"Billericay Dickie" is a song by

Ian Dury Ian Robins Dury (12 May 1942 27 March 2000) was a British singer, songwriter and actor who rose to fame during the late 1970s, during the punk and new wave era of rock music. He was the lead singer and lyricist of Ian Dury and the Blockheads ...

, from his debut album ''

New Boots and Panties!! ''New Boots and Panties!!'' is the debut studio album by Ian Dury, released in the UK on Stiff Records on 30 September 1977. The record covers a diverse range of musical styles which reflect Dury's influences and background in pub rock, taking i ...

''. It is narrated by a bragging bricklayer from

Billericay Billericay ( ) is a town and civil parish in the Borough of Basildon, Essex, England. It lies within the London Basin and constitutes a commuter town east of Central London. The town has three secondary schools and a variety of open spaces. It i ...

, and is filled with name-checks for places in

Essex Essex () is a Ceremonial counties of England, county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the Riv ...

. The song is based around naughty rhymes such as: :I had a love affair with Nina : in the back of my

Cortina Cortina may refer to: Things * Cortina (tango), a short piece of music played during a tango dance event * Ford Cortina, a medium-sized family car built by Ford of Britain from 1962 to 1982 **Lotus Cortina, a 1963–1968 performance variant on the ...

:A seasoned up

hyena Hyenas, or hyaenas (from Ancient Greek , ), are feliform carnivoran mammals of the family Hyaenidae . With only four extant species (each in its own genus), it is the fifth-smallest family in the Carnivora and one of the smallest in the cl ...

: could not have been more obscener :She took me to the cleaners : and other misdemeanours; : but I got right up between her : rum and her ribena. Each verse tells a different short story, relating one of Dickie's sexual conquests around south-eastern England, while in the choruses the character insists he is a caring, conscientious lover and 'not a thickie', even giving the names of two girls ("a pair of squeaky chickies") as references to attest this. Dickie is a character most commonly referred to in the media as an 'Essex lad'. The song, perhaps the best example of Dury's 'Englishness' and 'Essexness', was given its oompah, fairground like arrangement by an American, Steve Nugent. Ian Dury stated on numerous occasions (as mentioned in both his biographies, ''Sex and Drugs and Rock and Roll: The Life of Ian Dury'' and ''Ian Dury &

The Blockheads The Blockheads are an English rock band formed in London in 1977. Originally fronted by lead singer Ian Dury as Ian Dury and the Blockheads or Ian and the Blockheads, the band has continued to perform since Dury's death in 2000. Current member ...

: Song By Song'') that he saw Dickie as a pathetic figure. He would reflect this on-stage by breaking down, as if he were about to cry during the final part of the song, before returning to normal, to shout the final lines of the final verse. The song was rarely used as an opening track for live sets (another song from ''New Boots and Panties!!'', "

Wake Up and Make Love with Me Wake or The Wake may refer to: Culture *Wake (ceremony), a ritual which takes place during some funeral ceremonies *Wakes week, an English holiday tradition * Parish Wake, another name of the Welsh ', the fairs held on the local parish's patron s ...

", was used instead), but it does open the set recorded live at the Hammersmith Odeon, in 1985, that was released as the ''Hold Onto Your Structure'' VHS/DVD. Live versions can be found on both of Dury's live albums ''Warts 'n' Audience'' and ''

Straight from the Desk ''Straight from the Desk'' is a live album by Ian Dury & the Blockheads recorded on 23 December 1978 at the Ilford Odeon, Ilford, East London. There is little information available about the album, other than what can be heard on the record. D ...

''. In Australia, the song formed the basis of the jingle in ads for cleaning product Ajax Spray n' Wipe. The ad campaign ran from 1988 to 2010.

References

Sources

* * *''Reasons To Be Cheerful'' 2-Disc Compilation first released 1996, Repertoire Records *''New Boots And Panties!!'' — label credit on Stiff Records SEEZ 4, released 1977 {{authority control 1977 songs Songs written by Ian Dury Billericay