New Boots And Panties

Proof that there is no god

Could’ve happily made it to death without ever hearing this

Right off the bat, points off for the album title. Points deducted again for this line in the lecherous first song: “I come awake, in a horny morning mood”. That might not be so bad if Ian Dury had a soulful voice instead of the voice of window-peeping chimney sweep. Ok, forget the points system. I’m gonna paint a picture for you: You’re at a karaoke bar and it’s no ordinary karaoke bar. The only songs in their songbook are David Bowie tracks circa Diamond Dogs and Young Americans and a smattering of public domain songs from the 1930’s and 40’s. Like the building the bar is housed in, the karaoke system is dilapidated; when a song plays, it sounds like it’s either 1/16th slower or faster than it should be, depending on the song. You go to sign up to sing a song, because, why not? You do a great version of “Rebel, Rebel” and the world shouldn’t be deprived of it. You grab the sign up sheet, only to find that all slots on the list are taken and there’s only one person’s name taking all those spots. So you wait for this guy, Ian Dury, to get up on stage and do his songs…maybe you’ll get a chance after he’s done. He walks up on stage, 4 feet 11 inches tall, dressed like a builder and shaped liked a potato. When he opens his mouth, he’s got one the thickest British accents you’ve ever heard and instead of singing the lyrics to the karaoke songs he chose, he re-writes the lyrics and melodies on the spot: a profane, yet oddly tuneful stream of consciousness, with the word c**t and references to Trotsky thrown in for good measure. ….you know what? Now that I put it like that, I’m sold on this album. You just watched me do a 180 in real-time. This record is insane. If you like weird shit like Ween or the Frogs, I highly recommend.

England what the fuck

Without having to listen to this again, I know it to be one of the best albums ever pressed to vinyl. Dury's lyricsm is unparalleled. His imagery, wordplay, delivery, pitch - everything - is almost perfect. The Blockheads are tighter than a gnat's twat. Wake up and make love with me is a song that achieves a perfect balance between romance, passion and frustration. Sweet Gene Vincent starts beautifully, capturing the skill of the Blockheads, before exploding into a rock and roll delight. The production is spot on. Balanced, exactly the right amount of vocal reverb. Partial to your abracadabra - more beautiful musicianship from the Blockheads. Dury sounds hoarse. This is not problematic for me. My Old Man is a masterpiece of storytelling songwriting. I can imagine that those with no frame of reference may find this difficult to love, but for those who understand the understated admiration, the difficult to express love and the hardness that was expected of working class father/son relationships - this is just perfect. The swinging bass and the soaring sax absolutely counterpoint the socially enforced difficulty - "all the best, mate, from you son". Mate. The word contains so much, and it's just tucked in there like nothing. Billericay Dickie is a pure delight. "I had a love affair with Nina in the back of my Cortina, a seasoned-up hyena could not have been more obscener." - just bloody marvellous. Clever Trevor follows on from Billericay Dickie by being almost a diametric opposite character. Dickie is not a blooming thickie - but is certain, wiley, confident. Clever Trevor on the other hand is nervous, vacillating and caveats everything he says. It's a perfect juxtaposition. "If I was with a woman" is the closest thing this album has to a bad track. It's cynical and unpleasant. Blockheads is angry, powerful and aggressive. "I'm pissing in your swimming pool"- Dury is railing at the harsh commentary received in relation to the polio he suffered as a child, and serves to underline how purely goddamn talented he was. Plaistow Patricia is also angry - but with more humour and probably utterly eludes definition by anyone born after 1991, or outside of England. How on earth is a millennial born in Omaha supposed to understand what "She's got a siamese cat in a council flat" means? Siamese cats are expensive, and fussy little pricks. Council flats are social housing, usually pretty low-grade. Patricia clearly pretends to be posh. And she isn't. Blackmail man is a wild ride. But it only really serves to bring us to Sex and Drugs and Rock and Roll. Which is a classic for all time. Yes - this truly is one of the 1,001 albums to listen to. Sod that. It's one of the 101. Maybe even the 10.1.

