''Handsome'' is the debut album of the
Ian Dury rock group
Kilburn and the High-Roads
Kilburn and the High Roads were a British pub rock band formed in London by Ian Dury in 1970. The band released one studio album in 1975, disbanding the same year. AllMusic credits the band with being "an undeniable influence on punk and new ...
, released in June 1975 by
Dawn Records
Dawn Records was a subsidiary of Pye Records. Active from 1969 to 1975, it was established as Pye's 'underground and progressive' label rivalling the EMI and Phonogram equivalents, Harvest and Vertigo.
The most successful act on the label wa ...
.
The band had apparently originally wanted to call the album ''No Hand Signals'', but the idea was rejected by Dawn. The photo on the back cover displayed a
Chuck Berry style
duckwalk
The duckwalk is a form of locomotion performed by assuming a low squatting position#Stalking.2C prowling and duckwalking, partial squatting position and walking forwards, maintaining the low stance. It is similar to stalking and prowling. It is m ...
, which is said to be the inspiration for the
Madness
Madness or The Madness may refer to:
Emotion and mental health
* Anger, an intense emotional response to a perceived provocation, hurt or threat
* Insanity, a spectrum of behaviors characterized by certain abnormal mental or behavioral patterns
* ...
group's 'nutty train' on the front cover of their album (and single) ''
One Step Beyond...''.
Track listing
Original album
Pye-Dawn re-released the original LP in 1977 following the success of Ian Dury as a solo artist.
1999 edition
In 1999, as part of their 30th Anniversary series, Dawn re-issued the album onto CD in a very unconventional way; instead of adding bonus tracks to the end of the album or on a second disc, Dawn decided to reorganise the album's track order to accommodate the missing B-sides as well as adding four previously unreleased tracks. These included a cover version of
Alma Cogan's "Twenty Tiny Fingers", one of only two cover versions Ian Dury has ever officially released, the other being "Girls (Watching)" on his 1980 album ''
Lord Upminster''.
*Track 1, 2 from the single "Rough Kids"
*Tracks 3, 5-14 from the original LP ''Handsome''
*Track 4 from the single "Crippled with Nerves"
*Tracks 15-18 previously unreleased
2016 edition
In 2016,
Cherry Red Records
Cherry Red Records is a British independent record label founded in Malvern, Worcestershire by Iain McNay in 1978. The label has released recordings by Dead Kennedys, Everything But the Girl, The Monochrome Set, and Felt, among others, as well ...
released an expanded edition of ''Handsome'' with a bonus disc containing a previously unreleased 1974
Capital Radio broadcast. The first disc includes both the single and album version of "Rough Kids".
;Disc 1
*As per 1999 edition, adding "Rough Kids" (album version) as track 12 (between "Thank You Mum" and "The Badger and the Rabbit")
;Disc 2
Personnel
;Kilburn and the High-Roads
*
Ian Dury - vocals
*Keith Lucas - guitar
*Charles Sinclair - electric bass
*
Rod Melvin
Rod, Ror, Ród, Rőd, Rød, Röd, ROD, or R.O.D. may refer to:
Devices
* Birch rod, made out of twigs from birch or other trees for corporal punishment
* Ceremonial rod, used to indicate a position of authority
* Connecting rod, main, coupling, ...
- piano; vocals on "Broken Skin" and "Thank You Mum"
*David Newton-Rohoman - drums
*
Davey Payne - saxophone, flute
;
Additional musicians
*Russell Hardy - keyboards on 1974
Capital Radio broadcast
[
*Louis Larose or George Butler - drums on 1974 Capital Radio broadcast][
;Technical
*Hugh Murphy – producer, arrangements
* Chris Thomas – producer on "Rough Kids" (single version) and "Billy Bentley (Promenades Himself in London)" ]
*Larry Bartlett - engineer
*Phil Chapman - engineer
*Elizabeth Rathmell - front cover painting "The Kilburns Near Tower Bridge"
*Gordon House – graphics
*Poundcake – photography
First mixes
In 1996, Repertoire Records
Repertoire Records is a German record label from Hamburg, Germany, specialising in reissues of classic pop and rock albums originally issued in the 1960s and 1970s. The chairman is Thomas Neelsen.
See also
* List of record labels
File:Alvino ...
released a 2-CD Ian Dury retrospective ''Ian Dury & The Blockheads: Reasons to Be Cheerful'' which included tracks from all of his solo albums and many of his solo singles but instead of including tracks from either ''Handsome'' or ''Wotabunch!
''Wotabunch!'' was released by WEA in 1977 following the success of Ian Dury as a solo artist. It is technically the 'second album' by Kilburn and the High-Roads.
When talking about Kilburn and the High-Roads' output in his track-by-track comment ...
'' they chose to include 10 tracks recorded in 1974 which they claim are the first mixes for some of the tracks from ''Handsome''. However, the version of "Rough Kids" is almost identical to the version on ''Wotabunch!'' (minus the ad-libs), and furthermore their time of recording suggests it is possible the tracks are in fact from the Raft recordings, regardless the ten tracks are "Rough Kids", "You're More Than Fair", "Billy Bentley", "Pam's Moods", "Upminster Kid", "The Roadette Song", "Pam's Moods 2", "The Call-Up" and the wrong titled "The Mumble Rumble" ("The Mumble Rumble and the Cocktail Rock"). "Pam's Moods 2" is another mix of "Pam's Moods".
These tracks show little signs of the smooth, softened, high-produced versions finally released on ''Handsome'' and are far similar to the band's live sound and are not mentioned at all in either Ian Dury autobiography and noticeably included "You're More Than Fair", which was not included on the final album.
References
Further reading
*''Sex and Drugs and Rock and Roll: The Life of Ian Dury'' by Richard Balls, first published 2000, Omnibus Press
*''Ian Dury & the Blockheads: Song by Song'' by Jim Drury, first published 2003, Sanctuary Publishing
*''Reasons to Be Cheerful'', 2-disc compilation first released 1996, Repertoire Records
Repertoire Records is a German record label from Hamburg, Germany, specialising in reissues of classic pop and rock albums originally issued in the 1960s and 1970s. The chairman is Thomas Neelsen.
See also
* List of record labels
File:Alvino ...
*Booklet to the Dawn's 1998 re-issue of ''Handsome''
External links
*
{{Authority control
1975 debut albums
Kilburn and the High Roads albums
Albums produced by Chris Thomas (record producer)
Dawn Records albums