Ian Dury -

Ian Dury (May 12, 1942 — March 27, 2000) was an English singer, lyricist, and bandleader who emerged in the R&B band Kilburn and the High Roads, which released one album on Dawn/Pye in 1975. As a solo artist, he debuted with the 1977 single “Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll,” followed by the album New Boots and Panties!! Both releases appeared on Stiff Records with backing by what ultimately became The Blockheads, which share credits with the singer on two further albums and standalone a-sides between 1978 and 1980. Dury’s co-writer during this period was Blockhead keyboardist Chaz Jankel.

The Blockheads members: Ian Dury (vocals), Norman Watt-Roy (bass), Davey Payne (saxophone, 1977-98), Charlie Charles (drums, 1977-82), Chaz Jankel (keyboards, guitar, 1977-80), Wilko Johnson (guitar, 1980-2000)

Early Life

He was born Ian Robins Dury on May 12, 1942, in Harrow Weald, Middlesex. Most of his childhood was spent between Cornwall and Switzerland with his mother, aunt, and maternal grandparents. At age seven, he fell victim to the 1949 polio epidemic, which left him hospital-bound for two years and partially paralyzed in his left extremities. He attended Chailey Heritage Craft School, where he learned cobbling and printing, followed by time at the Royal Grammar School, High Wycombe, where he underwent a strict program of English literature.

In 1964, the 22-year-old Dury enrolled at the Royal College of Art, where he studied under pop artist Peter Blake, who later did the cover art for Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. In 1967, he partook in an exhibition, “Fantasy and Figuration,” at the Institute of Contemporary Arts alongside painters Pat Douthwaite and Stass Paraskos. Over the next several years, Dury taught art at various South London colleges and did illustrations for The Sunday Times.

Kilburn and the High Roads

In 1971, Dury formed Kilburn and the High Roads, which played a mix of R&B and music hall. The band employed several of Dury’s art students, including guitarist Keith Lucas, who later fronted punk-rockers 999 under the stagename Nick Cash; and bassist Humphrey Ocean, who became a noted artist. The High Roads served as the opening act for The Who on a 1973 Christmas tour and issued one album, Handsome, in 1975 on Dawn. By 1976, Dury folded the band on doctor’s orders for health reasons.

The Blockheads

In late 1976, Ian Dury formed a songwriting partnership with Chaz Jankel, a longtime fellow traveler on London’s pub scene.

Jankel (b. April 16, 1962), originated in Byzantium, a band that blended symphonic rock and rustic folk on the 1972/73 A&M albums Byzantium and Seasons Changing. In 1974, he joined Outside, the backing band of Irish singer/songwriter Jonathan Kelly. By the time of their one album, …Waiting On You, Jankel embraced contemporary R&B and soul-funk.

In April 1977, Dury and Jankel demoed material with the Loving Awareness rhythm section: bassist Norman Watt-Roy and drummer Charley Charles.

Watt-Roy recorded two 1970 albums in The Greatest Show On Earth, a brass-rock band that included his older brother, Garth. Norman then cut two 1972/73 albums in Glencoe, a rustic-rock band with former Skip Bifferty/ARC guitarist John Turnball. In 1976, Norman, John, and Charley (ex-Casablanca, a Rocket Record soul-funk octet) formed Loving Awareness, a pop-rock band with Turnball’s ex-Bifferty bandmate, keyboardist Micky Gallagher. They recorded one album on the exclusive More Love Records label, funded by their benefactor, Ronan O’Rahilly of the offshore Radio Caroline.

Dury secured funds through his new management company, Blackhill. Sessions commenced with Jankel, Watt-Roy, Charles, and two ex-Kilburns: saxophonist Davey Payne and guitarist Edward Speight. They operated as Ian’s unnamed backing band until Charley read the lyrics to “Blockheads,” a Dury/Jankel original inspired by the nascent punk movement.

Blackhill linked them with Stiff Records, a year-old London indie launched by the former managers of Brinsley Schwarz (Dave Robinson) and Chilli Willi & the Red Hot Peppers (Jake Riviera).

“Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll”

On August 19, 1977, Ian Dury released his debut solo single: “Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll” backed with “Razzle in My Pocket,” both Dury–Jankel co-writes.

A. “Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll” (3:06)
B. “Razzle in My Pocket” (2:54)

“Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll” appeared as the seventeenth standard single on Stiff Records (BUY 17), between the debut single by Wreckless Eric (“Whole Wide World,” BUY 16), and releases by Alberto Y Lost Trios Paranoias (Snuff Rock EP, LAST 2) and The Damned (“Problem Child,” BUY 18).

“Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll” reached No. 11 in the Netherlands and No. 12 in Belgium and Sweden.

New Boots and Panties!!

Ian Dury released his debut album, New Boots and Panties!!, on September 30, 1977, on Stiff Records.

The album contains six songs co-written by guitarist/keyboardist Chaz Jankel, including “Blockheads” and “Sweet Gene Vincent,” a mournful paean to the fallen rockabilly icon.

Dury collaborated with outsider Steve Nugent on four songs: two old-time cuts (“My Old Man,” “Billericay Dickie”) and two punk zingers (“Plaistow Patricia,” “Blackmail Man”).

New Boots and Panties!! features Dury’s four-piece backing band with Jankel, Norman Watt-Roy, and Charley Charles; augmented by saxist Davey Payne, ‘ballad guitarist’ Edward Speight, and Nucleus Moog synthesist Geoff Castle. Payne joined the first three in Dury’s subsequent Blockheads band.

Musically, Jankel’s material furrows funk-rock arrangements both mid-tempo (“Wake Up and Make Love With Me”) and slow (“Clevor Trever”), delivered with Dury’s old cockney lush personae.

Initial copies excluded “Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll,” which appeared as the unlisted Side B opener on subsequent eleven-track pressings.

A1. “Wake Up and Make Love With Me” (4:19)
A2. “Sweet Gene Vincent” (3:30)
A3. “I’m Partial to Your Abracadabra” (3:10)
A4. “My Old Man” (3:36)
A5. “Billericay Dickie” (4:10)

B1. “Clevor Trever” (4:57)
B2. “If I Was With a Woman” (3:20)
B3. “Blockheads” (3:28)
B4. “Plaistow Patricia” (4:08)
B5. “Blackmail Man” (2:11)

Sessions occurred in 1977 at Workhouse Studios, an Old Kent Road facility co-owned by Blackhill and Manfred Mann.

Workhouse understudy Laurie Latham produced New Boots and Panties!! under the supervision of Blackhill’s Peter Jenner, a veteran post-psych producer (Edgar Broughton Band, Kevin Ayers, Roy Harper) with recent credits behind Anthony Moore and David Bedford. Jenner advised on the bass-drum sound to Latham and assistant Rik Walton, a subsequent Earth Band engineer.

UK rock photojournalist Chris Gabrin took the front-cover image in Westminster outside Axfords lingerie ship at 306 Vauxhall Bridge Road, opposite Gabrin’s Mini and Woolworths (reflected in the window). Dury stands next to his five-year-old son, Baxter, who entered the frame as the camera rolled. Hawkwind illustrator Barney Bubbles designed the orange brush letters. The inner-sleeve displays a monochrome collage of candid pics from the Kilburn years. Gabrin and Bubbles also teamed on Music for Pleasure, the second Damned album.

Stiff lifted “Sweet Gene Vincent” as a late-November single, backed with the reggaefied Kilburns oldie “You’re More Than Fair.”

Ian Dury assembled a six-piece backing band with Jankel, Watt-Roy, Charles, Payne, and the other half of Loving Awareness, John Turnball and Micky Gallagher. They promoted New Boots and Panties!! on Stiffs Greatest Stiffs, a package tour with labelmates Elvis Costello, Nick Lowe, Wreckless Eric, and former Pink Fairies singer Larry Wallis. The 25-date tour commenced October 3, 1977, at the High Wycombe Town Hall and wrapped on November 5 at Lancaster University. In December, Ian and his band (now formally billed as the Blockheads) headlined a 12-date tour that climaxed on the 18th at London’s Roundhouse, supported by Yachts and Deke Leonard‘s Iceberg.

