Watched norman playing with wilko johnson a few years ago in southern spain. They could be the answer to covid 19. Rarely see that energy from a teenager.
I couldn’t agree with you more! Norman love’s near me in Fulham. He’s a good friend of a mate of mine. I’ve spoken to him on numerous occasions. One of the nicest men you could ever meet. A real gentleman! He walk’s around and the young kids do no not realise they are in the presence of musical royalty. I am your friend. I’m in total awe of this guy! Thanks for your posting mate... You are right. He’s a fucking genius!!!
everybody going off about the bass line (and don't get me wrong the bass line is great) but are we just gonna ignore this guy DUAL WIELDING SAXOPHONES!!
When I was an apprentice mechanic in 77, I turned the radio up to full volume in the garage workshop when this came on. My miserable foreman would go ballistic.
The backing band ( Blockheads) Truly Loved Ian and none more so than Norman Watt Roy, I met him briefly last year only 2 weeks after he suffered a heart attack, he said he was back working again, I said to him " you will never stop will you" he looked at me and said No, NWR is a true legend of the music industry and a bloody humble and nice fellow, respect to you Sir!
Geezer literally playing two saxophones at the same time live on stage and it's still not as impressive as that bassline. Norman Watt-Roy is a fucking savage.
The stamina you need to keep that pace up on your right hand for the bassline is phenomenal. I'm almost sure Ian was prolonging sections of it a little live sometimes to tease Norman. You can hear where Norman moves to the octave up either for a break ( frets are smaller there and it's less of a stretch), or to try trigger Ian to sing a verse. Brilliant stuff. What an absolute machine! |There's as lovely bit at the start where he trips over himself but he gets his mojo back rapidly and is unflappable til the end Long Live Norman Watt-Roy!
Everything about this performance is perfect. God I wish had a chance to seen this live. The saxaphone player is fucking amazing. Bless you blockheads x
As a teenage bass player here in the u.s.I remember hearing this for the first time and being totally blown away by the lyrics tight band and the extraordinary bassist after that Itried to get my hands on every recording I could
HaHa! Did the same for me when it first released. Awesome music stands the test of time. Excellent taste in funky ass bass you have there Joe. I hope you go far.
Ian,, if you can hear me in the heavens above .... that bit of Harry Billafonte line. midtune, did you no favors. No matter,,, still luv u. Greetings from Ireland 😍😍
What a sax man ian dury and blockheads what a blend of extremely talented musicians never to be repeated blessed we had them the bass player is in a whole Fantastic go bass a master of the strings kippers smelly knickers to reading this ha ha you know now go
I was 16 years old when I first heard Ian Dury and Blockheads in 2004. I was going to London for couple of weeks from Scotland and wanted some music. I never left and this music became my sound track. It continues to be my music for the best city on earth.
One of the greatest monster bass lines ever, and right up front in the mix like it should be (unlike the recorded version, where I have to strain to hear it)
The Blockheads are an amazing funk band. I was always focused on Ian, but the more I listen the more I admire the Blockheads. The rumble of the bass, the amazing drumming - funky keyboards - fabulous. And a great song Anyone here see them live??
I can honestly say I first heard this on the radio in my old man's car when I was 8. I loved it then and I love it all the more now. What an incredible band. Absolutely stellar musicians the lot of them and with with Ian Dury at the helm it's hard to think of a better British band.
I would love to hear their recording with Frankie Goes to Hollywood as they did a version of Relax before Trevor Horn, producing the band, decided to record the song differently and the version people would know was what they did.
*_The Funky Bassist here, Norman Watt Roy is really underrated, plus he's very skilled_* *_and you can tell it by watchin' him playin' this funky bassline so easily._* *_One of the BEST basslines EVER written
To repeat that complicated bass line and throw in little subtle accents here and there is beyond genius. That kind of talent is just not around anymore
You are a class act for recognizing that we don't all need to post the same comment. With that maturity and control, you should be a very serene & happy person; I hope that you are, and wish you the very best.
@@smartalek180 Cheers to you smartalek, haha !! Yes I am a happy person even in these times ... ! I can't stop coming back to this , you obviously have good taste as you are here toooo ..... Have a nice evening ...
