Saturday 4 April 2015

D: What would I write about without this man?


Without Ian Dury I wouldn't have the "Reasons to be Cheerful" theme for my entry in the Blogging from A to Z Challenge and, more importantly, without Ian Dury my life would be an emptier place.

His songs continue to give me great joy and it's possible I enjoy them more now than when I first started listening to them when I was a teenager.

While many of Ian Dury's songs have a humorous side, others are darker, but all take a delight in using language. What sets the songs off so well is the musical setting, that glorious mix of jazz, rock and roll, funk, reggae and even a bit of music hall.

Sadly, Ian Dury died from cancer at the age of 57, but I hope from the music I put with this posting that you can get a real sense of the vitality of the man.

I'm not going to go on and on with this posting. Instead I want to offer two pieces of music for your, I hope, enjoyment. The first is Ian Dury and the Blockheads performing What a Waste, which was a hit for the band in the late 1970s.


The second Ian Dury song is My Old Man, a gentle, reflective song, but still with a driving bass line. Some of the pictures on the video go better with the song than others, but I think you'll still enjoy the song.






  • Question: Have you got a favourite Ian Dury song? If not, why not? Go out and find one. Be warned some of them have quite a bit of swearing in them, but swearing in a "nice" way.

12 comments:

  1. I have a big smile on my face thinking back to Hit me with your Rhythm Stick being sung by my Mum in the kitchen with my brother and I joining in with the words "It's nice to be a lunatic" at the top of our voices. She even went on to rewrite some of the lyrics so that they were about our family cat (this may give a clue about what type of household we lived in and why I have always seen life as being totally wonderful and awesome!!) I've already joined up to be a follower because I can just tell I'm going to love this blog :) Special Teaching at Pempi’s Palace

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    1. It's an interesting exercise to adapt song lyrics to your own circumstances. I hope you enjoy my blog. I will shortly be visiting yours.

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  2. Agreed, another great post about an artist who is underrated. He's never been played on a radio station in the States to my knowledge. When I worked in Norfolk a fellow journalist Richard had written a bio of him - Sex, Drugs and Rock and Roll and I was lucky enough to be dragged to a gig in Cambridge - probably not too long before he died

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    1. Glad you enjoyed it and like Ian Dury. One of the best gigs I ever went to was Ian Dury and the Blockheads at Canterbury Odeon, probably in 1977 or '78. At the end the band threw bananas in to the audience.

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  3. Minion Carrie dropping by to cheer you on! Keep up the excellent work! :D Enjoy your day off tomorrow and have a blessed Easter!

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  4. Hi Mark - Ian Drury is so well known .. but me being almost non-musical .. however I see he was responsible for Sex and Drugs and Rock and Roll .. so I'll go with that - and that one I do know .. cheers Hilary

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    1. Ian Dury has a great many songs to choose from although Sex and drugs and rock'n'roll is always a good one.

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  5. I've never heard of him until now--so you've introduced him to one more person!

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  6. No I had not heard of him. I was a music fan in the early and mid- 60s and then the music changed too much for my taste, I didn't keep up with it. I think it's wonderful that one musician's work has inspired you so much.

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    1. I used to think I'd never not want to listen to "new" music, but then I did. Some of the stuff that comes out now just doesn't do it for me. I'm taking this as a sign of becoming more discerning.

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