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The Blockheads
The Blockheads are an English rock music, 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. members included Chaz Jankel (guitar and keyboards), Nathan King (musician), Nathan King (bass), Mick Gallagher (keyboards and piano), John Turnbull (musician), John Turnbull (vocals and guitar), John Roberts (drums), and Mike Bennett (writer), Mike Bennett (lead vocals). There is a rolling line-up of saxophonists that includes Gilad Atzmon, Terry Edwards, Dave Lewis, and from time to time, the original sax player, Davey Payne. Between 2000 and 2022, the band's lead vocalist and main lyricist was Derek Hussey. The band may be best known for their hit singles, recorded with Dury, "What a Waste", "Hit Me with Your Rhythm Stick", "Reasons to Be Cheerful, Part 3", and "Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll". History Formation and early years In 1974, Ra ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Norman Watt-Roy
Norman Joseph Watt-Roy (born 15 February 1951) is an English musician, arranger and composer. Watt-Roy's music career spans more than 40 years. He came to prominence in the late 1970s, during the punk and new wave era of rock music as the bass player for Ian Dury and the Blockheads. He had previously been a member of the Greatest Show on Earth. In addition to his work with the Blockheads, Watt-Roy has been a session musician and has released one solo album. Early life Norman Joseph Watt-Roy was born into an Anglo-Indian family on 15 February 1951, in Bombay, India. In November 1954, the Watt-Roy family, including Norman, his older brother Garth Watt-Roy (born Garth Philip Watt-Roy, December 1947, Bombay, India), and his sister moved to England. They settled in Highbury, North London, where Norman went to St. Joan of Arc Primary School, Blackstock Road. When Norman was 8, the family moved to Harlow, Essex. At the age of 8, he learned a few guitar chords from his father, and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Terry Edwards
Terry Edwards (born 10 August 1960) is an English musician who plays trumpet, flugelhorn, saxophones, guitar and keyboards. Biography Edwards gained a degree in music from the University of East Anglia in 1982, where he was also a founding member of The Higsons. He produced and played on the debut album by Yeah Jazz called ''Six Lane Ends''. He has subsequently performed and released records both as a solo artist and with his band The Scapegoats. He has played as a session musician and as a collaborator with Derek Raymond (on the ''Dora Suarez'' album), Madness, The Fierce and the Dead, Mark Bedford, Tindersticks, Spiritualized, Siouxsie, The Creatures, Nick Cave, The Jesus and Mary Chain, Department S, Lydia Lunch, Faust, Snuff, Tom Waits, Jack, The Blockheads, Hot Chip, and Robyn Hitchcock. Edwards joined Gallon Drunk in 1993, staying with the band through the recording of three albums.Strong, Martin C. (2003) ''The Great Indie Discography'', Canongate, , p. 756 Also ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Skip Bifferty
Skip Bifferty were an English psychedelic rock band formed in early 1966. The band featured future members of Ian Dury and The Blockheads. History Skip Bifferty were formed when Newcastle upon Tyne band The Chosen Few (featuring Alan Hull, later of Lindisfarne) changed their name and recruited a new singer, Graham Bell, to replace Hull.Larkin C ''Virgin Encyclopedia of Sixties Music'' (Muze UK Ltd, 1997) p. 410 Managed by Don Arden, father of Sharon Osbourne, the band were given a contract by RCA Records. For RCA, the group released a number of psychedelic singles, including "Man in Black" (produced by Steve Marriott and Ronnie Lane, both then in the Small Faces), and the 1967 album '' Skip Bifferty'', most recently released with bonus tracks as ''The Story of Skip Bifferty'' on Sanctuary Records. Some of their songs were covered by established artists Cilla Black, The Tremeloes and The Kingsmen, and they built a following on the live circuit, including touring with Th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Psychedelic Rock
Psychedelic rock is a rock music Music genre, genre that is inspired, influenced, or representative of psychedelia, psychedelic culture, which is centered on perception-altering hallucinogenic drugs. The music incorporated new electronic sound effects and recording techniques, extended instrumental solos, and improvisation. Many psychedelic groups differ in style, and the label is often applied spuriously. Originating in the mid-1960s among British and American musicians, the sound of psychedelic rock invokes three core effects of LSD: depersonalization, dechronicization (the bending of time), and dynamization (when fixed, ordinary objects dissolve into moving, dancing structures), all of which detach the user from everyday reality. Musically, the effects may be represented via novelty studio tricks, electronic music, electronic or non-Western instrumentation, disjunctive song structures, and extended instrumental segments. Some of the earlier 1960s psychedelic rock musicians w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ronan O'Rahilly
Aodogán Ronan O'Rahilly (21 May 1940 – 20 April 2020) was an Irish businessman best known for the creation of the offshore radio station, Radio Caroline. He also became manager of George Lazenby, who played James Bond in one film. Biography Background O'Rahilly was born in Dublin, the third of five children. His parents owned the private port at Greenore, County Louth, on Carlingford Lough. His grandfather Michael O'Rahilly ( The O'Rahilly) was an important figure in the quest for the independence of Ireland, a leader in the Easter Rising, who died in the fighting in Dublin in April 1916. O'Rahilly described himself as a rebel who had been expelled from school seven times. He started living in London at the age of 17. [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Radio Caroline
Radio Caroline is a British radio station founded in 1964 by Ronan O'Rahilly and Allan Crawford, initially to circumvent the record companies' control of popular music broadcasting in the United Kingdom and the BBC's radio broadcasting monopoly. Unlicensed by any government for most of its early life, it was a Pirate radio in the United Kingdom, pirate radio station that never became illegal as such due to operating outside any national jurisdiction, although after the Marine, &c., Broadcasting (Offences) Act 1967 it became illegal for a British subject to associate with it. The Radio Caroline name was used to broadcast from international waters, using five different ships with three different owners, from 1964 to 1990, and via satellite from 1998 to 2013. Since August 2000, Radio Caroline has also broadcast 24 hours a day via the internet and by the occasional restricted service licence. Currently, the station broadcasts on 648 AM across much of England and Digital radio in th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ian Dury 2
