4,000 Weeks' Holiday

4,000 Weeks' Holiday
4,000 Weeks' Holiday
Studio album by Ian Dury and the Music Students
Released	27 January 1984
Recorded	1983
Genre	Disco ; funk ;
Length	37:40
Label	Polydor
Producer	Adam Kidron
Ian Dury and the Music Students chronology
Singles from 4,000 Weeks' Holiday
	"Really Glad You Came"; Released: November 1983 ; "Very Personal"; Released: February 1984 ;

Last updated February 17, 2024

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	^[1]
Robert Christgau	B+^[4]

4,000 Weeks' Holiday is a studio album by Ian Dury and the Music Students, released on 27 January 1984 by Polydor Records.^[5] It is Dury's only studio album with the Music Students and his fifth overall (including releases with the Blockheads).

Production and printings

Its title is a reference to the length of an average human lifespan (4000 weeks). In 1984 Ian Dury was an official face for the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) in Britain and went so far as to shave its symbol, the peace sign, into his hair. This can be seen on both the cover to the album and on the "Ban the Bomb" single. The album's song credits and lyrics are hand written. Accompanying each song's information are strange catchphrases such as "when flies fly, flies fly behind flies", "a gaudy morning bodes a wet afternoon" and most bizarre of all "my, how we apples swim quoth the dogshit".

4,000 Weeks Holiday was not reissued on CD in the UK until 2013, but was released in that format in Japan in 2007.

History

If accounts by Dury himself and Music Student member Merlin Rhys-Jones (who would continue to work with Dury and co-write songs with him until his death) from Sex and Drugs and Rock and Roll: The Life of Ian Dury are correct, it would appear that it was Polydor records who suggested and insisted on Dury working with young musicians. Contradictorily, Ian Dury & The Blockheads: Song By Song purports that Polydor had wanted The Blockheads to play on the album, with the group rejecting the idea after learning they wouldn't be paid due to Dury spending most of his advance on his previous solo effort Lord Upminster.Song By Song's account is corroborated by Norman Watt-Roy (bassist for the Blockheads). Both versions are questionable. (source?)

Chaz Jankel, Dury's primary songwriting partner, was busy with his solo career in America and with no Blockheads present, Dury turned to his old songwriting partner from his pub rock days Russell Hardy (and another Rod Melvin it would seem), and worked with a young American songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Michael McEvoy, who had been introduced to him by Blockheads and Kilburn and the High Roads member Davey Payne after McEvoy had played on the saxophonist's solo album for Stiff Records. Adam Kidron, who had produced Payne's album, had hired McEvoy as on a number of projects (including Orange Juice's debut album and Scritti Politti's Songs to Remember) which he produced before 4000 Weeks Holiday.

Rehearsals for the album began in 1982 in Hammersmith, London, not very far from Dury's current flat in luxurious Thames-side apartments, and was recorded the following year in Basing Street Studios, Notting Hill and later The Townhouse. Though Jankel did not write any of the songs, he did play lead guitar as a guest. Ed Speight and Geoff Castle, who had played on Dury's seminal New Boots and Panties!! LP in 1977, guested on guitar and Moog synthesizer. The sessions also featured an extra special guest, celebrated reggae/ska trombone player Rico Rodriguez MBE (known to UK youth from The Specials), but most of the recordings were performed by the 'Music Students', i.e. McEvoy, Rhys-Jones, drummer Tag Lamche and saxophonist Jamie Talbot. Critically the album is often considered the weakest of Dury's output.

Dury was forced by Polydor to remove one of the album's stronger (and controversial) songs "Fuck off Noddy" (and another about Billy Butlin) because of high-profile paedophile and child pornography cases at the time (there was also rumours of a proposed lawsuit by the estate of Enid Blyton). The song puts down children's television and contained such lines as:

Winnie The Pooh is having a wank

And what are you up to? Said Tommy the Tank

And

Fuck off Noddy you stupid prat

Fuck off Noddy in your rotten hat

Dury was determined not to cut the song (an illegal MP3 can be found on some download services) and arguments about it delayed the record's release for over half a year. The single "Really Glad You Came / (You're My) Inspiration" was released during that time, the songs were two different lyrics put to an almost identical tune (by McEvoy) and the single was a total failure (though these are the two tracks most often used on Greatest Hits compilations) and its follow up single "Ban the Bomb / Very Personal" was actually mocked by critics, the first time this had happened to Ian Dury in his career thus far. Despite heavy promotion and touring by Ian Dury and the Music Students, including a week's residency in Tel Aviv, Israel and an appearance on influential music show The Tube the album's sales were poor, though the album reached number 54 in the UK Album Charts.

The album also contains a noteworthy track: "Peter the Painter" was written (with McEvoy) on request from British Pop artist Peter Blake, Blake had been Dury's teacher at London's Royal College of Art and the two remained good friends until Dury's death in 2000. Blake was having his own exhibition at The Tate Gallery, London and asked Dury to compose a theme tune for it. "Peter the Painter" was that theme tune.^{[ citation needed ]}

Track listing

Side 1
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"(You're My) Inspiration"	Ian Dury, Michael McEvoy	4:15
2.	"Friends"	Dury, Russell Hardy	2:57
3.	"Tell Your Daddy"	Dury, Rod Melvin	2:47
4.	"Peter the Painter"	Dury, McEvoy	3:54
5.	"Ban the Bomb"	Dury, Hardy	4:20

Side 2
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Percy the Poet"	Dury, McEvoy	3:28
2.	"Very Personal"	Dury, Hardy	3:55
3.	"Take Me to the Cleaners"	Dury, McEvoy	2:37
4.	"The Man With No Face"	Dury, Hardy	4:48
5.	"Really Glad You Came"	Dury, McEvoy	4:36

Original proposed 1983 track list

Side 1
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Take Me to the Cleaners"	Dury, McEvoy	2:37
2.	"Friends"	Dury, Hardy	2:57
3.	"Tell Your Daddy"	Dury, Melvin	2:47
4.	"Peter the Painter"	Dury, McEvoy	3:54
5.	"Ban the Bomb"	Dury, Hardy	4:20

Side 2
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Percy the Poet"	Dury, McEvoy	3:28
2.	"Very Personal"	Dury, Hardy	3:55
3.	"Noddy Harris"	Dury, Hardy	2:55
4.	"The Man With No Face"	Dury, Hardy	4:48
5.	"Really Glad You Came"	Dury, McEvoy	4:36

2013 reissue bonus tracks

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Origin	Length
11.	"The Sky's the Limit"	Dury, Hardy	B-side of "Very Personal" 12"	3:36
12.	"You're My Inspiration" (long version)	Dury, McEvoy	Previously unreleased	5:19
13.	"Peter the Painter" (long version)	Dury, McEvoy	Previously unreleased	5:03
14.	"I Weighed Myself Up"	Dury, McEvoy	Previously unreleased	4:08
15.	"I Weighed Myself Up" (Trident 1 March 1983 – long version)	Dury, McEvoy	Previously unreleased	4:50
16.	"Percy the Poet" (full version)	Dury, McEvoy	Previously unreleased	5:28

Personnel

Credits adapted from the album's liner notes.^[6]

Ian Dury and the Music Students

Ian Dury – vocals (credited by the pseudonym 'D. Poundcake' on "Peter the Painter")
Michael McEvoy – bass, keyboards, synthesizers, brass arranger, lead guitar on "Tell Your Daddy" and "Take Me to the Cleaners", drums on "Tell Your Daddy"
Merlin Rhys-Jones – guitar
Tag Lamche – drums, percussion on "Friends"
Ray Cooper – percussion
Jamie Talbot – saxophones, clarinet on "The Man with No Face"

Additional personnel

Steve Sidwell – trumpet
Neil Sidwell – trombone
Geoff Castle – synthesisers
Rod Melvin – piano and backing vocals on "Tell Your Daddy"
Chaz Jankel – lead guitar on "Percy the Poet"
Ed Speight – lead guitar on "Ban the Bomb", "Take Me to the Cleaners" and "Really Glad You Came"
Chris Taylor – drums on "Peter the Painter"
Rico Rodriguez – trombone on "Friends"
Davey Payne – saxophones on "Peter the Painter"
Duncan Hornking – French horn on "The Man with No Face"
Jackie Challenor, Lorenza Johnson, Mae McKenna, Humphrey Dorsett, Andy Fairweather-Low – backing vocals