That was actually terrible. I’m convinced this man was a Make a Wish kid who wanted to put an album out before he died and nobody had the heart to tell him how bad it was. Every time I thought it would get better, it got exponentially worse. Truly appalling.

I didn't stop smiling throughout this entire album. It's wonderfully quirky, musically gorgeous, and tells a whole bunch of stories. The mainstream media always painted Dury as a novelty act, this album puts that idea to bed almost immediately. Great stuff.

How do you play Billericay Dickie to someone who's not a Brit of a certain age and try and get them to understand it? I don't think you can. How long will it take them to understand the genius of Ian Dury? No idea, but good luck on your journey, it'll be fun. And odd. And confusing

Such a weird act would never get off the ground these days but Ian Dury deserves the cult following. I've never listened to a full Blockheads album before and I thought this one was terrific! Humorous lyrics but the songs are also catchy and get the foot tapping. Good stuff all round

Saved Prior: None Off Rip: I'm Partial to Your Abracadabra, My Old Man Cutting Edge: None Overall Notes: Maybe the most british album I have ever heard. If I was an english bloke in the late 70's who felt jilted by the system this would BUMP. Unfortunately, I am not any of those things. Some pretty crash bars all over this thing, and I want to believe he's playing a character but sheesh. I'm glad this exists for people who enjoy it.

This sounds like something an aging hipster with a combover wearing a dated polyester suit would enjoy at a dreary, suburban London pub in the late 1970s. “I’m cool! I’m relevant!” - no, sorry, you’re a twat.

What the actual hell. This is awful. Like, legitimately terrible. Utter trash. Zero redeeming qualities. What a waste of time.

When I first started listening to this I was definitely at a one or a two phase, but through a forced break in my listening and coming back to it later it allowed me to take a step back from the shock value and truly appreciate the lyricism and instrumentals that were actually really quite good, I’m gonna be coming back to this one for a while

These albums keep spawning from the mist, man. What the hell is this. Completely unenjoyable. The world's most British man yelling at me about how he wants to have sex, while using fiddly-diddly-shimmy-shammy-blimey-hokey-pokey slang.

I was a little confused by the Wikipedia description of this album as "punk rock - pub rock - disco - music hall" but after listening, yep. It took a bit to warm up to, just being a little different sounding, and my not having paid enough attention to the lyrics ("I come awake with a gift for womankind" OMG!), but I ended up quite loving it.

When I started listening to this I was confused and almost offended. Like I thought I was being pranked. I thought somebody recorded randy newman trying to do an impression of the clash, and I was not sure at all why this album was so critically praised. As I listened through I warmed up to it a little bit, I enjoyed the more punk-type stuff at the end of the album, and overall it was a mostly enjoyable if not strange album.

Alors que je travaillais dans mon précédent cabinet d'avocats, ma supérieure hiérarchique avait l'habitude, quand je lui remettais le travail qu'elle m'avait commandé, de dire à haute voix "Mais qu'est-ce qu'il m'a fait ?!" en posant son regard éberlué sur mes écrits. Je fus viré moins de trois semaines après le début de mon contrat. Cette phrase, je l'ai répétée tout au long de l'écoute de cet album. Aucun moyen pour moi néanmoins d'y mettre fin prématurément.

It's really hard to have any respect for Dimery when he includes shit like this from the UK but omits entire countries otherwise. This is just really stupid little ditties for English drunks. Like this guy is celebrated by his mates in the pub but no one else could ever care. It feels vaguely smutty at times but mostly it's just rhyming schemes straight out of a children's book. Music is an afterthought. It's just overall DUMB. To describe it in a word: DUMB. 1/5.

My reaction to the first song was literally "eww" . And the rest of my reactions song-to-song oscillated between more cringing and confusion. I honestly do not understand not only who allowed this man to make an album, with such bad vocals on some tracks and such a weird vibe on the rest, but how it merited any inclusion on this list?? A couple of the songs are fine if you take them with a sense of humour but they do not belong on an album for casual listening - maybe as a goofy character in a musical or something - but Good God, why did I have to listen to this?

Wow. I have a new favourite thing. I’d heard of this dude but never listened. Not too late to the party, but late.

Quite a hodge-podge of styles on this one, from disco, to downtempo funk, to rock&roll to sing-along pub songs. I love the opener, with Chaz Jenkels’ keyboards up front, and I always thought it should have been covered by a disco band and a singer with a good voice. I found on first listen that Ian's voice gave the whole album a novelty feel and gave it a 2. But then I read some reviews and listened again, focusing on the lyrics which gave a squalid depiction of life in the working class boroughs of London in the 70s (with some sexual humour thrown in). This was a brave release in the UK in 77 and it would have been much easier for him to stick to more straightforward punk tunes.

It was a weird listen. Interesting but maybe not again.

A very amusing album. The quality of the singer isn't anything special. This album is for the lyrics. Instrumentation is pretty good.

New Boots and Panties!! ‘Arseholes, bastards, fucking cunts and pricks’ I’ve always loved Sweet Gene Vincent, and, even though it’s not on the OG album, Sex and Drugs is obviously superb too. I’m a big fan of his voice, that great combination of roughness around the edges and warm tenderness. I find its vulnerability very affecting. Lyrically he is great, again another great combination, this one of sardonic and sincere, funny and moving. Musically it’s a lot more interesting than the pub rock he is often associated with. There’s great bass playing everywhere, with a lot of funk and disco elements, and I really love the drum and percussion sound. On top of that there are notable rockabilly, punk, jazz and music hall influences. In other hands Billericay Dickie or Plaistow Patricia could easy descend into end of the pier novelty, but his skill as a lyricist and vocalist makes them great character sketches, poking fun, but also empathetic. A great album, I thought it might be good but I really enjoyed it. An easy 4 on first listen, but the more listens I give it the better it gets, so it just about tips over into 5. 🩲🩲🩲🩲🩲 Playlist submission: Sweet Gene Vincent

The musical zeitgeist is a fascinating thing. Having just been listening to Baxter Dury up pops Ian, and crikey did we need a decent record after the recent dreck Dimery's been serving up. What's not to like? Truly, if you can't enjoy this you'd boo Santa Claus. He draws on every English musical tradition does Ian in crafting his sound, it rocks, its fun and the words are rooted in music hall tradition. This was late 70's ubiquity, nascent punks, dickhead Maroubra surfers, Sydney Uni student wankers like me, everyone had it. No one has ever had the honesty to write about the start of the day with the one you love the way he does in Wake Up, a smooth almost Barry White style groove over which he croons his lust and how it is reciprocated, just brilliant. Clever Trever, he ain't too clever, again brilliant. Sex and Drugs, said it all. His homage to Gene spoke for so many British rockers across all the generations from Lennon to Steve Jones. My Old Man, another super smooth groove and funny as fuck, the band swings. Dickie is straight out music hall, oy! And rude as only Ian could be, knew what he was doing did Ian, he was doing very well. This truly comes from another time and place, as it is just sheer honest joy in a way the hung up 21st century never is. There's a lot of loving life coming from a guy who could have easily crawled up in a ball and let the world pass him by. A true artist, this is a timeless brilliant, funny as fuck groovin pop record. Boy we could do with Ian right now.

noice

Funky and intelligent lyrics. Simple and down to earth. It's starting to feel like punk is a catch-all.

Enjoyed this! Bit of a punk influence. Ended up checking out his Sex Drugs and rock and roll album afterwards too!

Who has two thumbs and hates this record? My wife!

Plenty to like about this album - some of the lyrics and instrumentation are brilliant. Also plenty to dislike. In all, I can kind of appreciate a work of madness made in earnest even if there's a lot wrong with it.

I really like Ian Dury, he's a proper rock'n'roll guy and he's got such a strong attitude and charisma. Unfortunately, that did have to carry some of this. The energy is good, the vibe is great, the tongue-in-cheek humour is there - all it's missing is consistently good songs. Some of them were very good. A lot of them missed the mark

Ian tried to be funny, but it didn't work for me.

- one track in and i already hate his voice. he sounds so bored it doesn't match the music at all - this sucks i hate this - ten tracks in and finally said not one but two slurs back to back!!!!!!!!!!! - despite the use of slurs, this my favorite tracks, its so fucking unhinged. wish the album kept up this energy - Theres a bonus track on the spotify release and I actively celebrately when I realized i didn't need to listen to it. this is the shit i'd imagine 63 year geezer barry would put on the juke box at the ye old pub and wild out to. Too bad I am 18 year old canadian who is incapable of understanding most of the british centered humor on this album. I would turn a blind to that if the music wasn't ass, ts suck so much holy shit.

I'm sure this was for someone, just not for me. I enjoy a bit of cockney British tomfoolery at times, but not for a full album.

Would be embarrassing to get caught listening to this

Definitely not made for my time. I personally liked one or two songs but otherwise it was just a weird experience. The songs were pretty goofy.

This is the most British album I have ever heard. Hopefully I will never hear another.

When I was growing up, I had a British violin teacher. He was much older - likely in his 40s when I started taking lessons from him when I was 8 or so - living alone in a fairly isolated northern town, divorced, not much going on in his life except for teaching violin to a bunch of little girls. I took violin lessons from him for nine years, so he was a constant presence in my life during some very formative years. I never thought much of it at the time, but from when I was about 16 or so, he started regularly giving hugs to me, which had never happened before that. I had already left for university when my sister, who was, erm, a bit more well-endowed than me, mentioned that he was giving long hugs to her and touching her and making her uncomfortable. I mention this because that's what this album reminded me of - a creepy, lecherous, old British man singing (? Calling it "singing" seems insulting to actual singers) about how horny he is. Ew. It was awful. No thanks.

Well that was the most aggressively British thing I’ve ever heard. What is this? Why is it on this list? Seriously? THIS? Is this the author’s cousin or something? Was this just the first album the maker of this list ever bought and included here for sentimental reasons? I mean some of the grooves were good but the lyrics were atrocious and the guy’s voice was blander than white bread. I have mentioned before how I think this list has a bias toward some British artists that were only popular in their home market, leading to the inclusion of some British albums that many outside of British culture haven’t heard of, or the inclusion of lesser offerings from otherwise well known artists. This is the epitome of the former. The most painful thing about this is that it got worse as it went on. My god this was bad. I sincerely hope this man has no other albums here. Everything from the name of the album to most of the lyrics was cringe. Have I said enough? I don’t know if I’ve said enough /s. One star, and it’s rare something gets one star. This just felt like the aimless musings of a British man who thought he was much more clever and interesting (and sexy) than he probably was. Sorry guy. Standout Track: Clever Trevor

Never has an album made me as angry as this. Just absolute pure shit. He’s not even doing something interesting. I’d occasionally get to a song and for a second I thought it was good then I realised it was just not as pure shit as the last song. I now know how El G feels when he’s not listening to dad rock. I have a pure hatred for Ian Dury now and want to exhume him so I can punch him in the face multiple times.

Hell na

Dimery deserves to get fought for some of these albums

You absolutely cannot convince me that a goofy looking British guy chanting awkwardly about how horny he is over the dorkiest plinky plonky music you’ve ever heard is Required Listening. Insane choice for this list.

What happens when your drunk uncle gets 2 hours of free studio time

This album is ridiculous. It’s so campy it seems like an inside joke

The person that created this list is clearly a sadist.

Oh the british. Like childish song sung by a sock puppet. Rubbish. The mentality of a teenager. Creepy when sung by an adult. We expect so much more now. This aged poorly. Take it off. Off.

so atrociously british.

