Ian Dury And The Blockheads - Are Clever Bastards (1982)

Ian Dury exploded onto the punk/new wave scene with his first solo single 'Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll' in 1977, and it kick-started a career revival for the former singer with Kilburn & The High Roads. Following it's success he put together a backing band that he christened The Blockheads, and proceeded to release a string of classic singles and albums. The Blockheads were all experienced musicians, and so were able to complement Dury's lyrical flights of fancy with great tunes that stuck in the memory. When 'New Boots And Panties!!' was eventually released, neither side of that first single was on it, making it even more sought after, and that was the start of a trend, as they often released singles as tasters for albums which then didn't feature the song or it's b-side. In 1977 Stiff Records gave away a freebie 7" single of 'Sex & Drugs...' with two exclusive Kilburn & The High Roads songs on the b-side, and in 1981 the NME offered their readers the chance to purchase one of their cassette compilations featuring Dury's 'Close To Home', being the only place to find it until it appeared on reissue albums some years later. So here are all those songs in one place, as a snapshot of the first six years of Dury's career as godfather of the UK punk scene.

   

Track listing

01 Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll (single 1977)
02 Razzle In My Pocket (b-side of 'Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll')
03 You're More Than Fair (b-side of 'Sweet Gene Vincent' 1977)
04 Two Steep Hills (b-side of 'Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll' Stiff Freebie 1977)
05 England's Glory (Live) (b-side of 'Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll' Stiff Freebie 1977)
06 Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick (single 1978)
07 There Ain't Half Been Some Clever Bastards (b-side of 'Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick')
08 What A Waste (single 1978)
09 Reasons To Be Cheerful, Part 3 (single 1979)
10 Common As Muck (b-side of 'Reasons To Be Cheeful')
11 Close To Home (from NME's 'C81' cassette 1981)
12 The Ballad Of Johnny Funk (b-side of 'Ban The Bomb' 1982)