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.
Squeeze are an English pop rock band that came to prominence in the United Kingdom during the new wave period of the late 1970s, and continued recording in the 1980s, 1990s and 2010s. In the UK, their singles "Cool for Cats", "Up the Junction", and "Labelled with Love" were top-ten chart hits. Though not as commercially successful in the United States, Squeeze had American hits with "Tempted", "Black Coffee in Bed", and "Hourglass", and were considered a part of the Second British Invasion.
Julian Miles Holland is an English pianist, bandleader, singer, composer and television presenter. He was an original member of the band Squeeze and has worked with many artists including Marc Almond, Joss Stone, Jayne County, Tom Jones, José Feliciano, Sting, Eric Clapton, Mark Knopfler, George Harrison, David Gilmour, Ringo Starr, Bono, Rod Stewart and Ruby Turner.
Aled Jones, is a Welsh singer, radio and television presenter, and actor. As a teenage chorister, he gained widespread fame in 1985 with his recording of "Walking in the Air", which reached the UK top five. Since then he has worked in television with the BBC and ITV, and on radio.
Cerys Matthews is a Welsh singer, songwriter, author, and broadcaster. She was a founding member of Welsh rock band Catatonia and a leading figure in the "Cool Cymru" movement of the late 1990s.
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".
"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.
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.
Kathryn Williams is an English singer-songwriter who to date has released 14 studio albums, written and arranged for a multitude of artists, and was nominated for the 2000 Mercury Music Prize.
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).
"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.
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.
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.
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.
"Ai No Corrida" is a song by the English singer and multi-instrumentalist Chaz Jankel, written by Jankel and Kenny Young. The title is based on the Japanese title of the erotic film In the Realm of the Senses. It was first recorded in 1980 and featured on Chaz Jankel's debut album Chas Jankel for A&M Records.
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.
Norman Joseph Watt-Roy is an English musician, arranger and composer.
Byzantium were an English rock band of the 1970s who released three albums and performed one Peel Session. They are perhaps best remembered for their role in the early careers of Shane Fontayne, Chaz Jankel and Robin Sylvester.
Sarah Joyce, better known by her stage name, Rumer, is a Pakistan-born British singer-songwriter. Supported by leading music industry figures including Burt Bacharach, Elton John, Carly Simon, and Jools Holland, Rumer was nominated for two Brit awards on 13 January 2011. Her debut album, Seasons of My Soul, released in 2010, peaked on the UK Charts at #3, was certified platinum in 2013 having sold over one million copies, and was listed at #26 in the Official Top 40 Biggest Debut Albums of the Decade in 2019. Rumer's voice has been described by The Guardian and many others as being reminiscent of Karen Carpenter. Her stage name was inspired by the author Rumer Godden. Boys Don't Cry, released in 2012, peaked on the UK Charts at #3. She has performed at several festivals such as Glastonbury Festival. Her album This Girl's in Love was released in November 2016. In August 2020, she released her fifth album, Nashville Tears .
Chas Jankel is the debut solo studio album by the English singer and multi-instrumentalist Chaz Jankel. It was originally released in 1980, on the label A&M. Ian Dury and The Blockheads's first and only album without Jankel, Laughter, was released the same year.