This is pretty darn bad. Worst thing I've listened to yet

Obnoxiously British and the lyrics grossed me out.

And now we are back to UK Rock...no thank you.

On my all time favourite album list

Ian Dury emerged out of the UK pub rock scene into the punk mileu with this fantastic album of character portraits. It was a very popular album, despite its often risque lyrics. I can see why it garners some poor reviews from an international audience as lyrically it's located in a very English, if not London-centric, vocabulary. But for those of us in our teenage years at the time, this album came at a time when the musical landscape was changing rapidly and it fit well with the Stiff Records roster of (often oddball) artists. A great album, probably Dury's best.

One of the more idiosyncratically English albums around, despite the presence of funk influences (alongside punk, rock and music hall). Key to this is Dury himself, as very tasty geezer with a nice line in wordplay, a strong sense of theatre and, occasionally, downright fearlessness. The opening three tracks rank up there with any album in terms of quality - 'Wake Up and Make Love to Me' is Curtis Mayfield by way of Dagenham, and 'I'm Partial To Your Abracadabra' is one long lascivious wink - but the one within that trio I haven't mentioned yet is one of my favourite songs by any artist. 'Sweet Gene Vincent' is a frenetic mish-mash of Vincent lyrics and rock 'n' roll pastiche, which initially wrong-foots the listener and then dazzles. 'Blackmail Man' might be the rudest track in the demotic. A sensational album, covering a range of moods and styles, but all held together by Dury's bizarre vision of Albion.

The Blockheads rule OK. The titular Blockheads of the song are very much still with us. I see this is a record the people aren't sold on for some reason. Except for the people in the know and appreciate it. I guess it is uniquely British. Listen to the lyrics though people! And hook into the vibe. For those not in the know, who aren't joining the poor one star crowd and whom this has tickled their senses in a way they don't quite understand and want more, it's well worth sticking around post-album for Sex and Drugs and RocknRoll, and Razzle (one of the grottier UK jazz mags) in my Pocket. And Hit me with your Rhythm Stick. An uncategorizeable banger which inexplicably, and wonderfully, went to number one.

I can see why the Americans hate this one. It references old cockney music hall tunes which doesn’t exactly have global appeal. It mixes that with 70s funk which makes for a unique and inimitable sound. Norman is one of my favourite bass players and he really drives this album. It’s an easy 5 for me as it’s one of a kind, and I did enjoy reading the American comments.

One of those artists who annoyed me at the time, but I regret not listening to sooner. He had such a unique take, a tough life with a big heart.

British af many styles

A simple, yet wonderful blend of rock genres that I really dig. Very solid 5 in my book.

Interesting, kinda weird and each song is very different, but there's a lot of creativity.

Very fun and entertaining album. Enjoyed it

You either love Dury or hate him. There is no in between.

hahahah vanhaa indietä.. sopi vitun hyvin päänsärkyyn..

Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll entre otras.

Absolutely loved this!

Rock n roll meets punk meets music hall meets disco?! I’m here for it. Never heard of this bloke before; however, my life is all the richer, colorful, and whacky for it. The quirky lyrics, style, and irreverence are refreshing.

Pretty good, funny British style and lyrics good bass.

punk tranquillo, gran sorpresa

The best Iain Dury album - very British and a great record in every aspect.

If you ever wondered where the expression "sex, drugs, and rock'n'roll" came from...

A true legend sadly missed. Ian Dury was a cockney geezer- funny , coarse and intelligent. I bought this aged 11 from Wembley market and was dismayed to find it didn't have any of the hits on it! I persisted and grew to like the very un-PC lyrics and pub-band sound. The lyrics and the pub rock-n-roll and funk sound is so infectious. This is a unique gem. It's sad that today's plastic generation don't feel that way.

That was fun

Excellent album, too many great songs to comment individually; however, My Old Man and Sweet Gene Vincent deserve a special mention.