Love Ian Dury here with long hair this song is the best ever gets me every time, great live band and just listen to that voice love it, What a song to leave behind for us to hear immortal, Miss this Man!
It took me ten years just to figure out the part and how to finger it. Never could play it at album speed much less this. It is to bassists what Robert Fripp's "Fracture" is to guitarists. The Holy Grail of Impossibility.
Surely the greatest ever "backing band" which of course they are . Backing band ...........? No way , Ian and the band fed off each other in such a way that it was all just perfect .
Glad I'm not the only one that noticed , I can't help but feeling that he is a bit too fast, though. However his bass has such a domminant presence in this performance that it sounds like the rest of the band is struggling to keep up with his tempo rather than him being way faster than the rest of the band...
HOLD ON TO YOUR STRUCTURE a very apt title cos this lot could rip it apart. What a band and what a frontman. I have seen them live and they blew me away. R.I.P Ian and Charlie and pleased to hear wilko is still with us. Respect to all you Blockheads all you Blockheads
+mattbod I put this video on every couple of weeks or so just to watch him and realise how good he is. Not that everyone else wasn't too but I am a bass player
Ian dury`s son came home from school and said they needed to say what "class" their family was, middle class,upper class or working class. Ian said there are "arts and crafts"
The story is that Norman went to see the bass legend Jaco Pastorius (Perhaps the Jimi Hendrix of bass, definitely a pioneer) one night and he was inspired that night to come up with the bassline...
If we are praising the rhythm section we must not forget the wonderful Charley Charles on drums. RIP.
One of the greatest drummers ever imo.
Totally agree.
That bass line ought to be the British national anthem. It's immeasurably epic.
Harold-Sweat-Head
Well said...Norms the man
The whole song should be the British national anthem.
Hear Hear!!! Its Grouse!
beautiful comment
Watched norman playing with wilko johnson a few years ago in southern spain. They could be the answer to covid 19. Rarely see that energy from a teenager.
One of the greatest bass lines. Take a bow Norman! 👏🎸
Can we all take a moment to bow our heads to Norman Watt-Roy, who is one of the most underrated bassists of all time. Fucking Genius.
nick260682 - Far from underrated 🙄
I couldn’t agree with you more!
Norman love’s near me in Fulham.
He’s a good friend of a mate of mine.
I’ve spoken to him on numerous occasions.
One of the nicest men you could ever meet.
A real gentleman!
He walk’s around and the young kids do no not realise they are in the presence of musical royalty.
I am your friend.
I’m in total awe of this guy!
Thanks for your posting mate... You are right. He’s a fucking genius!!!
Andrew Mair
Maybe, but either way he’s bloody brilliant.
nick260682 - No argument there…😊
Yeah a “funking” genius !
Norman Watt-Roy on creating one of the best bass hooks of all time: "I was relatively new to music, I thought I was getting paid by the note." Legend.
Ha, love that.
Ha! Brilliant.
Norman is the Best !!!
Wow!..! 🤯
Everybody`s talking about the bass. That´s great. What about the leading prick? Mr. Ian Dury. What a voice!
everybody going off about the bass line (and don't get me wrong the bass line is great) but are we just gonna ignore this guy DUAL WIELDING SAXOPHONES!!
YES!!! Astounding!
Norman still completely owns this song though but yeah impressive!
Double neck saxophone
no?
@@JustK009is that why a separate one was hanging around his neck? Clearly 2 separate horns.
His whole band was absolutely FIRST RATE.
Proper time served musicians.
I couldn't agree with the pair of you more. I was young when this was released, but the level of Musicianship was then, and still is, incredible
❤❤❤❤
Norman Watt-Roy is one of the gods of bass guitar.
That is all.
Hell yea
Hes played on BBC Radio 6 music all the time bbc.co.uk/6music
hifibrony He really is! Even slightly better than me!
Keine Angabe ha ha!
I agree. Is he still alive and kicking?
How does Norman keep his bass line going for that long? Ridiculously awesome.
