Ian Dury – Reasons To Be Cheerful: The Best Of Ian Dury

Ian Dury - Reasons To Be Cheerful: The Best Of Ian Dury

Ian Dury - Reasons To Be Cheerful: The Best Of Ian Dury is a definitive celebration of one of British music’s most distinctive and uncompromising voices. Spanning punk, funk, pub rock, and lyrical storytelling at its sharpest, this collection captures the wit, grit, and unmistakable rhythm of Ian Dury across his work with Kilburn & The High Roads, solo recordings, and his era-defining output with The Blockheads.

Equal parts poetry, social commentary, and raw London attitude, Dury’s catalogue stands apart for its razor-sharp observations of everyday life, delivered with humour, swagger, and a deeply human touch. Backed by the tight, funk-driven musicianship of The Blockheads, these recordings helped define an era where genre boundaries simply didn’t apply.

From the infectious groove of “Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick” to the iconic defiance of “Sex And Drugs And Rock ’N’ Roll,” this set captures Dury at his most vital. Alongside fan favourites, deeper cuts and live recordings reveal the full range of his songwriting - alternating between chaos, charm, and razor-edged storytelling.

This is not just a best-of - it’s a portrait of a singular British artist whose work remains as sharp, funny, and relevant today as it ever was.

Tracklist:

Disc 1
1-1 Wake Up And Make Love With Me
1-2 Sex And Drugs And Rock 'N' Roll
1-3 Sweet Gene Vincent
1-4 My Old Man
1-5 Razzle In My Pocket
1-6 What A Waste
1-7 Rough Kids
1-8 The Roadette Song
1-9 Pam's Moods
1-10 Reasons To Be Cheerful, Part 3
1-11 Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick
1-12 There Ain't Half Been Some Clever Bastards
1-13 Inbetweenies
1-14 Don't Ask Me
1-15 I Want To Be Straight
1-16 Superman's Big Sister
1-17 Yes & No (Paula)
1-18 That's Not All
1-19 Fucking Ada
1-20 The Bus Driver's Prayer

Disc 2
2-1 Jack Shit George
2-2 Bed O' Roses No. 9
2-3 Dance Little Rude Boy
2-4 Mash It Up Harry
2-5 It Ain't Cool
2-6 Books & Water
2-7 Really Glad You Came
2-8 Peter The Painter
2-9 Profoundly In Love With Pandora
2-10 Poor Joey
2-11 Poo-Poo In The Prawn
2-12 Clever Trevor (Live)
2-13 If I Was With A Woman (Live)
2-14 Billericay Dickie (Live)
2-15 Spasticus Autisticus (Live)
2-16 Blockheads (Live)