Ian or Iain is a name of Scottish Gaelic origin, which is derived from the Hebrew given name (Yohanan, ') and corresponds to the English name John. The spelling Ian is an Anglicization of the Scottish Gaelic forename ''Iain''. This name is a popular name in Scotland, where it originated, as well as in other English-speaking countries. The name has fallen out of the top 100 male baby names in the United Kingdom, having peaked in popularity as one of the top 10 names throughout the 1960s. In 1900, Ian ranked as the 180th most popular male baby name in England and Wales. , the name has been in the top 100 in the United States every year since 1982, peaking at 65 in 2003. Other Gaelic forms of the name "John" include " Seonaidh" ("Johnny" from Lowland Scots), "Seon" (from English), "Seathan", and "Seán" and "Eoin" (from Irish). The Welsh equivalent is Ioan, the Cornish counterpart is Yowan and the Breton equivalent is Yann. Notable people named Ian Given name *Ian Agol (born ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll
"Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll" is a song and single by the English singer Ian Dury. It was originally released as a Stiff Records single on 26 August 1977. The song was released under the single name "Ian Dury", but three members of the Blockheads appear on the record – the song's co-writer and guitarist Chaz Jankel, Norman Watt-Roy on bass and drummer Charlie Charles. The B-side was "Razzle in My Pocket", a song about shoplifting pornographic magazines in Romford. History The song was written by Ian Dury and Chaz Jankel in Dury's flat in Oval Mansions, London (nicknamed "Catshit mansions" by Dury) that overlooked The Oval cricket ground. The pattern of work adopted by the pair involved Dury presenting Jankel with his hand-typed lyric sheets. According to Jankel in ''Sex and Drugs and Rock and Roll: The Life of Ian Dury'' he would be repeatedly given the lyric for "Sex and Drugs and Rock and Roll" but Jankel kept rejecting the song, only for it to be at the top of the pile again ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Reasons To Be Cheerful, Part 3
"Reasons to Be Cheerful, Part 3" is a song and single by Ian Dury and the Blockheads, initially released as the single "Reasons to be Cheerful, Part 3 / Common as Muck" on 27 July 1979, which reached number 3 in the UK singles chart the following month. It is the last single to be released by the band in their original line-up. Parts 1 and 2 do not exist. Recording "Reasons to be Cheerful" was not recorded at The Workhouse, Old Kent Road with the material that made up the Do It Yourself (Ian Dury & the Blockheads album), ''Do it Yourself'' album, but instead at Eretcia Studios (owned by RCA) in Rome during a break in a long European tour. According to its writer, Ian Dury, the song was inspired by a near-fatal accident involving a convert lighting, lighting roadie. Roadie Charley almost got electrocuted in Italy by a microphone stand while leaning over a mixing desk. Another roadie saved his life, hence 'no electric shocks' is included in the song's lyrics. The song was written i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick
"Hit Me with Your Rhythm Stick" is a song by Ian Dury and the Blockheads, first released as a single on Stiff Records in the UK on 1 December 1978 and credited to "Ian & the Blockheads". Written by Dury and the Blockheads' multi-instrumentalist Chaz Jankel, it is the group's most successful single, reaching number one on the UK Singles Chart in January 1979 as well as reaching the top three in Ireland, Australia and New Zealand, and it was also a top 20 hit in several European countries. "Hit Me with Your Rhythm Stick" was named the 12th best single of 1978 by the writers of British music magazine ''NME'', and best single of 1979 in the annual 'Pazz & Jop' poll organised by music critic Robert Christgau in ''The Village Voice''. It was also named the 3rd best post-punk 7" ever made by ''Fact'' magazine. By September 2017, it had sold over 1.29 million copies in the UK, making it the 114th biggest selling single of all time in the UK. Composition Co-writer Chaz Jankel has repeate ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
What A Waste
"What a Waste" is a song and single by Ian Dury and the Blockheads, originally released in 1978 on the Stiff Records single BUY 27 "What a Waste" / "Wake Up and Make Love with Me". The song has remained in The Blockheads' set following Dury's death. Essentially a song about being in a job that makes you happy, Dury claimed in a 1984 interview with '' Penthouse'', that while not condemning 9-to-5 jobs, he had written the song to make people question their lives, echoing the sentiments of his earlier single " Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll". The song's verses list a number of jobs the song's narrator could have done, from a driver, poet, teacher or soldier to an inmate in a long-term institution and the ticket man at Fulham Broadway station before the chorus reveals that instead he chose to "play the fool in a six-piece band" highlighting some of the pitfalls of this, specifically loneliness, before deciding that "rock and roll don't mind". The song was written following the break-up o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rock Music
Rock is a Music genre, genre of popular music that originated in the United States as "rock and roll" in the late 1940s and early 1950s, developing into a range of styles from the mid-1960s, primarily in the United States and the United Kingdom. It has its roots in rock and roll, a style that drew from the black musical genres of blues and rhythm and blues, as well as from country music. Rock also drew strongly from genres such as electric blues and folk music, folk, and incorporated influences from jazz and other styles. Rock is typically centered on the electric guitar, usually as part of a rock group with electric bass guitar, drum kit, drums, and one or more singers. Usually, rock is song-based music with a Time signature, time signature and using a verse–chorus form; however, the genre has become extremely diverse. Like pop music, lyrics often stress romantic love but also address a wide variety of other themes that are frequently social or political. Rock was the most p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