The drums, the piano, and the sax, too!:)
Basically that's what professional musicians do every day...
The drummer... steady - ab brill!!
Played the Bass for 45 years and still this is one of the most challenging bass-lines ever. Bloody epic!
Norman Watt Roy doesn't get the acclaim he deserves!...Awesome f*ckin' bass player!...
John Deacon, Mark King, Norman Watt Roy. In that order.
Ascending order.
So true. The man's amazing.
as good as they get
He is one of the best saw him perform live at Wickerman a few years ago now, it was like the bass was playing him and vice versa.
@@burkezillar reverse those and you are spot on...
I am truly blown away on how good this band is....every single guy is top flite at what they do.
When I was an apprentice mechanic in 77, I turned the radio up to full volume in the garage workshop when this came on. My miserable foreman would go ballistic.
Ha ha Ha....LOL......HaHa....I can envision it! Nice!
did he hit you ?
He would throw a sweeping brush at me 😮
The backing band ( Blockheads) Truly Loved Ian and none more so than Norman Watt Roy, I met him briefly last year only 2 weeks after he suffered a heart attack, he said he was back working again, I said to him " you will never stop will you" he looked at me and said No, NWR is a true legend of the music industry and a bloody humble and nice fellow, respect to you Sir!
czcams.com/video/CIQIN7QGbr4/video.html
Geezer literally playing two saxophones at the same time live on stage and it's still not as impressive as that bassline. Norman Watt-Roy is a fucking savage.
lol... yes.
WOW THIS WAS SPECIAL!
Mind blown by the time we get to the sax.....
xx
They were known back in the day for being 1 of the best live bands.
The Blockheads (sans Ian) still are !
The stamina you need to keep that pace up on your right hand for the bassline is phenomenal. I'm almost sure Ian was prolonging sections of it a little live sometimes to tease Norman. You can hear where Norman moves to the octave up either for a break ( frets are smaller there and it's less of a stretch), or to try trigger Ian to sing a verse.
Brilliant stuff.
What an absolute machine! |There's as lovely bit at the start where he trips over himself but he gets his mojo back rapidly and is unflappable til the end
Long Live Norman Watt-Roy!
OH AYE! Thats when Ian nails it....
The perfect moments? Every member of the bockheads is Ian.
Unbelievable Ian Dury! Ibought all LPs when I was young❤
When I leave this life I want to go out to that bass line.
John David yeah ... me too ...
John David amen
You made me laugh SIR . May you find the funk heaven.
Imagine these guys in today’s smaller venues without seating? We would have a blast!!!
The best is: there is so much humor and ironic in these music! Can the other people not see this? It is unique!
Everything about this performance is perfect. God I wish had a chance to seen this live. The saxaphone player is fucking amazing. Bless you blockheads x
Yes, very jazzy ❤
What a bass line! A few years ago I met Norman and Chas, really lovey people, talented guys.
Back when music was music. Wonderfully creative, edgy and oozing talent. Outstanding by all involved.
I’ve got a fever and one guy, two saxophones is the cure.
As a teenage bass player here in the u.s.I remember hearing this for the first time and being totally blown away by the lyrics tight band and the extraordinary bassist after that Itried to get my hands on every recording I could
GO JOE❣
HaHa! Did the same for me when it first released. Awesome music stands the test of time. Excellent taste in funky ass bass you have there Joe. I hope you go far.
Whats amazing about the Blockheads is they are still going strong, after the sad loss of Ian Dury RIP...
Ian,, if you can hear me in the heavens above .... that bit of Harry Billafonte line. midtune, did you no favors.
No matter,,, still luv u.
Greetings from Ireland 😍😍
This is the best version of this song. I hope, I pray, their music will continue. Norman Watt-Roy you will never be bested. And a humble man to boot.
Fk this never gets old, everyone at the top of their game at the perfect venue ---- all bass players go to heaven son, all of 'em......
What a sax man ian dury and blockheads what a blend of extremely talented musicians never to be repeated blessed we had them the bass player is in a whole Fantastic go bass a master of the strings kippers smelly knickers to reading this ha ha you know now go
Forgot how good this band was. Haven't listened to them in years. This is why I love youtube. Great song!
