Ian Dury | Artist

Ian Robins Dury was an English singer-songwriter and actor born 1942 in Harrow, UK. He rose to fame during the late 1970s, during the punk and new wave era of rock music when he was the lead singer of Ian Dury and the Blockheads and before that of Kilburn and the High Roads. At the age of seven, Dury contracted polio resulting in the paralysis and withering of his left leg, shoulder and arm. After a period spent in a hospital for disabled children, Dury entered the Royal Grammar School, High Wycombe, and then, at the age of 16, on to Walthamstow College of Art to study painting. From 1964 he studied art at the Royal College of Art under Peter Blake where, in 1967, he took part in a group exhibition, "Fantasy and Figuration", at the Institute of Contemporary Arts in London. From 1967 he taught art at various colleges in the south of England, and he painted commercial illustrations for The Sunday Times in the early 1970s. Dury formed Kilburn and the High Roads in 1971, and they played their first gig at Croydon School of Art on 5 December 1971. Dury was vocalist and lyricist, co-writing with pianist Russell Hardy and later enrolling into the group a number of the students he was teaching, including the artist Humphrey Ocean (bass) and Keith Lucas (guitar) who later became the guitarist for new wave band 999, under the name Nick Cash. The Kilburn's recorded two studio albums before disbanding in 1975. Ian Dury and Blockheads formed in London in 1977 with the lineup comprising Dury (vocals), Norman Watt-Roy (bass), Davey Payne (saxophone), Charlie Charles (drums) and Chaz Jankel (keyboards, guitar). Ex Dr Feelgood guitarist Wilco Johnson replaced Jankel in 1980. The Blockheads continued to perform since Dury's death in 2000. The band struck instant success with their first single, "Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll", released on the newly formed Stiff label. It was soon followed by the album New Boots and Panties!! which was eventually to achieve platinum status. Dury and the band built up a dedicated following in the UK and other countries and scored several more hit single including "What a Waste", "Hit me With Your Rhythm Stick" and "Reasons to be Cheerful, Part 3". Their music was a blend of new-wave pop with a touch of reggae rhythm, overlaid with Dury's cockney vocal delivery and brilliantly witty song lyrics. In total, Dury released five solo studio albums, plus four albums attributed to Ian Dury & the Blockheads. Standouts include New Boots and Panties!!, Do It Yourself, Mr Love Pants and Ten More Turnips From the Tip. Two compilation albums are also highly recommended: Juke Box Dury from 1981 contains the Singles, and the 2020 release Hit Me! which is a double album of Dury's best material. Ian's son Baxter Dury is a present day Indie pop artist.

Artist Website: iandury.co.uk

Featured Albums: Ian Dury

Related Artists: Stiff Records, The Blockheads, Kilburn and the High Roads, Baxter Dury

Video Clips: Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick, Sex and Drugs and Rock & Roll, Reasons to be Chearful