by Ian Dury (New Boots and Panties!!, 1977)
Released a few months before The Blockheads were formed and only featuring a couple of members of the group the album is credited as an Ian Dury solo album. Dury co-wrote all of the songs on the album either with Chaz Jankel, member of The Blockheads, or with an American called Steve Nugent. The album was mostly written a year before it's release with demos recorded in the spring of 1977 a week before the album would be recorded. Dury and friends recorded the album in spite of not having a record deal which meant that Dury's management company put up the money. After struggling to find a label, Stiff Records who already had Elvis Costello and The Damned negotiated a licensing deal and the album was released in September.
The opening track off the album is a prime example of Dury's brand of playful punk-funk song writing. Piano twinkles start off gently but the bass and drums kick in with the punchy, bouncy rhythm and the piano decides to follow hitting the melody. A Moog synthesiser whirs around in the background as Dury's accented, spoken singing style almost impossibly manages to describe in rather charming fashion a 'morning glory' moment.
AR
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