Ian Dury & The Blockheads

Throughout rock history, eccentric outsiders with devoted cult followings have thrived thanks to their pronounced eccentricities, yet few matched the sheer oddity and widespread affection inspired by Ian Dury. Fronting the overlooked and short-lived pub-rock outfit Kilburn & the High Roads, he cut a memorable presence on stage despite lingering mobility issues from a childhood polio infection, delivering high-energy music-hall pieces and rock numbers delivered in a pronounced Cockney drawl. Already 28 when assembling the Kilburns, he faced conventional doubts about launching a mainstream career afterward, though such expectations rarely shaped his path. In 1978 he joined the new independent imprint Stiff and crafted an eccentric blend of music hall, punk energy, and disco grooves that propelled him to domestic stardom. Powered by an off-kilter wit and driving rhythms, tracks such as “Hit Me with Your Rhythm Stick,” “Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll,” and “Reasons to Be Cheerful, Pt. 3” reached the British Top Ten, yet his dry humor, playful wordplay, Cockney inflection, and music-hall leanings confined his appeal largely to England. Following his sophomore release, the approach grew repetitive and he receded from view in the early 1980s, shifting focus to acting instead.

Polio struck Ian Dury at age seven. After two years of hospital treatment, he entered a school for the physically handicapped, then pursued studies at the Royal College of Art and later taught painting at Canterbury Art College. In 1970, at 28, he launched his first group, Kilburn & the High Roads, whose repertoire centered on straightforward 1950s rock & roll with occasional jazz excursions. Over the ensuing three years they became regulars on the English pub-rock scene, allowing Dury to leave teaching once their audience grew sufficiently large by 1973. Several British writers championed the band, among them manager Charlie Gillett, who secured a deal with Warner’s Raft subsidiary; an album was taped in 1974, but the label declined to issue it. After parting ways, the Kilburns moved to Pye’s Dawn imprint and released Handsome in 1975, yet the pub-rock movement had already waned and the record went unnoticed, prompting the group’s dissolution by year’s end.

Dury maintained his partnership with pianist-guitarist Chaz Jankel after the split. By 1977 he had signed with Stiff Records and cut his debut alongside Jankel, ex-Kilburn Davey Payne, additional pub-rock veterans, and session players. Stiff sent him on the 1977 Live Stiffs package tour to promote New Boots and Panties!!, for which he and Jankel formed the Blockheads by adding guitarist John Turnbull, pianist Mickey Gallagher, bassist Norman Watt-Roy, and drummer Charley Charles. Shortly after the tour, Dury & the Blockheads emerged as a major attraction; the album itself became a substantial hit, lingering on British charts for nearly two years and eventually moving over a million copies worldwide. Its opening single “What a Waste” reached the U.K. Top Ten, while the follow-up non-album track “Hit Me with Your Rhythm Stick” advanced to number one.

Unexpectedly elevated to superstar status at home, Dury attracted sudden American label interest. Arista secured U.S. distribution rights for his Stiff catalog, yet New Boots and Panties!! failed commercially stateside despite glowing notices, leading to an immediate release from the roster. Still ascendant in Britain, he issued his second album Do It Yourself in summer 1979, which entered the charts promptly and explored disco textures more fully; an extensive tour supported the release and concluded with the single “Reasons to Be Cheerful, Pt. 3,” peaking at number three. Once the roadwork ended, Jankel departed and former Dr. Feelgood guitarist Wilko Johnson took his place. Together they delivered Dury’s final Stiff effort, Laughter, which drew mixed notices but solid sales in 1980. The next year he moved to Polydor, reunited with Jankel, and traveled to the Bahamas to record with reggae luminaries Sly Dunbar and Robbie Shakespeare. Issued in 1981, Lord Upminster met mixed reviews and weak sales yet included the single “Spasticus Autisticus,” originally penned for the United Nations Year of the Disabled and subsequently rejected.

After Lord Upminster underperformed, Dury stepped back from recording and concentrated on acting. His last significant 1980s release arrived in 1984 with 4000 Weeks Holiday, made alongside his new ensemble the Music Students. He took roles in stage productions and television programs, appeared in Peter Greenaway’s The Cook, the Thief, His Wife and Her Lover and Roman Polanski’s Pirates, and composed advertising jingles. In 1989 he co-wrote the musical Apples with Mickey Gallagher and performed in its stage version. Recording resumed in 1992 with The Bus Driver’s Prayer and Other Stories.

In May 1998 Dury disclosed that colon cancer had been diagnosed three years earlier and had metastasized to his liver. He chose to share the news on his 56th birthday weekend to encourage others facing similar struggles. Over the following year he continued public activities while fighting the illness, including induction into Q magazine’s songwriting hall of fame in autumn 1999, which marked his final public appearance. He died of cancer on March 27, 2000, leaving behind a singular and deeply personal catalog of work.