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1
Wake Up And Make Love With Me
Ian Dury & The Blockheads
04:22
2
Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll
Ian Dury
03:06
3
My Old Man
Ian Dury
03:40
4
Pam's Moods
Kilburn & The High Roads
03:40
5
Bluejean Bop
Gene Vincent & His Blue Caps
02:23
6
Sweet Gene Vincent
Ian Dury, The Blockheads
03:33
7
Drip Fed Fred (feat. Ian Dury)
Madness, Ian Dury
04:31
8
Ramblin'
Ornette Coleman
06:36
9
Blockheads
Ian Dury
03:31
10
Heart Of The City
Nick Lowe
02:08
11
Watching The Detectives
Elvis Costello
03:46
12
Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick
Ian Dury, The Blockheads
03:43
13
Reasons To Be Cheerful, Part 3 (12" Version)
Ian Dury, The Blockheads
06:41
14
What A Waste
Ian Dury, The Blockheads
03:26
15
Can I Kick It? - Extended Boilerhouse Mix
A Tribe Called Quest, Andy Dean, Ben Wolff
06:39
16
Clevor Trever
Ian Dury, The Blockheads
04:57
17
I Want To Be Straight
Ian Dury, The Blockheads
03:20
18
Drip Fed Fred (feat. Ian Dury) - Remastered
Madness, Ian Dury
04:29
19
I Am Machine
Mel Croucher, Ian Dury
04:55
20
Glad To Know You - Todd Terje Re-Edit
Chaz Jankel
06:27
21
Glad To Know You
Chaz Jankel
06:33
22
Dance Little Rude Boy
Ian Dury & The Blockheads
04:34
23
Ballad of the Sulphate Strangler
Ian Dury & The Blockheads
05:29
24
Cocaine Man
Baxter Dury
03:53
25
Roxette - 2006 Remaster
Dr. Feelgood
02:56
26
Red Angel Dragnet - Remastered
The Clash
03:44
27
My Old Man
Madness
03:13
28
Billericay Dickie
Billy Bragg
04:43
29
Plaistow Patricia
Shane MacGowan
04:03
30
Blackmail Man
Ian Dury
02:15
31
Other Men's Girls
Baxter Dury
03:45

Ian Dury

Ian Dury was a hero, a mad performer, a pantomime villain, a sharp lyricist, a cripple, a lover and a rocker all rolled into one person.

Larger than life is a bit of an understatement when talking about the late, great Ian Dury. He was a hero, a mad performer, a pantomime villain, a sharp lyricist, a cripple, a lover and a rocker all rolled into one person. Ian has faded a little bit from the limelight since he passed away in 2000, but his influence is still immense. He is still one of my favourite artists, and I will try to explain why with this playlist.

Let’s start with the start, “Wake Up and Make Love with Me”, which was the opener for every gig by Ian Dury & The Blockheads, his main band. It’s blue-eyed funk, saucy lyrics and perfect delivery, a classic Dury. And that sandpaper voice...

... Drum roll in your face to introduce “Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll”. 

Ian & The Blockheads have been associated with the punk movement, probably because of the era, their irreverence and their connections with the music scene, but their music has never been punk. His multiple collaborators (Chaz Jankel, Charlie Charles, Wilko Johnson, his early band Kilburn & The High Roads), his ‘colourful’ entourage (Spider Rowe, The Sulphate Strangler, Kosmo Vinyl), his influences (from Gene Vincent to Ornette Coleman, to the painter Peter Blake), the other musicians on the Stiff Records label with him (Elvis Costello, Madness, Nick Lowe) and the musicians he has inspired (even A Tribe Called Quest) are somewhere in this playlist. And there is of course his son Baxter Dury, the little boy on the sleeve of his most famous album “New Boots and Panties", who still has a pretty good career in the sandpaper voice department!

Ian was born in 1942 in Middlesex near London. His dad was a bus driver who then went on to drive limousines for wealthy clients. His mother was a health visitor and gave him a classic education based on her upbringing as the daughter of a doctor. They got separated when Ian was a young child. 

Tragedy struck when he caught polio at the age of 7. This left him with one half of his body severely damaged. He would wear calipers and use crutches all his life. This didn’t stop him from becoming one of the greatest British rock star and seducing a large number of women during his rich life. 

One of the songs I couldn’t include here, as it’s not available on streaming platforms is "Spasticus Autisticus". One of my favourites. It was written in 1981 for the International Year of Disability as a commission, and got immediately banned by the BBC! Too rude! Apparently, it’s a crime if a disabled person talks about life with a disability with humour.

He is one of the most complex characters in the rock 'n' roll circus. His lyrics read like literature. His raspy voice has got an incredible presence. To cut a long story short, he perfectly embodies British eccentricity and boldness. 

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