clevor endeavor

Rising to public awareness during the midst of the UK punk scene in 1977, it was inevitable that Dury, with his bawdry lyrics, would be branded punk alongside the Sex Pistols and Clash by the ignorant press. Of course Dury was anything but. Crippled from polio as a child (Ian Dury - Injury, geddit?), Dury was an accomplished artist and friend of Pop Art guru Peter Blake (Beatles Sgt Pepper's sleeve), as well as being a long-time live pub-act under the name of `Kilburn And The High Roads'. `The High Roads' becoming `The Blockheads', Ian's debut album crackled with the underproduced sound of the punk era, but his wordsmithery elevated him above the wholesale riff-raff that were spitting their way across England. Witty, astute, and often risqué, Drury's songs were part working-class folk-tales, part vaudeville extravaganzas. The New Boots And Panties set highlights Ian and the Blockheads testing out their ever-increasing musical talents, looking punk straight in the eye, and easily outdoing it. A non-punk punk-classic.

A reason to be cheerful

I grew up with Norman Wattroy as a kinda Funky uncle. I have been a part of this scene for years. I remember vividly attending the Palladium gig, Ian's last, and seeing how far gone with cancer he was. We were genuinely dismayed and at a loss when word reached us that he had gone. I only met him once, and he was so rude! Norman has taught me so very much about feeling and what real music means. I can't thank him enough for opening up the belly of music history for me, it's made me a better man.

Hit me, Hit me, HIT ME!

I am only 15, and this album was the first I ever heard by Ian Dury, and it is surely one of the greatest albums ever. It blends spoken word, cockney ryhmes, singing, and all out rocking perfectly! May Ian Dury rest in peace. Thank you Ian.