New Boots and Panties!! sold steadily amid Dury’s rise to UK/commonwealth fame. The album eventually peaked at No. 13 in Australia, No. 7 in New Zealand, and No. 5 in the UK, where (by mid-1979) it achieved Platinum status for sales of 300,000 units.

“What a Waste!”

On April 14, 1978, Ian Dury and the Blockheads released their second standalone single: “What a Waste!” — a favorable comparison of band life to other trades, backed with the New Boots opener “Wake Up and Make Love With Me.”

Dury co-wrote “What a Waste!” in mid-1975 with late-period Kilburns pianist Rod Melvin. In Blockheads rehearsals, Charles, Turnball, Gallagher, and Watt-Roy imported the middle-eight from an unrecorded Loving Awareness song. The contribution of Jankel (co-credited) would be a subject of dispute.

A. “What a Waste!” (3:25)

The video takes place against a period white-backdrop, where Dury (slicked sides, duck tail, racoon eye-shadow, dangling cube earrings) writhes at the mic in distressed gray attire while his hirsute bandmates play along in close quarters.

As the single marked their UK Top 30 debut, Dury and the Blockheads mimed “What a Waste!” for the May 11 broadcast of the BBC music program Top of the Pops, which twice aired the song amid spring ’78 in-studio numbers by Black Sabbath (“Never Say Die”), Heatwave (“Mind Blowing Decisions”), Manfred Mann’s Earth Band (“Davy’s On the Road Again”), Sham 69 (“Angels With Dirty Faces”), The Real Thing (“Let’s Go Disco”), Thin Lizzy (“Rosalie”), and the Tom Robinson Band (“Up Against the Wall’). Dury (crop top, stubble) sported a grey Edwardian jacket and bumble bee shirt in the Blockheads segment, performed amid scaffolding and bright yellow lights.

Dury and the Blockheads performed “What a Waste!” before an audience of punks and hard rockers on the third episode of Revolver, a short-lived ITV new-wave music program hosted by comedian Peter Cooke. The July 29 broadcast also featured sets by Bonnie Tyler, The Buzzcocks, Siouxsie & The Banshees, and The Vibrators.

“What a Waste!” reached No. 9 on the UK Singles Chart while its b-side peaked within the Belgian Top 30.

“Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick”

On November 23, 1978, Ian Dury and The Blockheads released their third standalone single: “Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick,” a disco-funk Dury/Jankel number backed with “There Ain’t Half Been Some Clever Bastards,” a Kilburns live number co-written with original High Roads pianist Russell Hardy.

A. “Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick” (3:43)
B. “There Ain’t Half Been Some Clever Bastards” (2:59)

The video takes place on a dark stage, where Ian (curly quiff, pointy sideburns) sweats and twitches under white/pink lights in a sleeveless white top. The cameras show translucent overlays of his bandmates, including Payne with two saxophones.

Dury and The Blockheads mimed “Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick” in construction gear for the January 18, 1979, broadcast of TotP, which aired the song four times amid winter in-studios by Chic (“Le Freak”), Dr. Feelgood (“Milk and Alcohol”), Elton John (“Song for Guy”), Frankie Miller (“When I’m Away from You”), Generation X (“King Rocker”), Judas Priest (“Take On the World”), Olympic Runners (“Sir Dancealot”), Olivia Newton-John (“A Little More Love”), Phoebe Snow (“Every Night”), and Three Degrees (“Woman In Love”).

Dury and The Blockheads also mimed “Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick” amid triangular panels for the Dutch music program TopPop.

“Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick” broke Ian Dury in Oceania, where the single reached No. 3 in New Zealand and No. 2 on the Australian Kent Music Report. A Top 20 hit throughout Europe, the song reached No. 3 in Ireland, No. 7 in Norway, No. 9 in the Netherlands and Sweden, and No. 12 in Austria.

On the week of January 27, 1979, “Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick” reached No. 1 on the UK Singles Chart, where it ousted “YMCA” by the Village People and bowed the following week to “Heart of Glass” by Blondie.

Do It Yourself

Ian Dury & The Blockheads released their second album, Do It Yourself, on May 18, 1979, on Stiff.

The album contains six songs co-written with Chaz Jankel, including “Sink My Boats” (their earliest co-write) and the fan favorites “Inbetweenies” and “Waiting for Your Taxi.”

Dury also lyricized tunes by Micky Gallagher (“This Is What We Find”) and John Turnball (“Uneasy Sunny Day Hotsy-Totsy”). Both songs stem from their prior band, Loving Awareness, the source of “Quiet.” Norman Watt-Roy co-wrote “Mischief.”

For this album only, the Blockheads feature their classic lineup of Gallagher, Turnball, Watt-Roy, Charley Charles, David Payne, and musical director Chaz Jankel.

The songs on Inbetweenies divide into two contrasting moods. Several tracks carry smooth, contoured rhythms with tightly arranged rock-funk structures, allowing Dury’s witty, sometimes perverse lyrical observations to ride over the band’s polished interplay. Other songs adopt gruffer textures, with jagged tempo shifts and jumpy phrasing reminiscent of the Blockheads’ pub rock roots, giving the impression of controlled chaos beneath precise instrumentation.

Tracks like “Quiet,” “Sink My Boats,” and “This Is What We Find” feature angular vocal lines weaving through layered keyboards and saxophones, while pieces such as “Waiting for Your Taxi” stretch time and pace deliberately, creating a disjointed, tense effect. Occasional ska inflections and nods to reggae punctuate the album, providing rhythmic variation that contrasts with the otherwise rock-funk and disco-informed framework. Overall, the album oscillates between polished, rhythmically tight arrangements and deliberately off-kilter, sharp-edged passages that highlight both Dury’s lyrical eccentricity and the band’s versatile performance.

A1. “Inbetweenies” (5:18)
A2. “Quiet” (3:31)
A3. “Don’t Ask Me” (3:17)
A4. “Sink My Boats” (4:12)
A5. “Waiting For Your Taxi” (2:52)

B1. “This Is What We Find” (4:10)
B2. “Uneasy Sunny Day Hotsy-Totsy” (2:10)
B3. “Mischief” Watt-Roy, Gallagher (3:33)
B4. “Dance of the Screamers” (6:40)
B5. “Lullaby for Francis/Frances” (5:02)

Sessions occurred at the Workhouse, where Jankel co-produced the album with staffer Laurie Latham, who co-engineered Do It Yourself with Edwin Cross, a soundman on 1979 albums by Anthony Moore (Flying Doesn’t Help), Gang of Four (Entertainment!), and Manfred Mann’s Earth Band (Angel Station).

Stiff Records pressed Do It Yourself in thirty-four color variations of the Crown Wallpaper cover design. The back cover shows the Blockheads lined up single file (clad in sailors hats) before a “hair club for men” display. Barney Bubbles created the colorful insert illustration.

Do It Yourself reached No. 2 in the UK, No. 8 in Sweden, and No. 12 in the Netherlands.

“Reasons To Be Cheerful, Part 3”

On July 27, 1979, Ian Dury & the Blockheads released their fourth standalone single, Reasons to Be Cheerful, Part 3, backed with “Common as Muck,” marking the final release by the band in its original line-up.

The single was recorded at Eretcia Studios in Rome during a break in a European tour. Dury performed vocals, Chaz Jankel played guitar and keyboards and handled production, and Davey Payne contributed tenor and soprano saxophones. Robbie Shakespeare played bass, Sly Dunbar played drums, and keyboardist Tyrone Downie added clavinets, Prophet-5, and Steinway piano textures. Backing vocals were not credited for this session.

