Sunday, February 13, 2005

"What a Waste!"

For a few years, Ian Dury was the closest thing we had to a musical Poet Laureate. He wrote terrific lyrics, and fronted one of the tightest bands around, The Blockheads. His two albums from the period - New Boots & Panties and Do It Yourself - were stuffed to the gills with catchy, funny and clever songs that you could dance to. He's probably best-remembered for "Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll", but I prefer this one. "I could be a writer with a growing reputation/I could be the ticket man at Fulham Broadway station", he sings. "I could be the catalyst that sparks the revolution/I could be an inmate in a long-term institution". Good old fashioned eccentric English songwriting. Shame we've forgotten it.

1 comment:

Russell CJ Duffy said...

Ian Dury, along with Viv Stanshall and the genius that is Ray Davies, is, as you quite rightly say the closest thing we had to a poet laureate.
I grew up listening to the 60's wave of music greats but it wasn't until Bowie that I heard someone whose voice/accent was like mine.
Ian Dury, as I am sure you know, spent part of his childhood in Upminster, my birthplace, so I hold him in great esteem.
His penultimate album was a truly back to form creation (stupidly can't remember the bloody title of it as I sit here typing).
Also his son Baxter, unlike so many great artists son's, came up with a totally different album and nothing like his fathers work with "Len Parrots Memorial Lift".
Got the Blockheads as his backing band.
As if I wouldn't like your website. Music is one of my big passions.