The band started when frontman Dury (born in Upminster, Essex, United Kingdom on 12 May 1942 and died 27 March 2000), had a chance encounter in a musical instrument hire shop with guitarist Chaz Jankel. Jankel took Dury's lyrics, fashioned a number of songs, and they began recording with drummer Charley Charles, bassist Norman Watt-Roy and the former Kilburns saxophonist Davey Payne. An album was completed, but major record labels passed on the band. However, next door to Dury's manager's office was the newly formed Stiff Records, a perfect home for Dury's maverick style. The classic single "Sex and Drugs and Rock and Roll", marked Dury's Stiff debut and this was swiftly followed by an album. titled 'New Boots and Panties', which was to eventually achieve platinum status.
It wasn't until October 1977 that Dury and his band started to go out as Ian Dury and the Blockheads, when the band signed up for the Stiff "Live Stiffs Tour" alongside Elvis Costello And The Attractions, Nick Lowe, Wreckless Eric and Larry Wallis. The tour was a success and Stiff launched a concerted Ian Dury marketing campaign, resulting in the Top Ten hit What a Waste and the classic UK number one Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick. The band toured to great acclaim throughout Europe.
The band's second album Do It Yourself was released in June 1979 in a Barney Bubbles-designed sleeve of which there were over a dozen variations, all based on samples from the Crown wallpaper catalogue. Another top ten single, Reasons to be Cheerful, kept Dury in the public eye.
In 1980 Jankel left The Blockheads to concentrate on a solo career and was replaced by former Dr Feelgood guitarist Wilko Johnson, who also contributed to the next album Laughter and its two minor hit singles.
Ian Dury And The Blockheads disbanded in 1981 after Dury secured a new recording deal with Polydor Records through A&R man Frank Neilson, choosing to work with a group of young musicians which he named The Music Students and recorded the album Four Thousand Weeks' Holiday. This album marked a departure from his usual style and was not as well received by fans for its American jazz influence.
The Blockheads reformed several times before Ian Dury's death, most notably to play a series of benefit concerts for Charley Charles.
Quiet
Ian Dury and the Blockheads Lyrics
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Get right out of the way
Quiet!
(flop-flops)
I'm sorry, Beg your pardon
The fault's entirely yours
Quiet!
Your Highness
Your Worship
You silly pompous ass
Quiet!
(ah-ahs)
Quiet! You're making such a racket
Quiet! Why must you be so loud?
Quiet! It's costing me a packet
Quiet! persistent louts and clowns
Hello there, How are you?
Pee off!
Quiet!
(sweet trips)
Look, honest? Really?
Lies
Quiet!
(prune juice)
How lovely! How charming!
Horrible
Quiet!
(we-wees)
Quiet! Or else there will be measures
Quiet! Stop this unholy row
Quiet! Shut up, you little treasures
Quiet! When you've been told, and how
Alright little chap
Get back on mummy's lap
There may well be chastisements if you don't shut your trap
Just sit quite still
fold arms, face front
Quiet! You're making such a din din
Quiet! Why don't you please keep quiet?
Quiet! No one else is listening
Quiet! Utterly sick and tired
Quiet!
Sh, sh, sh, sh...
The song "Quiet" by Ian Dury and the Blockheads is a sarcastic, humorous take on the various frustrations of life. The lyrics consist of a series of vignettes in which Dury addresses different personas and characters who are making too much noise or causing a scene, exhorting them to be quiet in a humorous and often cutting way. The repetition of the word "quiet" throughout the song suggests a universal desire for peace and calm in the face of chaos and noise.
The opening lines, "Excuse me, Excuse me / Get right out of the way / Quiet!" sets the tone for the rest of the song. The first few verses address various people like "Your Highness", "Your Worship", and "Hello there, How are you?" in a dismissive and insulting manner. Dury mocks the people he's addressing, asserting that the "fault's entirely yours" and describing them as "silly pompous ass" and "persistent louts and clowns."
As the song progresses, it becomes clear that Dury is not just criticizing others but also acknowledging his own frustrations and limitations. He concedes, "Alright little chap / Get back on mummy's lap / There may well be chastisements if you don't shut your trap" indicating a sense of annoyance and impatience with noisy children. The repetition of "Quiet!" becomes more intense and urgent towards the end of the song until Dury takes on a soothing, shushing tone urging for quiet.
Overall, "Quiet" is a satirical and witty commentary on the daily annoyances of life, and the disconnect between the universal desire for quiet and the noisy, chaotic world we live in.
Line by Line Meaning
Excuse me, Excuse me
I beg your pardon
Get right out of the way
The road's ahead for me
Quiet!
Please be silent or come to order
(flop-flops)
The sound your flip flops make when you walk away
I'm sorry, Beg your pardon
I apologize for making you feel uncomfortable
The fault's entirely yours
I bear no responsibility for the mishap
Quiet!
Don't create any disturbance
(Big Chops)
The loud sound of shutting doors
Your Highness
Formal address to a royal person
Your Worship
Formal address to a religious figure
You silly pompous ass
You're a pretentious imbecile
Quiet!
Keep your voice down
(ah-ahs)
The sound of hecklers booing and jeering
Quiet! You're making such a racket
reduce the noise from your end
Quiet! Why must you be so loud?
there's no reason to be noisy
Quiet! It's costing me a packet
could you please be a bit quieter as it's causing me financial constraint.
Quiet! persistent louts and clowns
Please stop your persistent obnoxious behaviour
Hello there, How are you?
Greeted you informally
Pee off!
go away
Quiet!
Keep it down
(sweet trips)
Walking away gracefully making a sweet sound
Look, honest? Really?
Are you telling the truth?
Lies
You're not telling the truth
Quiet!
Don't make noise
(prune juice)
The sound of prune juice being poured in the glass
How lovely! How charming!
Ironically said how terrible and unconvincing you are.
Horrible
What you just did was terrible.
Quiet!
Can you lower your voice?
(we-wees)
Making noises like children who have just been scolded.
Quiet! Or else there will be measures
Please go silent; there will be strict consequences for disobedience.
Quiet! Stop this unholy row
Please stop making noise
Quiet! Shut up, you little treasures
Please keep quiet or be punished
Quiet! When you've been told, and how
Please keep it down or get consequences.
Alright little chap
Addressing a little boy
Get back on mummy's lap
Go back to your mom and be silent
There may well be chastisements if you don't shut your trap
You might receive harsh words if you don't be silent.
Just sit quite still
Sit still and don't make a sound
Quiet!
Hush, please
You're making such a din din
Don't make noise
Quiet! Why don't you please keep quiet?
You're too loud
Quiet! No one else is listening
Please don't make noise, I'm the only one listening.
Quiet! Utterly sick and tired
I'm getting really tired of your noise.
Quiet!
Hush
Sh, sh, sh, sh...
Repeatitive shushing sounds
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: CHARLIE (GB) CHARLES, IAN ROBINS DURY, JOHN GEORGE TURNBULL, MICHAEL WILLIAM GALLAGHER, NORMAN JOSEPH WATT-ROY
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind