i am going to entirely dedicate this blogpost to ian robins dury. god bless. 9 years now since we lost you to cancer, and your music still continues to be beautiful, humourous and to inspire even today.
naturally, i was always going to be a fan of ian dury. both my english grandparents adored ian dury & the blockheads, as well as my own father who has raised me on the likes of the clash, the specials and the jam, alongside with ian dury & the blockheads of course. originally, years ago when i first properly listened to ian dury & the blockheads, i'll admit i didn't really get it. i was young and i dont think i could comprehend how different it was to the generic music in the charts. now at the age of 16, listening to ian dury & the blockheads never fails to bring a smile to my face and such a good, relaxed feeling.
it isn't just music; its poetry, wordplay and humour. and so british! not excelling merely lyrically, the blockheads created a sound drawn from so many influences, such as reggae, funk and jazz and of course rock and roll. the overall outcome is so original and endearing and captures so much character.
i admire ian dury for a lot of reasons. growing up with polio is surely difficult, yet it only sharpened his character; he was still such a confident, positive and determined man.
my dad has recently purchased an original piece of art of ian dury designed by peter blake, dury's art teacher, famous for designing the sleeve of the beatles' album 'sgt. pepper's lonely hearts club'. my dad paid an insane amount of money for it and when i found out the price i was kinda frustrated with him wasting the family's money on something so materialistic. but as it hangs up in the living room everytime i look at it, i realise it was worth every penny and more.
if you wanna make a good purchase, try buying this.
i wrote my own list of reasons to be cheerful inspired from the blockheads' song. i guess its pretty personal to me, its all the best things in my life i am so glad i can experience, things id miss so much.
- summer buddy holly
- cold beer outside in the sun
- strangers seeming better than friends
- being alone on an empty train carriage
- the velvet underground, the beatles and small faces on a sunday morning
- smoking out of windows
- the beauty of music
- silent nights sitting up in bed
- having nothing to worry about
- being on the very edge of the night, laughing
- long hot showers in the winter
- being absolutely free
- dancing with a wine glass in hand
- finishing a book and feeling so content
- swimming with the sun on your back
- being in love
- fried bacon and haloumi in honey to cure any hangover
- dogs winking
- running down to the train station in high heels as the sun sets
- the smell of jasmine taking me back to cairp
- being absolutely reckless and daring
- the sun on one side of the sky, and the moon on the other
- cool summer nights
- the excitement of the future
R.I.P ian dury. we miss ya.
