Ian Dury The Definitive Biography

Does a fantastic job tracing the development of Durys career. It also shows how Ians life shaped his uniquely individualistic style. Peter Hook former Joy Division and New Order bassist Daily Mirror. Widely described as punks poet laureate Ian Dury is a cultural icon. With his band The Blockheads he exploded onto the television screen in 1978 appearing on Top of the Pops with his hit single What a Waste followed later that year by Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick. By now Ian was thirtysix and had worked hard for many years to reach this moment struggling all the while to find acceptance in spite of the disability he suffered as a result of childhood polio. And yet fame when it came almost destroyed him. This groundbreaking and authoritative book gives the first indepth and compelling account of the life of this charismatic yet complex artist. Author Will Birch interviewed Dury several times during his lifetime and has also spoken to more than sixty people who were extremely close to Ian including family members fellow musicians friends lovers and business associates.