Ian Dury wrote the single’s lyrics with Jankel and Payne contributing to composition. “Reasons to Be Cheerful, Part 3” lists a wide range of cultural and everyday references as celebratory points, while the B-side “Common as Muck” celebrates the working-class experience, incorporating further name checks of public figures and cultural icons.

Musically, the single blends proto-rap delivery with angular, contoured rhythms, punctuated by Payne’s improvisational saxophone solo in the A-side. “Reasons to Be Cheerful, Part 3” combines brisk pacing with playful, chant-like phrasing, while “Common as Muck” has a more relaxed tempo and narrative flow that emphasizes lyrical wit.

A1. “Reasons to Be Cheerful, Part 3” (4:43) — listing of reasons to be cheerful, from Buddy Holly to Steve Biko, with saxophone solos interpolating improvisation.
B1. “Common as Muck” (6:41) — celebration of working-class life, referencing both real and fictitious figures, playful and rhythmically varied.

Sessions occurred at Eretcia Studios, Rome, with Chaz Jankel producing and engineering handled by the studio team.

The single reached No. 3 on the UK singles chart. A 12″ version extended the A-side and has appeared on later CD reissues of Do It Yourself and Laughter compilations.

Reasons to Be Cheerful, Part 3 remains one of Dury & the Blockheads’ signature tracks, notable for its rapid-fire cultural references and innovative, rhythmically driven proto-rap delivery.

On August 22, 1980, Ian Dury & The Blockheads released their fifth standalone single: “I Want to Be Straight” backed with “That’s Not All.” The a-side is an upbeat bass-driven track about his wish to conquer vices (drugs, alcohol, late-night binges). It doesn’t concern his physical posture as a polio survivor.

A. “I Want to Be Straight”
B. “That’s Not All”

Laughter

Ian Dury & The Blockheads released their third album, Laughter, on November 28, 1980, on Stiff.

The album marks a transition period for Dury and his backing band, who reconvened after Do It Yourself with a new lineup that featured Dr. Feelgood guitarist Wilko Johnson in place of departed co-writer Chaz Jankel. The sessions also included keyboardist Mick Gallagher, guitarist John Turnbull, bassist Norman Watt-Roy, drummer Charley Charles, and saxophonist Davey Payne, with guest spots by pocket trumpeter Don Cherry, percussionist Ray Cooper, and tap dancer Will Gaines.

Dury wrote all twelve songs in collaboration with members of the Blockheads, penning two titles with Johnson and several others with Gallagher, Payne, Turnbull, Watt-Roy, and Charles.

Musically, Laughter retains the band’s clipped funk rhythms and pub-rock grit while introducing harsher guitar textures from Johnson and darker, self-reflective themes from Dury. “Sueperman’s Big Sister,” the lead single, drives a disco-leaning beat under Johnson’s jagged chords and string flourishes. Gallagher’s “Delusions of Grandeur” and “Manic Depression (Jimi)” address instability with humor and melancholy, while Turnbull’s “Fucking Ada” builds from solemn piano and organ into an orchestral finale. The sardonic “Uncoolohol” examines addiction over a loose Afro-jazz rhythm, and “Hey, Hey, Take Me Away” recounts Dury’s youth in a polio institution.

A1. “Sueperman’s Big Sister” (2:49)
A2. “Pardon” (2:39)
A3. “Delusions of Grandeur” (2:51)
A4. “Yes and No (Paula)” (3:06)
A5. “Dance of the Crackpots” (2:35)
A6. “Over the Points” (4:08)

B1. “(Take Your Elbow Out of the Soup) You’re Sitting on the Chicken” (2:34)
B2. “Uncoolohol” (3:01)
B3. “Hey, Hey, Take Me Away” (2:27)
B4. “Manic Depression (Jimi)” (3:48)
B5. “Oh Mr. Peanut” (3:49)
B6. “Fucking Ada” (5:59)

Sessions occurred in 1980 at The Producers Workshop in London, produced by “Chips off the Old Block & Crooks” (Dury and the Blockheads) with engineer Ian Horne and assistant Richard Wernham.

