Lord Upminster

Lord Upminster
Studio album by Ian Dury
Released	1981
Recorded	April - May 1981, Compass Point Studios, Nassau, Bahamas
Genre	Rock
Length	36:04
Label	Polydor
Producer	Chas Jankel, Steven Stanley, Ian Dury
Professional reviews
Allmusic
Ian Dury chronology
Laughter (1980) Lord Upminster (1981) 4,000 Weeks' Holiday (1984)

Lord Upminster is a 1981 album by Ian Dury. It was his first record for Polydor Records and was recorded in The Bahamas with his old writing partner Chas Jankel and famous rhythm duo Sly and Robbie.

Lord Upminster was re-issued on CD, but it is out of print, and arguably harder to find than the original LP itself, a recent CD re-issue was released in Japan.

History

Island Records' Chris Blackwell suggested that Dury and Chas Jankel, who had returned from America and temporarily buried the hatchet with Ian Dury fly to Nassau and record with Sly Dunbar and Robbie Shakespeare, the duo were noted in the industry and were also on Island Records, But Dury and Jankel were greatly unprepared and were without enough material for an album, and wrote much of the album either on the plane or at their destination, the final album was 8 tracks long, both of them were disappointed with it.

While recording the album Dury and Jankel were mobbed by Jamaican band Smokey, who mistook a line from his hit "Reasons To be Cheerful, Part 3" to be about them. The reference to "sing-alonga Smokey" was actually about Smokey Robinson. Dury politely agreed to listen to their new album while his co-writer sneaked away.

One of the songs, "Spasticus (Autisticus)", proved to be controversial. 1981 was the official "Year Of The Disabled", a notion Dury, crippled himself by Poliomyelitis he caught at Southend-on-Sea as a child, thought was ludicrous and patronising, on his BBC Documentary On My Life he mentioned plans to tour the country with a band named 'Spastic & The Autistics' until a friend (Ed Spieght, who had played on Dury's seminal New Boots and Panties!! LP) suggested the name 'Spasticus' bastardising the name of the freed slave Spartacus. Despite accusations of courting controversy, "Spasticus (Austisticus)" was released as a single (August 1980) and was banned with an odd ban that only covered the period before 6pm. The single's chart success was nil but "Spasticus" was to remain in Ian Dury's set until his death, even after other raucous songs like "Plaistow Patricia" and "Blockheads" were dropped.

Beside Spasticus, another noteworthy track appears on the album; "Girls (Watching)" is the only officially released cover version Ian Dury recorded, it was written by Sly Dunbar. However MP3s of Dury, performing The Stranglers single "Peaches" and "Bear Cage" live, along with Hazel O'Connor and members of The Stranglers can be found on some download services. As well as being found on two Stranglers live albums And Then There was Three and Stranglers and Friends both CDs are of the same gig, when Hugh Cornwell was in prison, various artists including Dury took turns to sing.

Lord Upminster was a commercial failure and received lacklustre reviews from critics and Dury himself admitted he would only listen to Spasticus. Chas Jankel was a little kinder and continues to praise "Lonely (Town)" as an underrated gem on the album. "The (Body Song)" and "Funky Disco (Pops)" are the tracks most currently selected for greatest hits (along with "Spasticus").

Track listing

All tracks are by Ian Dury and Chas Jankel unless otherwise stated.

1. "Funky Disco (Pops)" - 3:30
2. "Red (Letter)" - 3:47
3. "Girls (Watching)" (Sly Dunbar) - 4:28
4. "Wait (For Me)" - 3:41
5. "The (Body Song)" - 5:08
6. "Lonely (Town)" - 4:10
7. "Trust (Is A Must)" - 6:20
8. "Spasticus (Autisticus)" - 4:57

Note : the original US release re-arranged the running order of the tracks as follows :

1. "Spasticus (Autisticus)" - 4:57
2. "Red (Letter)" - 3:47
3. "The (Body Song)" - 5:08
4. "Lonely (Town)" - 4:10
5. "Trust (Is A Must)" - 6:20
6. "Funky Disco (Pops)" - 3:30
7. "Girls (Watching)" (Sly Dunbar) - 4:28
8. "Wait (For Me)" - 3:41

Some compilations mistakenly do not put parts of the song titles in brackets (especially "Spasticus"), it is a 'theme' of the titles on the album and all of them do have words in brackets as shown above.

Personnel

• Ian Dury: vocals
• Chas Jankel: guitar, keyboards
• Robbie Shakespeare: bass
• Sly Dunbar: drums
• Tyrone Downie: clavinet, prophet, Steinway

Sources

• Sex And Drugs And Rock And Roll: The Life Of Ian Dury by Richard Balls, first published 2000, Omnibus Press
• Ian Dury & The Blockheads: Song By Song by Jim Drury, first published 2003, Sanctuary Publishing.
• On My Life BBC2 Documentary first broadcast September 25th, 1999