Handsome (Expanded Edition)

Digitally remastered and expanded two CD edition. Before Ian Dury & The Blockheads scored Top 10 hits, singer/songwriter Dury had found favor on London's thriving pub rock scene as frontman with Kilburn And The High Roads. Formed in 1971, the band's eclectic blend of art school proto-punk infused with rock 'n' roll, jazz, ska and old time Music Hall humor ensured they became a popular fixture on the college circuit. Coming to the attention of Pye Records, the band was signed to it's Dawn imprint in 1974 with the album Handsome following a year later, by which point the Kilburn's had disbanded. Their lone 45, 'Rough Kids' b/w 'Billy Bentley (Parades Himself In London)' proved inspirational, with Sex Pistol Glen Matlock citing it as influential. Although commercially unsuccessful, Handsome proved an early showcase for Dury's lyrical dexterity, wherein touchy subjects such as his own disability and domestic violence are tackled, in typically confrontational fashion. Broadcast on Capital Radio in April 1974, Disc Two's previously unreleased live session provides a taste of their onstage shows; organic, energized performances which clearly proved hard to replicate in the recording studio.