Do It Yourself by Ian Dury & The Blockheads

Do It Yourself, released on Stiff in 1979, was the first album to carry the full billing of Ian Dury & the Blockheads, and about time too. It arrived hot on the heels of "Hit Me with Your Rhythm Stick", the single that had gone all the way to the top, and the band play like a gang who've earned their name on the sleeve: Norman Watt-Roy's bass slinking and popping, Charley Charles on drums, Chaz Jankel on guitar and keys, John Turnbull on guitar and Davey Payne's sax squawking round the edges, with Dury leering and crooning over the lot. Laurie Latham produced.

It climbed to number two, kept off the top only by ABBA's Voulez-Vous, sold around 200,000 copies and handed Dury his second platinum album after New Boots and Panties!!. Laughter came next.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.