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Song · Ian Dury & The Blockheads

“Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick” by Ian Dury & The Blockheads

Released 1978

“Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick” by Ian Dury & The Blockheads appears on 26 radio countdowns from 7 stations between 1991 and 2022. It was first released in 1978. Its best result is #57 on the Virgin Radio Top 500 Songs of All-Time (December 2001). In the combined RockLists rankings it is #1,137 alternative song of all time.

26countdowns
7stations
#57best position
0#1 finishes
0top 10 finishes
1991–2022years charted

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Ian Dury and The Blockheads – Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick (Official 4K Music Video)

Video from YouTube (Ian Dury & The Blockheads). Pressing play loads YouTube's player. Watch on YouTube

"Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick" came out on Stiff at the tail end of 1978, credited to Ian & the Blockheads, and it's the most successful single they ever made, reaching number one in Britain in January 1979. Ian Dury wrote the words and multi-instrumentalist Chaz Jankel the music, and Laurie Latham produced.

It's a gloriously twitchy funk-punk romp. Norman Watt-Roy's bass runs like a greyhound off the leash, Charley Charles keeps the beat tight and bouncing, Jankel's piano, Mick Gallagher's Hammond and John Turnbull's guitar crowd in, and Davey Payne's sax squawks all over the top while Dury leers and grins through it. NME's writers ranked it the 12th best single of 1978, the Pazz & Jop critics' poll in The Village Voice crowned it the best single of 1979, and its UK sales had passed 1.29 million by 2017.

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

RockLists rankings

Alternative & Modern Rock

Indie & Adult Alternative

All Rock Formats

All-time and decade countdowns

Year#StationCountdownof
1991 799 CFNY 102.1 The Edge CFNY Top 1002 Songs of All-Time (1991 Edition) 1002
1999 855 Q101 Q101 Top 1,011 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) 1017
1999 1139 CD101 CD101 Top 2000 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) 2000
1999 717 CFNY 102.1 The Edge CFNY Top 1002 Songs of All-Time (November 1999) 1002
2000 1142 CD101 CD101 Top 2001 Songs of All-Time (December 2000) 2001
2001 1145 CD101 CD101 Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (December 2001) 2002
2001 57 Virgin Radio Virgin Radio Top 500 Songs of All-Time (December 2001) 500
2002 1144 CD101 CD101 Top 2003 Songs of All-Time (December 2002) 2003
2002 374 Fred (XM 44) Fred XM Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (July 2002) 2002
2003 1129 CD101 CD101 Top 2004 Songs of All-Time (December 2003) 2004
2003 376 Fred (XM 44) Fred XM Top 2044 Songs of All-Time (July 2003) 2044
2004 1129 CD101 CD101 Top 2005 Songs of All-Time (December 2004) 2005
2004 137 Virgin Radio Virgin Radio Top 500 Songs of All-Time (December 2004) 500
2005 1129 CD101 CD101 Top 2006 Songs of All-Time (December 2005) 1994
2005 329 Virgin Radio Virgin Radio Top 500 Songs of All-Time (December 2005) 500
2005 98 Virgin Radio Virgin Radio Top 100 Brit Songs of All-Time (May 2005) 100
2006 465 Virgin Radio Virgin Radio Top 500 Songs of All-Time (December 2006) 500
2007 1675 CD101 CD101 Top 2008 Songs of All-Time (December 2007) 2008
2008 1636 CD101 CD101 Top 2009 Songs of All-Time (December 2008) 2009
2009 1647 CD101 CD101 Top 2010 Songs of All-Time (December 2009) 2010
2010 1686 CD101 CD101 Top 2011 Songs of All-Time (December 2010) 2011
2011 1754 CD101 CD101 Top 2012 Songs of All-Time (December 2011) 2011
2013 1812 CD101 CD101 Top 2013 Songs of All-Time (December 2013) 2012
2014 1879 CD101 CD101 Top 2014 Songs of All-Time (2014) 2013
2022 459 90.9 The Bridge 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the '70s 908
2022 756 The Colorado Sound The Colorado Sound Top 1055 Colorado Sound Songs of All Time 1055

Also listed as: Hit Me with your Rhythm Stick; Hit Me With You Rhythm Stick; Hit Me with Your Rhythm Stick.

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