Stiff promoted Laughter with “Sueperman’s Big Sister” (b/w “You’ll See Glimpses”), followed by “I Want to Be Straight” (b/w “That’s Not All”). “Sueperman’s Big Sister” reached No. 22 on the UK Singles Chart.

B. “You’ll See Glimpses”

Laughter was Dury’s final studio album with the Blockheads until their 1998 reunion on Mr. Love Pants.

Lord Upminster

Ian Dury released his fourth album, Lord Upminster, in September 1981 on Polydor.

The album was recorded at Compass Point Studios in Nassau, Bahamas, with Dury’s long-time collaborator Chaz Jankel and reggae rhythm duo Sly Dunbar (drums) and Robbie Shakespeare (bass guitar). Keyboardists Tyrone Downie contributed Clavinets, Prophet-5, and Steinway pianos, while backing vocals came from Tina Weymouth, Laura Weymouth, Harold Dorsett, and Gina. Dury performed vocals, and Jankel played guitars, keyboards, provided backing vocals, and handled arrangements.

All tracks were written by Dury and Jankel, except “Girls (Watching),” composed by Sly Dunbar. The album’s standout single, “Spasticus (Autisticus),” was co-written by Dury and Jankel and served as a provocative statement on disability rights, referencing the International Year of Disabled Persons and deliberately confronting taboos surrounding the word “spastic.”

Musically, the album blends funk, disco, British music hall, and early rock and roll, reflecting Dury’s pub rock roots and influences from Gene Vincent. Tracks like “Funky Disco (Pops)” and “The (Body Song)” emphasize rhythmic drive and playful instrumentation, while “Lonely (Town)” delivers a slower, reflective counterpoint. The album balances politically charged material with danceable and theatrical compositions.

A1. “Funky Disco (Pops)” (3:30) — upbeat funk rhythm with Jankel’s layered keyboard textures.
A2. “Red (Letter)” (3:47) — angular rhythms with lyrical wordplay.
A3. “Girls (Watching)” (4:28) — written by Sly Dunbar; incorporates reggae-influenced rhythmic phrasing.
A4. “Wait (For Me)” (3:41) — mid-tempo track with controlled pacing and theatrical phrasing.

B1. “The (Body Song)” (5:08) — playful funk and dance influences, rhythmically pronounced.
B2. “Lonely (Town)” (4:10) — introspective and subdued, contrasting the album’s funk-driven material.
B3. “Trust (Is a Must)” (6:20) — extended arrangement with layered instrumentation and contoured phrasing.
B4. “Spasticus (Autisticus)” (4:57) — protest anthem challenging patronizing perceptions of disability; rhythmic repetition mirrors chant-like delivery.

Sessions occurred at Compass Point Studios in Nassau, Bahamas, with Dury, Jankel, and Steven Stanley producing. Stanley also engineered and mixed alongside Harold Dorsett, who assisted with mixing. The album cover was photographed by Paul Kaye.

Polydor promoted the album with the single “Spasticus Autisticus” (b/w instrumental version), which faced BBC airplay restrictions due to controversial lyrics and did not chart.

Lord Upminster demonstrates Dury’s expansion into funk and post-disco rhythms while maintaining his sharp lyrical wit and theatrical delivery, with tracks like “Funky Disco (Pops)” and “Spasticus (Autisticus)” ensuring the album remains notable in his catalog.

Discography:

“Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll” / “Razzle in My Pocket” (1977)
New Boots and Panties!! (1977)
“What a Waste!” / “Wake Up and Make Love With Me” (1978)
“Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick” / “There Ain’t Half Been Some Clever Bastards” (1978 • Ian Dury and The Blockheads)
Do It Yourself (1979 • Ian Dury & The Blockheads)
Laughter (1980 • Ian Dury & The Blockheads)
Lord Upminster (1981)