billericay dickie

Subject: RE: billericay dickie
From: Nigel Parsons
Date: 28 Nov 12 - 04:09 AM

Never having heard it said, I'd always read it as "Bill - AIR- i -kay"
Now (post Gavin & Stacey) it's clearly "BILLer Rickie"

Oh well, we live and learn.

Subject: RE: billericay dickie
From: Musket
Date: 28 Nov 12 - 03:58 AM

Yeah, that clarinet in the "usual" recording of Dirty Old Town is simply wild... It genuinely brings out the old goose pimples.

The Blockheads are a tight jazz outfit or they are a rock band or they are whatever you want them to be. As I dismissed genre above, it would be silly for me to pigeon hole them, but if good tight jazz floats your boat, you won't be disappointed to listen to them....

If you appreciate Ewan McColl's use of prose to descibe people's lives and UK society, you may enjoy listening to the words of some of Ian Dury songs.

It was satisfying to see that years after The BBC banned it, Spasticus Autisticus was played at the opening ceremony of the disabled olympics.

Subject: RE: billericay dickie
From: GUEST,John Foxen
Date: 27 Nov 12 - 03:22 PM

As for a jazz influence, Ian Dury proudly stole the bass line for Sex & Drugs n Rock n Roll from the great Charlie Haden.
And Ewan MacColl hired Bruce Turner to put in bluesy clarinet lines.

Subject: RE: billericay dickie
From: GUEST,michael gill
Date: 27 Nov 12 - 12:44 PM

oooh, I dunno .... I wouldn't say they were Jazz?

smirk Smirk

SHAMELESS NAME DROP ALERT AAARROOOOGAAA AAARROOOOGAAA

I was playing at a festival in France once, years ago, And all the bands were getting their sound checks on the saturday morning. There was this bass player playing with an awful kind of rock/folk band, can't remember their name, but we noticed the bass player was pretty good. Then our keyboard player recognised him and when it was his turn to twang a few notes for the sound man our keyboard player shouted out, "do My Old Man!". Which he did, to much cheering from us. Norman Watt-Roy spent the rest of the festival in our bus getting wasted with us.

Subject: RE: billericay dickie
From: Musket
Date: 27 Nov 12 - 12:15 PM

Genre is, in my experience either

a) A "feature" of iTunes or

b) An excuse for a bore to shove his head up his own arse and make us all listen to the echo.

Music is an abstraction. Get over it. Ian Dury was one of my heroes, and his observations of people, culture and society make his songs worthy of anybody's definition of folk, punk, rock, jazz, pop, whatever.

The Blockheads were, and still are, one of the tightest jazz outfits out there, bless 'em.

Subject: RE: billericay dickie
From: GUEST,michael gill
Date: 27 Nov 12 - 03:55 AM

however ... it does expose the utter futility of trying to categorise music. If Ian Dury is in the same genre as Ewan MacColl then John Lydon is in the same genre as Jimmy Page. And it's amusing that people who might argue such toss would probably also argue that Bellowhead are not in the same genre as Christy Moor

Subject: RE: billericay dickie
From: melodeonboy
Date: 27 Nov 12 - 03:08 AM

Indeed, John!

Subject: RE: billericay dickie
From: GUEST,John Foxen
Date: 26 Nov 12 - 11:21 AM

I don't understand Peter's line about random pop song. Ian Dury is so steeped in the British music hall/urban tradition that New Boots And Panties Could be seen as one of the great folk rock LPs, alongside Liege And Lief and Bright Phoebus. It's interesting to compare and contrast My Old Man from that LP with Ewan MacColl's My Old Man. Both equally moving.

Subject: RE: billericay dickie
From: GUEST,michael gill
Date: 26 Nov 12 - 04:59 AM

You have to admit though ... it is amusing where Dickie doth protest over and over that he's not a blinking, flipping, blooming, common, flaming, effing thicky.

Subject: RE: billericay dickie
From: GUEST,Peter
Date: 26 Nov 12 - 04:21 AM

Ian Dury

I am not sure why I am bothering to respond as GSS is obviously trolling by posting the words of a random pop song.

Subject: RE: billericay dickie
From: Allan Conn
Date: 26 Nov 12 - 04:12 AM

I've been practising this (it's Ian Dury - michaelr) myself along with There Ain't Half Been Some Clever Bastards. Great songwriter!


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PPvRsLWlDXw

Subject: RE: billericay dickie
From: michaelr
Date: 26 Nov 12 - 12:52 AM

Gosh, you lot are coy. Whose is it then?

Subject: RE: billericay dickie
From: Mick Pearce (MCP)
Date: 25 Nov 12 - 07:07 PM

Wouldn't like to answer that Dick, but it's a great song (I was singing a bit of it just a few days ago). One of many, that were full of humour, from a much-missed singer and songwriter.

Mick

Subject: billericay dickie
From: The Sandman
Date: 25 Nov 12 - 05:58 PM

does it qualify under the 1954 definition.BILLERICAY DICKIE



Good evening, I'm from Essex
In case you couldn't tell
My given name is Dickie
I come from Billericay
And I'm doing very well

Had a love affair with Nina
In the back of my cortina
A seasoned-up hyena
Could not have been more obscener
She took me to the cleaners
And other misdemeanours
But I got right up between her
Rum and her Ribena

Well, you ask Joyce and Vicky
If candy-floss is sticky
I'm not a blinking thicky
I'm Billericay Dickie
And I'm doing very well

I bought a lot of Brandy
When I was courting Sandy
Took eight to make her randy
And all I had was shandy
Another thing with Sandy
What often came in handy
Was passing her a mandy
She didn't half go bandy

So, you ask Joyce and Vicky
If I ever took the mickey
I'm not a flipping thicky
I'm Billericay Dickie
And I'm doing very well

I'd rendez-vous with Janet
Quite near the Isle of Thanet
She looked more like a gannet
She wasn't half a prannet
Her mother tried to ban it
Her father helped me plan it
And when I captured Janet
She bruised her pomegranate

Oh, you ask Joyce and Vicky
If I ever shaped up tricky
I'm not a blooming thicky
I'm Billericay Dickie
And I'm doing very well

You should never hold a candle
If you don't know where it's been
The jackpot is in the handle
On a normal fruit machine

So, you ask Joyce and Vicky
Who's their favourite brickie
I'm not a common thicky
I'm Billericay Dickie
And I'm doing very well

I know a lovely old toe-rag
Obliging and noblesse
Kindly, charming shag from Shoeburyness
My given name is Dickie
I come from Billericay
I thought you'd never guess

So, you ask Joyce and Vicky
A pair of squeaky chickies
I'm not a flaming thicky
I'm Billericay Dicky
And I'm doing very well

Oh golly, oh gosh
Come and lie on the couch
With a nice bit of posh
From Burnham-on-Crouch
My given name is Dickie
I come from Billericay
And I ain't a slouch

So, you ask Joyce and Vicky
About Billericay Dickie
I ain't an effing thicky
You ask Joyce and Vicky
I'm doing very well