Norman Watt-Roy is criminally underrated
NORMAN WATT-ROY fckn legend 👏
Tightest band around in their day, class, Norman Watt-Roy?, best bass player of them all!
Saw them live, Chaz Jankle too. what a fantastic group of musicians, Gilad Atzmon on sax. Excellent. Truly superb.
Question: Has there ever been a better and more skilled an joyful band in the history of mankind?
Answer: No there hasn't.
That was Awesome
Amazing double sax
I was 16 years old when I first heard Ian Dury and Blockheads in 2004. I was going to London for couple of weeks from Scotland and wanted some music. I never left and this music became my sound track. It continues to be my music for the best city on earth.
One of the greatest monster bass lines ever, and right up front in the mix like it should be (unlike the recorded version, where I have to strain to hear it)
What talented geezers they were and are
The Blockheads are an amazing funk band. I was always focused on Ian, but the more I listen the more I admire the Blockheads. The rumble of the bass, the amazing drumming - funky keyboards - fabulous. And a great song Anyone here see them live??
I can honestly say I first heard this on the radio in my old man's car when I was 8. I loved it then and I love it all the more now. What an incredible band. Absolutely stellar musicians the lot of them and with with Ian Dury at the helm it's hard to think of a better British band.
M8 completely agree.
Even knowing how to play the bass line is little help at this tempo....cramp....the guy is a machine.....amazing
What an absolute classic version of a classic. Wish I could play that bass line.
The blockheads were the best British backing band of the 70s and 80s. An incredible bunch of musicians - highly underrated
agree 100%. I heard Inbetweenies for the first time a few years ago, was floored by the playing/production/songwriting
I would love to hear their recording with Frankie Goes to Hollywood as they did a version of Relax before Trevor Horn, producing the band, decided to record the song differently and the version people would know was what they did.
Still going
The bass player is insane.
*_The Funky Bassist here, Norman Watt Roy is really underrated, plus he's very skilled_*
*_and you can tell it by watchin' him playin' this funky bassline so easily._*
*_One of the BEST basslines EVER written
Fuckin cool drummer. Love the 16ths on the hats, not quite straight, not fully swung, somewhere in between.
yes.
@dhouse Mickey Gallagher on keys, Chaz Jankel is playing guitar.
Song just popped into my head for no reason, and I haven't heard it in a long time so I came here. Ian Dury was a great talent. RIP
Everyone is performing at a five star level here, you just want to keep on a repeat loop. Fantastic long live The Blockheads
Ian knew how to to get the best sounds: he chose the best bloody musicians he could find.
What a crackingly good base player Norman is oi oi oi!
It should be split screen. Ian and Norman.
Had the pleasure of meeting Norman Watt-Roy at Milton Keynes station of all places recently. Absolute legend. Nuff said......
What a Genius!,, great band, music, time!,, OH what we have lost?. Love 2 all & keep enjoying the music.....
Damn that sax is a killer!
ian the best and the group we need these guys now brillant zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
Charlie Charles & Norman Watt-Roy! One of the BEST rhythm sections ever!
Norman Watt Roy, got the least ovation, yet its HIM who makes the song !
My stepfather introduced me to this band when new boots cameo it have loved them since long it ago
The drummer kills me. Not all the videos have the same intro on Sex and Drugs and Rock and Roll. But that opening drum roll is sexy all in itself.
Legendary band at a legendary venue, this is a national treasure.
Brilliant. I was only 16
In 1979 still gives me a shiver. And Ian wrote it. Underrated band by far.
To repeat that complicated bass line and throw in little subtle accents here and there is beyond genius. That kind of talent is just not around anymore
I was gonna make a comment about how awesome the bass line is but I can see you lot have said it all ......cheers..........
You are a class act for recognizing that we don't all need to post the same comment.
With that maturity and control, you should be a very serene & happy person; I hope that you are, and wish you the very best.
@@smartalek180 Cheers to you smartalek, haha !! Yes I am a happy person even in these times ... ! I can't stop coming back to this , you obviously have good taste as you are here toooo ..... Have a nice evening ...
