peter Greenaway film The Cook, the Thief, His Wife and Her Lover and Roman Polanski's movie Pirates. He also began to write jingles for British commercials. In 1989, he wrote the musical Apples with Mickey Gallagher, and he also appeared in the stage production of the play. Dury returned to recording in 1992 with The Bus Driver's Prayer and Other Stories.
In May 1998, Dury announced that he had been diagnosed with colon cancer in 1995 and that the disease had spread to his liver. He decided to release the information the weekend of his 56th birthday, in hopes of offering encouragement for others battling the disease. For the next year, he battled the disease while keeping a public profile -- in the fall of 1999, he was inducted into Q magazine's songwriting hall of fame, and he appeared at the ceremony. Sadly, it was his last public appearance. Dury succumbed to cancer on March 27, 2000. He left behind a truly unique, individual body of work.
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'Laughter', issued in December 1980, was Dury's third album for Stiff Records, and the only one to feature Dr. Feelgood's original (and best) guitarist, the remarkable Wilko Johnson who co-wrote the hit single 'Sueperman's Big Sister'. This Slipcased 2 CD edition includes the three non-album singles sides (including the hit 'I Want to Be Straight'), the Blockheads' demos for the album, and four outtakes from the album sessions, including the legendary 'Duff 'Em And Do 'Em Over'. The 26-page booklet inside the hardback covers features full annotation by known expert WILL BIRCH (done in 2004), lyrics to all the songs (including the stand-alone singles), publicity photos, original artwork front and rear (including photos of the “Superman’s Big Sister” single and a montage of British trade magazines like NME and Melody Maker) and so on. These are the 2004 Edsel remasters done at Alchemy Mastering and they sound amazing while all of Disc 2 was Previously Unreleased at the time.
Working with lead guitarist Wilko Johnson (Dr. Feelgood), Ian Dury gradually moves away from disco with his third album, Laughter. The steady dance pulse is still apparent, but it's balanced by rockers and pub singalongs that give the album more depth. That doesn't necessarily make it a better album, however. Dury's humor is at its most basic, as the titles of "Uncoolohol," "(Take Your Elbow out of the Soup) You're Sitting on the Chicken," "Oh Mr. Peanut," and "Fucking Ada" indicate, and his lyrics aren't quite as stunningly fluid as before. Still, the record is fun, and "Superman's Big Sister," "Yes & No (Paula)," and "Over the Points" are pretty infectious, but the record can't help but illustrate that Dury's peak period is over.
“Superman’s Big Sister” shows Dury’s knack for catchy melodies aligned with witty lyrics and wacky themes. “Delusions Of Grandeur” struggles a bit to take flight for sure - but the wickedly good “Yes & No (Paula)” would have sat comfortably on 1977’s “New Boots & Panties!!” with its Ska-Rock rhythms and scat-spoken lyrics. Fun and anger collide on “Dance Of The Crackpots” with Davey’s Payne’s great harmonica playing warbling away in the back of the mix. The band starts to finally sound slightly manic Feelgood on the acidic “Hey, Hey, Take Me Away” while “F*****g Ada” finishes the album half-laughing, half-crying with its angry chorus offset by chorus line strings.
Disc 2 features the full-blown version of “Duff ‘Em Up And Do ‘Em Over (Boogie Woogie)” (a long sought after fan fave) while the Instrumentals it has to be said feel like good backing tracks but without the lyrics – they’re a curio more than anything else.“I’m sick and tired of taking drugs and staying up late...” - our Ian sang on “I Want To Be Straight”. I never tire of Dury’s intelligence and wit and the fan/collector nerd in me is loving these gorgeous looking reissues...
Ian Dury & The Blockheads - Laughter ( 334mb)
01 Sueperman's Big Sister 2:48
02 Pardon 2:39
03 Delusions Of Grandeur 2:51
04 Yes & No (Paula) 3:06
05 Dance Of The Crackpots 2:35
06 Over The Points 4:09
07 (Take Your Elbow Out Of The Soup You're Sitting On The Chicken) 2:34
08 Uncoolohol 3:01
09 Hey, Hey, Take Me Away 2:28
10 Manic Depression (Jimi) 3:49
11 Oh Mr Peanut 3:21
12 Fucking Ada 5:59
Bonus
13 I Want To Be Straight 3:18
14 That’s Not All 2:47
15 You’ll See Glimpses 3:42
Ian Dury & The Blockheads - Laughter (ogg 115mb)
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Ian Dury & The Blockheads - Laughter Bonus ( flac 350mb)
01 Duff ‘Em Up And Do ‘Em Over (Boogie Woogie) (Album Outtake) 3:30
02 You Are Here (Album Outtake) 3:26
03 Come In No. 9 (Album Outtake) 2:13
04 Chicken [Take Your Elbow Out Of The Soup] (Demo) 4:08
05 CC’s Rock (Demo) 2:44
06 I Know Your Name (Demo) 2:03
07 Public Party [Dance Of The Crackpots] (Demo) 3:19
08 Black And White [Yes And No (Paula)] (Demo) 3:57
09 Manic Depression (Demo) 2:52
10 More Turns For Everyone (Demo) 4:08
11 Blue Light [That’s Not All] (Demo) 2:31
12 Back To Y-Front (Demo) 3:46
13 Fatback (Demo) 3:00
14 On The Spot (Do The Block) (Demo) 4:31
15 Duff ‘Em Up And Do ‘Em Over (Boogie Woogie) [Oh Mr Peanut] (Demo) 3:16
16 Peter Gunn (Demo) 3:26
Ian Dury & The Blockheads - Laughter Bonus (ogg 131mb)
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When Ian Dury left Stiff Records, he also left the Blockheads behind, recording Lord Upminster with reggae superstars Robbie Shakespeare and Sly Dunbar as producers. with this album Ian Dury opened up to sounds closer to disco and electronic music than It was beginning to stand out in those years. So after finishing with stiff records, Ian Dury signed for Polydor presiding over the musician Chaz Jankel, who started his solo career, and also The Blockheads.
