The Bus Driver's Prayer & Other Stories
Encyclopedia
The Bus Driver's Prayer & Other Stories is the 7th solo album by Ian Dury
. Despite being recorded after the successful live reunion of Ian Dury and The Blockheads inspired by the death of their drummer Charley Charles the album is not a Blockheads record, however all of the band bar bassist Norman Watt-Roy
appear on tracks on the record.
, London
along with incidental music for the film.
Ian Dury's in-studio behavior was notably better than it had been during the 1980s and would steadily improve. However one notably drink-fueled event while recording the album on the Mile End Road
, London (owned by the brother of Madness
keyboard player Mike Barson) is re-accounted often by Gallagher and Rhys-Jones where Dury, drunk on Budweiser
became furious allegedly after a technician named Frasier erased Gallagher's keyboard part for "Quick Quick Slow" and threatened to burn the studio down, when he wouldn't calm down the police were called and after spitting at them and calling them 'homosexuals' Dury was arrested.
Bus Driver's Prayer is almost always considered a 'return to form' for Dury as a lyricist, including both Ian Dury & The Blockheads: Song by Song and Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll: The Life of Ian Dury the most common examples being "Poor Joey" and "Poo-Poo in the Prawn".
Demon Records were unhappy with the final album and hardly promoted it despite favorable reviews including in the March 1993 issue of Vox where it was awarded six out of ten stars. Mickey Gallagher continues to praise the album as one of his favorites, and noted in Song by Song that it was the album he mourned Ian Dury to, following the singer's death in 2000. The album however does still receive criticism for the use of a drum machine.
With
Note: The album sleeve does not give information on who plays what on what tracks.
will only automatically give the writing credits for "O'Donegal", "Poo-Poo in the Prawn" and "D'Orine the Cow", the three tracks that appeared on Repertoire Record's Reasons to be Cheerful 2CD retrospective.
Edsel Record's 2003 2-CD re-issue fixed this and included the writing credits above each song's lyric as it had done with the other albums however it erroneously lists London Talking as track 9 and Have A Word as track 8 both on the track list on the back of the CD case, and in the booklet, placing the lyrics in the wrong order.
Edsel Record's re-issue also includes a bonus disc with 8 Bonus tracks, unreleased tracks "Amerind", "Whale", "Grape and Grain" and "The Writer" plus four songs that would later appear on later albums with The Blockheads "Itinerant Child" (which would appear on Mr. Love Pants
) and "One Love", "Cowboys" and "I Believe" (later to be included on Ten More Turnips From The Tip
).
Ian Dury
Ian Robins Dury was an English rock and roll singer, lyricist, bandleader and actor who initially rose to fame during the late 1970s, during the punk and New Wave era of rock music...
. Despite being recorded after the successful live reunion of Ian Dury and The Blockheads inspired by the death of their drummer Charley Charles the album is not a Blockheads record, however all of the band bar bassist Norman Watt-Roy
Norman Watt-Roy
Norman Watt-Roy is the bassist for The Blockheads, previously known as Ian Dury & the Blockheads.In November 1954 the Watt-Roy family, including Norman, his older brother Garth and his sister, moved to England...
appear on tracks on the record.
History
The album has its origins in a 1991 Irish film After Midnight when asked to produce music for the film Dury recruited Blockhead Mickey Gallagher and Music Students member Merlin Rhys-Jones. Two songs "O'Donegal" and "Quick Quick Slow" along with another "Bye Bye Dublin" were written around this time, and least the latter two were recorded in Shepherd's BushShepherd's Bush
-Commerce:Commercial activity in Shepherd's Bush is now focused on the Westfield shopping centre next to Shepherd's Bush Central line station and on the many small shops which run along the northern side of the Green....
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
along with incidental music for the film.
Ian Dury's in-studio behavior was notably better than it had been during the 1980s and would steadily improve. However one notably drink-fueled event while recording the album on the Mile End Road
Mile End
Mile End is an area within the East End of London, England, and part of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is located east-northeast of Charing Cross...
, London (owned by the brother of Madness
Madness (band)
In 1979, the band recorded the Lee Thompson composition "The Prince". The song, like the band's name, paid homage to their idol, Prince Buster. The song was released through 2 Tone Records, the label of The Specials founder Jerry Dammers. The song was a surprise hit, peaking in the UK music charts...
keyboard player Mike Barson) is re-accounted often by Gallagher and Rhys-Jones where Dury, drunk on Budweiser
Budweiser (Anheuser-Busch)
Budweiser is a 5.0% abv American-style lager introduced in 1876 by Adolphus Busch and one of the highest selling beers in the United States. It is made with up to 30% rice in addition to hops and barley malt. Budweiser is produced in various breweries located around the world...
became furious allegedly after a technician named Frasier erased Gallagher's keyboard part for "Quick Quick Slow" and threatened to burn the studio down, when he wouldn't calm down the police were called and after spitting at them and calling them 'homosexuals' Dury was arrested.
Bus Driver's Prayer is almost always considered a 'return to form' for Dury as a lyricist, including both Ian Dury & The Blockheads: Song by Song and Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll: The Life of Ian Dury the most common examples being "Poor Joey" and "Poo-Poo in the Prawn".
Demon Records were unhappy with the final album and hardly promoted it despite favorable reviews including in the March 1993 issue of Vox where it was awarded six out of ten stars. Mickey Gallagher continues to praise the album as one of his favorites, and noted in Song by Song that it was the album he mourned Ian Dury to, following the singer's death in 2000. The album however does still receive criticism for the use of a drum machine.
