Wreckless Eric News Page April 2001

Sex and drugs and double chins (part 2)
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Oh dear, I’ve upset Phill Jupitus. I had a very cross email from him in which he said that he was sorry if I had misgivings about appearing on the same stage as him, at the time he himself was fucking delighted. He also said that he considered working with both myself and the Blockheads to be a great moment in what otherwise has been a fairly quiet career – I only wish my career had been as noisy as his, but that’s another point. He left me in no doubt that I’d made him feel like a cunt (his use of the un-PC ‘C’ word this time, not mine), and for this I’m truly sorry.

Especially as on the few occasions that I’ve met him I’ve found him to be a most likeable person, obviously a great music fan and record collector. I’ve seen him perform with the Blockheads twice before, at the Brixton Academy, and at Dingwalls which was the Blockheads first show without Ian. I was impressed by Phill – he knew all the words (and we’re talking about Reasons To Be Cheerful – even Ian couldn’t do it without a crib sheet), his timing was impeccable, and he took command of the song and the situation without coming on too much like a tribute Ian. I found myself thinking that if ever the Blockheads needed a frontman, here was someone who, with a bit of work, could do it without trying to refill Ian Dury’s otherwise empty Doc Martens. I actually mentioned the idea to a couple of Blockheads - I don’t know if they took it in, and I also don’t know if that’s what they want.

Last summer I spent a few days with the Blockheads recording Clevor Trevor and otherwise hanging out while they recorded backing tracks for some of the other stuff on Brand New Boots & Panties. They’re a very good band – they should be, they’ve been together since before most people were even born and they’re all seriously good players anyway. But they were adamant that this was the end of the line, they were going to finish up the recordings, tie up the loose ends and knock it on the head. They were never going to play together again. I found that sad and shocking, but a few days later they were starting to come round, and then they finally decided to carry on as a band. I was very happy to hear that.

Dingwalls last December was a triumph. I thought they struck a great balance between new material and the old stuff, which came over to me as much as an acknowledgement of where they’ve come from, as an exercise in crowd pleasing (which is part of the job of course – there’s nothing wrong with it). Johnny Turnbull sang Reasons To Be Cheerful and Partial To Your Abracadabra and both sounded new and refreshingly different. There’s something quite marvellous about a band doing their first gig – it doesn’t matter whether they’re sixteen year olds in a village hall, or a bunch of seasoned old gits like the Blockheads – for an instant they’re all sixteen years old, caught up in an intensity of panic and invention, and if they’re any good there’s usually a moment when they look at one another in the full recognition of what they’ve got going for themselves. The Blockheads had that at Dingwalls.

Brighton was only the Blockheads second gig. Living in Brighton as we do we got to hear a lot of off the pavement reaction when the posters went up and the tickets went on sale. The local promoter seemed to be under the impression that it was going to be a big beery piss-up with lots of local celebs jumping up and singing along. A lot of people we know said they didn’t see the point with Ian gone, the general concensus being that it was either going to be some sort of shabby tribute affair, or more likely a redundant band cashing in for one last time. The local paper didn’t help dispel this unfortunate image. A reviewer described the Blockheads as looking like an assortment of street traders, costermongers, and East End hardmen – I wonder which of these descriptions could possibly fit Chas Jankel. The reviewer went on to say that the band gave the crowd exactly what they’d come for, which was apparently a good old Essex knees-up and Cockney singalong. Bollocks. The Blockheads are about much, much more than that, but if that’s how people are going perceive them they’ll have a lot of trouble moving forward.

In the three month interlude since Dingwalls they’ve obviously put some thought into it, and though I’m sure they’d be the first to admit that they’ve got more work to do, they’re well on their way to developing a post Ian show with a lot of good new material. It’s a very brave thing to do and I think Ian would be very proud of them.

But back to Phill Jupitus. I sent him a reply in which I said that I was really sorry I’d upset him with my thoughtless remarks. But then today I thought I ought to have a look at these thoughtless remarks and see exactly what could’ve upset him so much. What I actually wrote was:

Later on they were joined by Phil Jupitus and Mark Lamarr which was OK but I can’t help thinking they’re living out a rock’n’roll fantasy and they’d be better sticking to comedy. (That’s even more people I’ve upset.) And at the end we all went back on and did Sex & Drugs & Double Chins. I played my guitar and didn’t sing….

And underneath that there’s a photo:

To start with, is there anything here to suggest that I have misgivings about appearing on stage with Phill Jupitus? I have to say the thought never entered my mind. And so what if they are living out a rock’n’roll fantasy. How could it be anything else? The whole thing’s firing off in a shadow cast by Ian Dury – and that’s a fucking big shadow - surely Phill doesn’t think this makes him a contender. Anyway, if he's got aspirations to being a rock’n’roll singer he’ll have to toughen up a bit - you get a lot of flack in this business. Considering Phill Jupitus has elected to stand in Ian’s place I think he’s got off fucking lightly. I really don’t know what I’ve been apologising for – they dish out a lot worse than that on the Buzzcocks show don't they?

My own feeling is that if Phill was given the chance to work at it he could get beyond the parody and really do the job – not so sure about Mark though. When we did Sex and Drugs he just sat on a monitor and smoked a cigarette – I’d don’t know if he’d shagged himself out running about or whether it was a rock’n’roll statement of some sort. (Quite funny though.) I didn’t sing myself because I’ve never felt that I could sing Sex & Drugs & Rock’n’Roll very well, and anyway Phill was making a fine job of it with Johnny and Chas, so I just got on with being there. If you look carefully at the photo you’ll see that the landslide of double chins are all entirely my own, Chas has managed to conceal his the other side of his Pringle cardigan, and Phill’s chin is more pubic than double, so it can’t be that that’s upset him.

I wonder what Ian would have to say – none of this’d be going on if it wasn’t for him. Ian was a stern critic - and he was always right, even though it sometimes took me years to realise it. Maybe he'd just say that the best you can do in this business is to keep the inflatable part of your ego in check and the fragile part out of sight. Some people’d do well to remember that.