So many changes in such a short space of time to his strongest followers did not like him, and Ian Dury was branded with his records outside of Stiff to want to give a more commercial turn to his music.In fact everything was more or less as in the closest tracks of the acclaimed Do It Yourself, ie new wave rhythms mixed with pop and rock, something more commercial. Today the album is largely reminiscent of three hits that reached the highest point at the time that were Funky Disco Pops, The Body Songs, and the unmistakable Spasticus Autisticus, which made the record not be forgotten, since in it's time it was quite thumbed down. Clearly Sly & Robbie present here didn't have the status they would get in years to come and possibly there was too much smokin' going on (yah man), what ever there wasn't that click that causes the music to spark.
Ian Dury - Lord Upminster ( flac 212mb)
01 Funky Disco (Pops) 3:41
02 Red (Letter) 4:04
03 Girls (Watching) 4:37
04 Wait (For Me) 4:02
05 The (Body Song) 5:25
06 Lonely (Town) 4:33
07 Trust (Is A Must) 6:50
08 Spasticus (Autisticus) 5:19
(ogg mb)
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Originally, “4,000 Weeks' Holiday” was a 1984 album released by Ian Dury & The Music Students on Polydor Records. Its title is a reference to the length of an average human lifespan (4000 weeks). In 1984 Ian Dury was an official face for the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament in Britain and went so far as to shave a peace symbol into his hair, this can be seen on the cover to the album (and the "Ban the Bomb" Single). The album's song credits and lyrics are hand written. Accompanying each song's information are strange catchphrases such as "when flies fly, flies fly behind flies", "a gaudy morning bodes a wet afternoon" and most bizarre of all "my, how we apples swim quoth the dogshit" 4,000 Weeks Holiday was not reissued on CD in the UK until 2013, but was released in that format in Japan in 2007. If accounts by Dury himself and Music Student member Merlin Rhys-Jones (who would continue to work with Dury and co-write songs with him until his death) from Sex and Drugs and Rock and Roll: The Life of Ian Dury are correct, it would appear that it was Polydor records who suggested and insisted on Dury working with young musicians. Contradictorily, Ian Dury & The Blockheads: Song By Song purports that Polydor had wanted The Blockheads to play on the album, with the group rejecting the idea after learning they wouldn't be paid due to Dury spending most of his advance on his previous solo effort Lord Upminster. Song By Song's account is corroborated by Norman-Watt Roy (bassist for the Blockheads). Both versions are questionable. (source?) Chaz Jankel, Dury's primary songwriting partner, was busy with his solo career in America and with no Blockheads present, Dury turned to his old songwriting partner from his pub rock days Russell Hardy (and another Rod Melvin it would seem), and worked with a young American songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Michael McEvoy, who had been introduced to him by Blockheads and Kilburn and the High Roads member Davey Payne after McEvoy had played on the saxophonist's solo album for Stiff Records. Adam Kidron, who had produced Payne's album, had hired McEvoy as on a number of projects (including Orange Juice's debut album and Scritti Politti's Songs to Remember) which he produced before 4000 Weeks Holiday. Rehearsals for the album began in 1982 in Hammersmith, London, not very far from Dury's current flat in luxurious Thames-side apartments, and was recorded the following year in Basing Street Studios, Notting Hill and later The Townhouse. Though Jankel did not write any of the songs, he did play lead guitar as a guest. Ed Speight and Geoff Castle, who had played on Dury's seminal New Boots and Panties!! LP in 1977, guested on guitar and Moog synthesizer. The sessions also featured an extra special guest, celebrated reggae/ska trombone player Rico Rodriguez MBE (known to UK youth from The Specials), but most of the recordings were performed by the 'Music Students', i.e. McEvoy, Rhys-Jones, drummer Tag Lamche and saxophonist Jamie Talbot. Dury was forced by Polydor to remove one of the album's stronger (and controversial) songs "Fuck off Noddy" (and another about Billy Butlin) because of high profile paedophile and child pornography cases at the time (there was also rumours of a proposed lawsuit by the estate of Enid Blyton). The song puts down children's television and contained such lines as: “Winnie The Pooh is having a wank. And what are you up too? Said Thomas the Tank” and “Fuck off Noddy you stupid prat. Fuck off Noddy in your rotten hat.” Dury was determined not to cut