Love Ian Dury here with long hair this song is the best ever gets me every time, great live band and just listen to that voice love it, What a song to leave behind for us to hear immortal, Miss this Man!
Norm is the guv of funky rock bass and charlie fucking soild r i p charlie
Now that's a concert I'd go back in time for!!
This incredible, the entire band.
Ian Dury,,,,, We Luv u !!! like a rhythm stick.
Great version of the tune. The double-sax and "Scarlet Ribbons" interludes! Thanks for this celebration of British Nihilism!
There is honestly nothing better than this. The funkiest, coolest, groove. I'll never stop loving it.
I tried to play this bassline at tempo and my eyeballs popped out.
send you healing 💝
It took me ten years just to figure out the part and how to finger it. Never could play it at album speed much less this. It is to bassists what Robert Fripp's "Fracture" is to guitarists. The Holy Grail of Impossibility.
WOW ! 7 minutes seemed like 17, I feel exhausted rocking about ( I'm 81) what fantastic stamina and musical skill.
Monster Bass.
WHY IS THIS SONG NOT RECCONISED!! THE BASS IS ABSOLUTELY AMAZING!!
Iconic song. Iconic musicians.
Surely the greatest ever "backing band" which of course they are . Backing band ...........? No way , Ian and the band fed off each other in such a way that it was all just perfect .
One of the best of all time live versions of a song
Seamless rendition better than the studio song
Norman Watt-Roy is a god on bass.......unbelievable!!!
NORMAN WATT ROY!!!
Fucking genius.
The bass part is tough enough at the tempo on the single. Its a good few BPM faster here!
Glad I'm not the only one that noticed , I can't help but feeling that he is a bit too fast, though. However his bass has such a domminant presence in this performance that it sounds like the rest of the band is struggling to keep up with his tempo rather than him being way faster than the rest of the band...
The shear joy of the musicians and audience is great! Everyone enjoying themselves. Just great!
Got to be one of the best live performances EVER!!
the best live version that i've seen so far amazing.
❤❤❤
That band, especially the bassist, is off the hook!
Norman Watt Roy, the best bass player ever
right on walter he is the guv and slamming it on bass long live roy the king of bass lines
HOLD ON TO YOUR STRUCTURE a very apt title cos this lot could rip it apart. What a band and what a frontman. I have seen them live and they blew me away. R.I.P Ian and Charlie and pleased to hear wilko is still with us. Respect to all you Blockheads all you Blockheads
Rest in Rock Charlie aged 33 and Ian Dury aged 57 , both from cancer....
Got to be up there for Greatest Basslines Of All Time.
Norman Watt - Roy genius on bass.
+mattbod I put this video on every couple of weeks or so just to watch him and realise how good he is. Not that everyone else wasn't too but I am a bass player
I was thinking the same. Hope he kept hold of it ;-)
+mrguillemot Last time I saw him the Fender bass of his was at a dealer. Was a video on here: Norman was giving a talk on it.
I was at this gig. What a band. What a poet.
Where & when? good to see Charley Charles on Drums....
Oh, apparently it was HAMMERSMITH!!!!!
It was indeed, sometime in the '80's!
how lucky !
Really , you jammy sod , never seen them live 👍
Ian dury`s son came home from school and said they needed to say what "class" their family was, middle class,upper class or working class. Ian said there are "arts and crafts"
It’s NUTS just how good this is!
norman how do play a bass like that.genius....sax player wow.ian...greatest.what a performance by the band....all magic.thanks.xxxxx
The story is that Norman went to see the bass legend Jaco Pastorius (Perhaps the Jimi Hendrix of bass, definitely a pioneer) one night and he was inspired that night to come up with the bassline...
The Blockheads were... and that is enough for me! :)
One of the greatest basslines of all time
Swordsoffire oh yeah ...
Inexplicably reminded me of The Muppets in a good way.
Norman is a solid bass player
In the same way that 1960s Sophia Loren was a fairly attractive woman.
Sophia Loren ancora oggi è una donna bella
Devi usuare une pollo!