Technical

Adam Kidron – producer
Alan Douglas – engineer
Keith Nixon – assistant engineer
Barney Bubbles – design
Bob Bromide – photography

Release history

Label	Cat. No.		Format	Date
Polydor	815 327-1/POLD 5112	^EU	Vinyl, Cassette	27 January 1984
Great Expectations	PIPCD 004	^FR	CD	December 1989
Universal	UICY-93270	^JP	CD	25 July 2007
Salvo	SALVOCD057	^UK	CD	3 June 2013

Sources

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

Related Research Articles

Ian Robins Dury was an English singer, songwriter and actor who rose to fame in the late 1970s, during the punk and new wave era of rock music. He was the lead singer and lyricist of Ian Dury and the Blockheads and previously Kilburn and the High Roads.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chaz Jankel</span> English rock musician (born 1952)

Charles Jeremy "Chaz" Jankel is an English musician and songwriter. In a music career spanning more than 40 years, he came to prominence in the late 1970s as the guitarist and keyboardist of the rock band Ian Dury and the Blockheads. With Dury, Jankel co-wrote some of the band's best-known songs including "Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll", "Hit Me with Your Rhythm Stick" and "Reasons to Be Cheerful, Part 3".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll</span> 1977 single by Ian Dury

"Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll" is a song and single by Ian Dury. It was originally released as a Stiff Records single, with "Razzle in My Pocket" as the B-side, 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.

<i>New Boots and Panties!!</i> 1977 studio album by Ian Dury

New Boots and Panties!! is the debut studio album by Ian Dury, released in the UK on Stiff Records on 30 September 1977. The record covers a diverse range of musical styles which reflect Dury's influences and background in pub rock, taking in funk, disco, British music hall and early rock and roll, courtesy of Dury's musical hero Gene Vincent. Consisting mostly of love songs and character stories based on the working-class people of the East End and Essex Estuary areas where he grew up, the songs are frequently ribald and profane, but also contain humour and affection for his characters.

Michael William Gallagher is an English Hammond organ player best known as a member of Ian Dury and the Blockheads and for his contributions to albums by the Clash. He has also written music for films such as Extremes (1971) and After Midnight (1990), and the Broadway play Serious Money (1987).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hit Me with Your Rhythm Stick</span> 1978 single by Ian and the Blockheads

"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 23 November 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.

David Stanley Payne is an English saxophonist best known as a member of Ian Dury's backing band The Blockheads, and for his twin saxophone solo on their 1978 UK No. 1 single "Hit Me with Your Rhythm Stick". He also appeared on the first version of Nico's 1981 album Drama of Exile.

<i>Do It Yourself</i> (Ian Dury & the Blockheads album) 1979 studio album by Ian Dury & the Blockheads

Do It Yourself is a 1979 album by Ian Dury & the Blockheads. It was the first album to be credited to Ian Dury & the Blockheads rather than Ian Dury alone, although Dury had used the full band name for the "What a Waste" 7" single of 1978. The album was released in the wake of the chart-topping hit single "Hit Me with Your Rhythm Stick", and reached number two in the charts, behind ABBA's Voulez-Vous. Do It Yourself sold around 200,000 copies, and was Dury's second Platinum album.

<i>Laughter</i> (Ian Dury & The Blockheads album) 1980 studio album by Ian Dury & the Blockheads

Laughter is the third studio album by Ian Dury and the Blockheads; released in 1980, it was the last studio album Dury made for Stiff Records. It was also the last studio album he made with the Blockheads, until 1998's Mr. Love Pants, though a live album Warts 'n' Audience was produced in 1991.

<i>Lord Upminster</i> 1981 studio album by Ian Dury

Lord Upminster is the second solo studio album by the English rock and roll singer-songwriter Ian Dury. It was released by Polydor Records in September 1981.

<i>Apples</i> (album) 1989 studio album by Ian Dury

Apples is the sixth studio album by Ian Dury, released in October 1989 by WEA. It was the soundtrack to his short-lived stage-show of same name though it was recorded before the show opened. The album contains twelve of the twenty tracks from the show. The album was reissued with no bonus tracks on 31 October 2011 by Edsel Records.