Track listing
All tracks composed by Ian Dury and Mickey Gallagher; except where indicated- "That's Enough of That" (Dury, Gallagher, Rhys-Jones) - 4:49
- "Bill HaleyBill HaleyBill Haley was one of the first American rock and roll musicians. He is credited by many with first popularizing this form of music in the early 1950s with his group Bill Haley & His Comets and their hit song "Rock Around the Clock".-Early life and career:...
's Last Words" (Dury, Gallagher, Rhys-Jones) - 3:12 - "Poor Joey" - 3:50
- "Quick Quick Slow" - 3:14
- "Fly in the Ointment" - 2:55
- "O'Donegal" - 3:53
- "Poo-Poo in the Prawn" - 3:17
- "London Talking" - 1:15
- "Have A Word" (Dury, Gallagher, Rhys-Jones) - 3:57
- "D'Orine The Cow" - 3:18
- "Your Horoscope" - 4:00
- "No Such Thing As Love" - 3:38
- "Two Old Dogs Without A Name" - 4:43
- "Bus Driver's PrayerBus Driver's PrayerThe Bus Driver's Prayer, also known as the Busman's Lord's Prayer, was a parody of the Lord's Prayer that takes the bus driver around Greater London . The words are apocryphal and have been around since 1960 at least...
" (Traditional, arranged and adapted by Ian Dury) - 0:59
Personnel
- Ian Dury - Lead Vocals
- Mick Gallagher - Keyboards
- Merlin Rhys-Jones - Guitar
With
- Chas JankelChas JankelCharles Jeremy Jankel professionally known as Chaz Jankel, is a musician best known as the keyboard player and guitarist with Ian Dury and the Blockheads...
- Micheal McEvoy
- Steve White
- John Turnbull
- Davey PayneDavey PayneDavid 'Davey' Payne is an English saxophonist best known as a member of Ian Dury's backing band The Blockheads, and his twin saxophone solo on their 1978 UK #1 single "Hit Me with Your Rhythm Stick"....
- Will Parnell
- Ray CooperRay CooperRay Cooper is an English musician. He is a session and road-tour percussionist, and occasional actor, who has worked with several musically diverse bands and artists including George Harrison, Billy Joel, Eric Clapton, and Elton John. Cooper is commonly regarded by music fans, critics and fellow...
- Chris London
- Simon Osbourne, Ian Horne - Engineers
- Bruce Ingman - Cover Painting (from a design by Mike Krage)
- John Millar - photographs
Note: The album sleeve does not give information on who plays what on what tracks.
Re-releases
Problems have occurred with The Bus Driver's Prayer & Other Stories CD re-issues, initially Demon Record's CD version did not contain any writing credits for any of the songs it's booklet simply included the five poems written by Ian Dury in fact even now Windows Media PlayerWindows Media Player
Windows Media Player is a media player and media library application developed by Microsoft that is used for playing audio, video and viewing images on personal computers running the Microsoft Windows operating system, as well as on Pocket PC and Windows Mobile-based devices...
will only automatically give the writing credits for "O'Donegal", "Poo-Poo in the Prawn" and "D'Orine the Cow", the three tracks that appeared on Repertoire Record's Reasons to be Cheerful 2CD retrospective.
Edsel Record's 2003 2-CD re-issue fixed this and included the writing credits above each song's lyric as it had done with the other albums however it erroneously lists London Talking as track 9 and Have A Word as track 8 both on the track list on the back of the CD case, and in the booklet, placing the lyrics in the wrong order.
Edsel Record's re-issue also includes a bonus disc with 8 Bonus tracks, unreleased tracks "Amerind", "Whale", "Grape and Grain" and "The Writer" plus four songs that would later appear on later albums with The Blockheads "Itinerant Child" (which would appear on Mr. Love Pants
Mr. Love Pants
Mr. Love Pants is a 1998 album by Ian Dury and the Blockheads, released on East Central One under Dury's own label Ronnie Harris Records .- History :...
) and "One Love", "Cowboys" and "I Believe" (later to be included on Ten More Turnips From The Tip
Ten More Turnips from the Tip
Ten More Turnips From The Tip is the final album by Ian Dury and the Blockheads. It was compiled and released in 2002, two years after the singer's tragic demise from cancer in March 2000.- History :...
).
Trivia
- The voice of "Joey the Budgie" is, according to Song by Song, not Ian Dury, but Chas Jankel.
- Even though the album is named after the track, this is Ian Dury's second recording of "Bus Driver's PrayerBus Driver's PrayerThe Bus Driver's Prayer, also known as the Busman's Lord's Prayer, was a parody of the Lord's Prayer that takes the bus driver around Greater London . The words are apocryphal and have been around since 1960 at least...
", the original appearing on his 1989 album ApplesApples (album)-Personnel:* Ian Dury - Vocals* Frances Ruffelle - Vocals* Mick Gallagher - Keyboards* Merlin Rhys-Jones - Guitars* Davey Payne - Saxophones* Michael McEvoy - Bass, Synthesisers* Ray Cooper - Percussion* Steve White - Drums, Percussion...
.
Sources
- Sex And Drugs And Rock And Roll: The Life Of Ian Dury by Richard Balls, first published 2000, Omnibus Press
- Ian Dury & The Blockheads: Song By Song by Jim Drury, first published 2003, Sanctuary Publishing.
- Booklet to Edsel Records 2004 CD re-issue of The Bus Driver's Prayer and Other Stories.