Five stars before I even put it on. It's punk, but with the tightest funk band ever. No two bars are quite the same and it makes it endlessly listenable. And that's before you even get to the fact Ian Dury is a fantastic wit and lyricist. You'll laugh, you'll be confused and offended and sometimes even moved. Both a jewel in the crown of England's glory and a reason to be cheerful (part 3)

Wtf. 70s Matt Barry?

There was a child like nostalgia in this. If you embrace the vocals it’s just genuinely great music

I grew up listening to Ian Dury as my father was a huge fan. Despite this, there were quite a few songs on this record that I'd never heard. And I'm glad I have now - such an amazing album!

One of the best discoveries of this project

Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll entre otras.

4.6 - Another British, slice-of-life record that feels like a predecessor to albums like Blur's "Parklife." Dury sings with a thick accent, which only enhances clever lyrics that are loaded with references. He also impressively blends an array of genres - punk, glam, funk, blue-eyed soul...Standouts: "My Old Man", "Blockheads", "Plaistow Patricia."

amazing! a new fave!

This is what halfwits like Elvis Costello want to be, with fifty times the wit and a better backing band and a more honest and authentic Approach. (Though the attractions are a great unit). The songs keep coming, and Dury is an underrated lyricist. This is considered his best but I think it’s more of a harbinger to come. 4.5 stars.

Beautiful record. I have an original English vinyl copy on Stiff, before they started adding Sex & Drugs etc. to Side 2. I can understand why they did that, because Side 1 is so outstanding that the flipside does pale a bit by comparison. The band is terrific & Dury’s vocals are unique. His lyrics throughout are so entertaining - so real. I saw them at the Capitol Theatre in Sydney in 1981 - their only tour here, when Wilko Johnson was with the band. I remember being amazed at how many musicians were onstage. It was one of the great concerts I ever attended. My favourite moment of this album is that point in Sweet Gene Vincent after the quiet intro where you you hear Dury say Who Slapped John (one of Vincent’s greatest) and the band go berserk. He never again did an album this great but he certainly kept the singles coming for the next few years. What a champion.

Pure genius.

Weird? You bet. Excellent? Yep. Full of both wit and wisdom with old school punk attitude. Dripping with sarcasm and commentary, it deserved more attention in the U.S. at the time it was released than it got. Only "Sex and Drugs and Rock & Roll" got airplay in the U.S. on nascent punk radio channels such as WNED in NYC.

Brilliant

It’s about time this project offered up a gift for womankind! This surprised me. I kind of love it. It’s a bizarre album with that 70’s feel across its diverse styles. I enjoyed the music and the deadpan vocal delivery. I’m a fan.

Classic of its era. The blockheads were such a tight band too. Norma Watt-Roy is just a spectacular bassist.

One of the best

This is pretty fantastic, sordid stories full of character and fun with a superb band. Wonderful

This is awesome! A bit of ska and a lot of nostalgia. Very feelgood music. Sometimes funny, eg Billericay Dickie. Towards the end it turns into punk! Bit of a surprise, but still good and interesting. Last song, Sex & Drugs & Rock and Roll - this is famous!!

Great album

what a hilarious album! just some horny brit with a cockney accent going through a variety of diverse genres what a darn fun experience! 9/10

This was amazing

I love this album, and have done for years. This is one of those rare albums which, for me, doesn't have a bad song on it. Easy 5!

Banger!!!

The rhyme schemes in this album are so playful and fun, but when all was said and done - Sweet Gene Vincent stole the show for me

Not as strong as I remembered. But I remembered it as strong as chilli pickles and Social Workers, so it's still a 5 from me.

I love most of the songs on this record.. a lot! Didn't like Blackmail Man.. at all! Really hard to decide between a 4 and a 5, but giving it 5 because it's quite original.

It took a second for me to warm up to this album, but my god it’s very very good. Sex&Drugs&Rock&Roll all the way! Gonna look for it on vinyl next time I’m out