the song and arguments about it delayed the record's release for over half a year. The single "Really Glad You Came / (You're My) Inspiration" was released during that time, the songs were two different lyrics put to an almost identical tune (by McEvoy) and the single was a total failure (though these are the two tracks most often used on Greatest Hits compilations) and its follow up single "Ban The Bomb / Very Personal" was actually mocked by critics, the first time this had happened to Ian Dury in his career thus far. Despite heavy promotion and touring by Ian Dury & The Music Students, including a week's residency in Tel Aviv, Israel and an appearance on influential music show The Tube the album's sales were poor, though the album reached number 54 in the UK Album Charts. The album also contains a noteworthy track: "Peter the Painter" was written (with McEvoy) on request from British Pop artist Peter Blake, Blake had been Dury's teacher at London's Royal College of Art and the two remained good friends until Dury's death in 2000. Blake was having his own exhibition at The Tate Gallery, London and asked Dury to compose a theme tune for it. "Peter the Painter" was that theme tune. Ian Dury’s last LP for Polydor was, as usual, full of memorable lyrics, keenly added to a tableau of multi-faceted musical muscle – this time provided by a fine young band of musicians he dubbed the Music Students. With 4000 Weeks’…, Dury demonstrated, once again, his supremacy as champion of the written word. And you can’t help but marvel at the dexterity of his delivery. Remastered from the original tapes, this version features six bonus tracks, five of them previously unreleased, as well as 20-page booklet complete with lyrics and new sleeve notes.
Ian Dury & The Music Students - 4000 Weeks Holiday ( 477mb)
01 You're My Inspiration 4:28
02 Friends 3:16
03 Tell Your Daddy 2:57
04 Peter The Painter 4:05
05 Ban The Bomb 4:37
06 Percy The Poet 3:35
07 Very Personal 4:08
08 Take Me To The Cleaners 2:41
09 The Man With No Face 5:04
10 Really Glad You Came 4:57
Bonus
11 The Sky's The Limit 3:35
12 You're My Inspiration (Long Version) 5:19
13 Peter The Painter (Long Version) 5:03
14 I Weighed Myself Up 4:08
15 I Weighed Myself Up (Long Version) 4:50
16 Percy The Poet ( Full Version) 5:28
Ian Dury & The Music Students - 4000 Weeks Holiday (ogg 167mb)
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Excellent live recording from 1990 from the late genius Ian Dury. The Blockheads are the ultimate skin-tight backdrop for Dury, adding brilliance to songs like 'Wake Up And Make Love With Me', 'Clever Trevor', 'What A Waste' and 'Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick' etc. The soundquality is stunning. If you liked "new boots" and "do it yourself", you'll enjoy the live version of some of their best pieces. Although the intro may fire up higher expectations than the concert actually deliver, and although some of the songs here are performed with higher "fun-factor" in their studio versions, this is a cd piece you MUST own if you were a blockhead fan end 70ies - (or would have liked to bee if you had been old enough). And yes, it still is a good party record a late Saturday evening (or early Sunday morning after too much Irish coffee). The album ends with an 8 min energetic version of "blockheads" - You move with the rhythem - Not bad at all :-))
Ian Dury And The Blockheads - Warts 'N' Audience ( 438mb)
01 Intro 1:24
02 Wake Up And Make Love With Me 6:05
03 Clevor Trever 6:49
04 If I Was With A Woman
4:26
05 Billericay Dickie 3:31
06 Quiet 3:37
07 My Old Man 4:40
08 Spasticus Autisticus 5:01
09 Plaistow Patricia 4:44
10 There Ain't Half Been Some Clever Bastards 3:03
11 Sweet Gene Vincent 4:29
12 What A Waste! 3:54
13 Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick 5:40
14 Blockheads 7:36
Ian Dury And The Blockheads - Warts 'N' Audience (ogg 160mb)
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The title Das Schloss may be translated as "the castle" or "the palace", but the German word is a homonym that can also refer to a lock. It is also phonetically close to der Schluss ("conclusion" or "end"). The castle is locked and closed to K. and the townspeople; neither can gain access. The name of the character Klamm is similar to "Klammer" in German, which means "clip, brace, peg, fastener" and may hold a double meaning; for Klamm is essentially the lock that locks away the secrets of the Castle and the salvation of K. In ordinary usage, "klamm" is an adjective that denotes a combination of dampness and chill and can be used in reference both to weather and clothing, which inscribes a sense of unease into the main character's name. In Czech, "klam" means delusion, deceit.
