Kilburn & The High Roads Handsome: Original Album + Bonus Tracks CD

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.

1. Rough Kids (Single Version) 2. Billy Bentley (Promenades Himself in London) 3. Crippled with Nerves 4. Huffety Puff 5. The Roadette Song 6. Pam's Moods 7. Broken Skin 8. Upminster Kid 9. Patience (So What?) 10. Father 11. Thank You Mum 12. Rough Kids (Album Version) 13. The Badger and the Rabbit 14. 14. the Mumble Rumble and the Cocktail Rock 15. The Call-Up 16. Who's to Know? 17. Back to Blighty 18. O.K. Roland 19. Twenty Tiny Fingers (Sore Throat Mix) 20. Upminster Kid 21. The Walk 22. The Roadette Song 23. Crippled with Nerves 24. The Call-Up 25. Pam's Moods 26. Billy Bentley 27. The Old Bang 28. You're More Than Fair 29. Rough Kids 30. The Mumble Rumble and the Cocktail Rock