<i>Ten More Turnips from the Tip</i> 2002 studio album by Ian Dury & the Blockheads

Ten More Turnips from the Tip is the fourth and final studio album by Ian Dury and the Blockheads, and Dury's ninth overall. It was compiled and released in 2002, two years after Dury's death in March 2000.

<i>Mr. Love Pants</i> 1998 studio album by Ian Dury & the Blockheads

Mr. Love Pants is a 1998 album by Ian Dury and the Blockheads, released on East Central One under Dury's own label Ronnie Harris Records.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">What a Waste</span> 1978 single by Ian Dury & The Blockheads

"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.

<i>The Bus Drivers Prayer & Other Stories</i> 1992 studio album by Ian Dury

The Bus Driver's Prayer & Other Stories is the seventh solo album by Ian Dury, released in 1992 by Demon. Despite being recorded after the successful live reunion of Ian Dury and the Blockheads, inspired by the death of their drummer Charley Charles, the album is not a Blockheads record. All of the band, however, except bassist Norman Watt-Roy, appear on the album.

The Blockheads are an English 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. As of March 2023 members included Chaz Jankel, Nathan King (bass), Mick Gallagher, John Turnbull, John Roberts (drums), and Mike Bennett. 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spasticus Autisticus</span> 1981 single by Ian Dury

"Spasticus Autisticus" is a song written by Ian Dury and co-written by Chaz Jankel, released both as a single and on Dury's second solo studio album Lord Upminster (1981).

Norman Joseph Watt-Roy is an English musician, arranger and composer.

<i>Live Stiffs Live</i> 1978 live album by various artists

Live Stiffs Live is a live album released in 1978 by Stiff Records. It compiles concert performances by several of the record label's artists recorded during the "Live Stiffs Tour", which ran from 3 October to 5 November 1977.

Formed in 1977 to promote Ian Durys' album New Boots and Panties!! on the first Stiff Records tour of the UK, Chaz Jankel, Norman Watt-Roy, Charlie Charles, John Turnbull and Mick Gallagher became known as 'The Blockheads'. As 'Ian Dury & The Blockheads' they went back out on tour, this time without Jankel, and in 1978 released "What a Waste"/"Wake Up and Make Love with Me" a single that reached number five in the UK charts. They were then joined by saxophonist Davey Payne and toured the US supporting Lou Reed across North America, ending with their own dates in California.

References

1 2 Stephen Thomas Erlewine. "4,000 Weeks Holiday - Ian Dury". AllMusic. Retrieved 25 June 2017.
↑ "Discography: 1983". IanDury.co.uk. Retrieved 26 October 2021.
↑ "Discography: 1984". IanDury.co.uk. Retrieved 26 October 2021.
↑ "CG: Artist 604". Robert Christgau. Retrieved 25 June 2017.
↑ "none". NME . London, England: IPC Media: 3. 21 January 1984.
↑ 4,000 Weeks' Holiday (Liner notes). Ian Dury and the Music Students. Polydor Records. 1984.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[am-1] 1 2 Stephen Thomas Erlewine. "4,000 Weeks Holiday - Ian Dury". AllMusic. Retrieved 25 June 2017.

[2] "Discography: 1983". IanDury.co.uk. Retrieved 26 October 2021.

[3] "Discography: 1984". IanDury.co.uk. Retrieved 26 October 2021.

[4] "CG: Artist 604". Robert Christgau. Retrieved 25 June 2017.

[5] "none". NME . London, England: IPC Media: 3. 21 January 1984.

[6] 4,000 Weeks' Holiday (Liner notes). Ian Dury and the Music Students. Polydor Records. 1984.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

v t e Ian Dury
Studio albums	New Boots and Panties!! Lord Upminster 4,000 Weeks' Holiday Apples The Bus Driver's Prayer & Other Stories
With The Blockheads	Do It Yourself Laughter Mr. Love Pants Straight from the Desk Ten More Turnips from the Tip
With Kilburn & the High Roads	Handsome Wotabunch!
Singles	"Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll" "Sweet Gene Vincent" "What a Waste" "Hit Me with Your Rhythm Stick" "Reasons to Be Cheerful, Part 3" "Sueperman's Big Sister" "Spasticus Autisticus" "Dance Little Rude Boy"
Films	Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll
Related articles	Discography Drip Fed Fred