The Blockheads : News : Latest
skip navigationA Word In Your Ear
Our favourite magazine The Word hosts its very own music night A Word In Your Ear at its local boozing establishment "The Lexington".The evening is hosted by two of the UK's finest music journalists and broadcasters Mark Ellen and David Hepworth (if you are the wrong side of ahem...you may recall them presenting Whistle Test on BBC2.
As a way to announce and enter into our 35th anniversary year we are pleased to announce that we shall be playing on June 12.
The Lexington is a 200 capacity venue so a very intimate way of seeing the band and The Blockheads on this night will be Derek The Draw, Chaz Jankel, Mick Gallagher, John Turnbull, Norman Watt-Roy, John Roberts and Gilad Atzmon.
The set will consist of all the favourites and something new.
Please check our Live page for ticket link.
The Blockheads on the road 2012
The Blockheads are back out on the road at the end of April. The band start celebrations of their 35th anniversary in the late Summer and also ambark on a few "Class Of '77" dates with From The Jam and Boomtown Rats at the end of the year.If you are a promoter/venue and wish to book the band please send an email to us here
Sex & Drugs & Rock 'n' Roll: The Life Of Ian Dury - fully updated edition!
This is the first complete no-holds-barred biography of the late, great self-made Essex lad himself!The abrasive Dury always met life head on, in his relationships and in his music, and this acclaimed biography does not shrink from chronicling some of his darker moments, as well as his triumphs. Author Richard Balls talked to more than 50 of his friends, as well as to Dury himself shortly before his death.
This fully updated edition charts the continuing success of The Blockheads and tells the inside story of the biopic 'sex&drugs&rock&roll'. Actors Andy Serkis, who played Dury, and Martin Freeman, are among the contributors, along with Dury's former minder and confidant Derek Hussey.
There are vivid insights into harsh post-war schools for disabled children, the Fifties art school scene and the ramshackle pub rock circuit, plus a mixed bag of celebrities from Peter Blake to Omar Sharif. Dury's extraordinary life was always a battle. As rocker, lyricist, artist and actor he was unsentimental and uncompromising. As a man he was harder to fathom - until now. In this classic rock biography, the self-styled ?diamond geezer stands revealed as a real diamond after all.
Illustrated with many photographs from private collections.
Very thoroughly researched and indispensable. - Time Out
Grips right from the start. - The Times
For all its unflinching honesty, this splendid bawdy account seems like a fitting tribute. - Q
A perfect tribute and an essential read for fans.- Classic Rock
One of the best biographies I've ever read. John Inverdale, Daily Express
Staring Down The Barrel released on EMI Records
Staring Down The Barrel was released worldwide in April 2009 through EMI records.Comprised of new music written by Chaz Jankel, the lyrics are penned by The Blockheads vocalist Derek Hussey (aka Derek The Draw).
Please check out the EPK below for all the info on the album and some rare footage!
"Given the times those ancient Blockheads sound more here-and-now than anyone..." Uncut
"Dury would be proud." Mojo
"This is a record which will thrill Blockheads fans of all ages and demonstrates this ensemble have lost none of their passion and spirit." Subba-Cultcha
"The trademark funk/rock/music hall/ska fusion of old mucker Derek The Draw has...got the great man [Ian Dury]'s knack for vivid social commentary nailed too." Big Cheese
"...unexpectedly thoughtful and engaging." Daily Telegraph Review
"It sounds like a vintage Blockheads album..." Record Collector
"Ian Dury owed his brilliance to no one. But he owed his stardom to The Blockheads. Musically Jankel and his men keep it as tight
and funky as before." The Word
"Staring Down The Barrel is a great, adult album full of good tunes, witty lyrics and steaming great grooves." bbc.co.uk
Buy through Amazon
or
Pop over to iTunes to download the album.
Greed - New Video exclusive
Here is the video for 'Greed' - a song that Derek 'The Draw' Hussey wrote (somewhat prophetically) two years ago with Chaz Jankel "Staring Down The Barrel".
The promo features cameos from actor and well-known music fan Martin Freeman (The Office, Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy, The Good Night); Toby Jones (Truman Capote in "Infamous", agent Irving 'Swifty' Lazar in"Frost/Nixon" and Karl Rove in OIiver Stone's "W"); and musician, comedian, actor and TV presenter Rowland Rivron.
Stuart Harris, who has worked as a cinematographer with directors as diverse as Ridley Scott, Julien Temple, Tim Pope and Storm Thorgerson, directed and photographed the video.
New Ian Dury & The Blockheads Box Set
Edsel is proud to present a box set of Ian Dury's seven Stiff Records singles, in CD-sized replicas of their original classic 7" sleeves, as well as a four song disc featuring Ian & The Blockheads one and only session for John Peel (or for any BBC Radio show), which is released for the first time in any format! The box also includes a bonus DVD of Ian and the band?s six promo videos for the singles, which have never been commercially released in any format, and have remained unseen since they were broadcast on a handful of occasions in the late 70s / early 80s. The illustrated booklet is extensively annotated by Chaz Jankel and Mick Gallagher. 1. Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll / Razzle In My Pocket / Two Steep Hills / England's Glory 2. Sweet Gene Vincent / You're More Than Fair 3. What A Waste / Wake Up And Make Love With Me 4. Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick / There Ain't Half Been Some Clever Bastards 5. Reasons To Be Cheerful, Part 3 / Common As Muck / Reasons To Be Cheerful, Part 3 [12" version] 6. I Want To Be Straight / That's Not All 7. Sueperman's Big Sister / You'll See Glimpses 8. THE PEEL SESSION: Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll / Clevor Trever / Sweet Gene Vincent / Blockheads BONUS DVD: THE PROMO VIDEOS Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll / What A Waste / Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick / Reasons To Be Cheerful, Part 3 / I Want To Be Straight / Sueperman's Big Sister Release date: 20th October 2008 Catalogue no: EDSB 4003The Stiff years re-released!!
Surprisingly, for three such treasured albums, New Boots And Panties!! (1977); Do It Yourself (1979) and Laughter (1980) have never been given the full Deluxe 2 CD Edition re-issue treatment.
Demon Music Group has finally put this right at long last! With the full co-operation of both the Dury estate and The Blockheads, 2 CD sets include bonus discs with all the non-album singles sides, as well as previously unreleased demo versions, outtakes, and live versions, all retrieved from the untouched Dury tape archive.
The booklets feature full annotation, all the lyrics, and Dury ephemera. We would like to thank Val Jennings at Demon for putting together what we consider to be the ultimate versions of these albums.
To purchase from Amazon please click on an album cover below.
