Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll

[Dayna]

Hugh Laurie

[AndyM]

Patricia Routledge.

No, **I** bagsy her for my life story.

(And she's too plump for Charlie.)

[Adam Blake]

I think the film isn't about Ian Dury so much as the idea that love triumphs over dysfunctionality. Most kids I think would naturally prefer unconditional love from a dysfunctional and grossly irresponsible parent to a stable and reliable relationship with a parent who doesn't show them any emotion (not that there's ever a choice in the matter). It's a corny and well-worn dramatic concept but it's true to life and it's done well here. If anything, I would have liked it to have been a bit more of a straightforward biopic. I would like to have seen how Dury's success was handled by his band and his management as well as how his subsequent failures affected him and how he changed his approach to his work (if at all) in the light of them. He had a fascinating career but this film is much more about his personal life. In itself it succeeds, but if I like an artist I am more interested in their work and working processes than in their personal life. In this it seems I am at odds with the general public.

[Chris P]

Baxter's blog :

The film represents a version of events that makes the experience of being around my dad look anarchic and chaotic, but I actually had a stable upbringing with my mum. We lived in a country house, she made apple pie – it was a nice, middle-class upbringing. Even when I went to live with my dad when I was older, I never felt as though I was in any danger. The thing is that films of this kind tend to promote the extremes, by which the perception of someone gets cemented. Some people seem to think that my dad was a genius and others say he was evil. He wasn't evil, he was annoying. But he was also a lovely, bubbly person, a normal dad who made me soup.

How would I describe my dad? Someone made a brilliant analogy that I think sums him up: he was like a beautifully made hotel, one side of which looks over an idyllic beach while the other looks over the Gaza strip

http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/musicblog/2010/jan/15/baxter-dury

[jackdaw version]

That Baxter's got a way with words, doesn't he? Anybody pick up on his album of a few years back? I've never heard it. Got decent reviews.

That film will probably never play theatres in the US, but I anticipate the DVD. Ian Dury was quite a favourite of mine back when.

[Dominic]

That Baxter's got a way with words, doesn't he? Anybody pick up on his album of a few years back? I've never heard it. Got decent reviews.

I bought a couple of singles. Oscar Brown is a lovely slice of English Whimsical Psychedelia, I've just put the video in the youtube thread. Can't remember the second one at all, but the sleeve was a saucy pop art painting by Baxter's old man:



Edit: looks like Floor Show is actually the LP. Must check my collection, I may be gone some time...

[Dominic]

Turns out the Oscar Brown CD single sleeve also featured on of Ian Dury's nudes (check Razzle In My Pocket for correct pronunciation):

[AndyM]

Ah, Razzle in my Pocket - one of those tucked-away gems I'd almost forgotten.

[Ian M]

Caught up with this film yesterday. Really enjoyed it. Not a straight biopic by any means, which seems to have divided opinions somewhat. But all the better for it, I think. The device writer and director use is to frame events from Ian Dury's life through a vaudeville concert with characteristic Dury observations and performances. Andy Serkis does an incredible job of resurrecting him - the voice, mannerisms and body language (kind of crucial for obvious reasons). The original Blockheads recorded the backing tracks with Serkis singing, a strategy which works very well, avoiding the potential pitfalls of miming to the originals, or pretending to be Dury himself. It also means the kind of rough and ready sound you got at gigs like those is captured atmospherically.
The songs and stories, as well as the sets, dissolve into scenes from his life. Visually imaginative, it has more in common with 24 Hour Party People and Trainspotting than the naturalistic slice of life style recreations that are common on UK TV and film (like the very different but equally interesting Nowhere Boy). The result is a kaleidoscopic mix of scenes from his life, but told in a mix of anecdote and recollection and recreation which dissolves the boundaries between his songs and his life. This creates a rich, larger than life portrait of Dury, quite appropriately really, where the characters and stories from his songs merge into the stories of his life - funny and poignant, like his wonderful My Old Man. The chaos and contradictions, the pressures of fame, the confrontational and stroppy sides of him are all present, the film in this respect is closer to a representation of the spirit of the man rather than a (probably futile) attempt at telling his life story.
In that sense it is a more ambitious, colourful and entertaining film, well worth seeing. The only thing I missed was the influence of art school on the creation of his character, although his mentor and friend Peter Blake contributes some stylish pop art graphics and interludes. For the small budget they had, it is a triumph of invention and acting.
Howard, although Charlie isn't in it, he does contribute a recollection of trying to manage Ian in this month's Word magazine, which has some good background and interviews with the creators and Ian Dury's friends. Well worth a look.
Would really love to hear what Charlie thought of it, knowing him as he did, but I think it will be some time before we hear. Hope he's doing alright.