What a Waste
Encyclopedia
What a Waste is a song and single by Ian Dury
and the Blockheads, originally released on the Stiff Records
single BUY 27 "What a Waste" / "Wake Up and Make Love with Me". The song has remained in The Blockheads' set following Dury's death.
Essentially a song about being in a job that makes you happy, Dury claimed in a 1984 interview with Penthouse
that while not condemning 9-to-5 jobs, he had written the song to make people question their lives, echoing the sentiments of his earlier single "Sex and Drugs and Rock and Roll
". The song's verses list a number of things the song's narrator could have been, from a driver, poet, teacher or soldier to an inmate in a long-term institution and the ticket man at Fulham Broadway station
before the chorus reveals that instead he chose to 'play the fool in a six-piece band' highlighting some of the pitfalls of this (loneliness specifically), before deciding that 'rock and roll don't mind'.
The song was written following the break-up of Kilburn and the Highroads in a lull between the formation of Ian Dury & the Kilburns and was written with Rod Melvin in mid-1975, two year before it was released. Originally a third writing credit was given to Chaz Jankel (Dury's long-term songwriting companion): this third writing credit has gradually been phased out and the 2004 Edsel Records re-issue of Do it Yourself credits the song to Dury/Melvin solely. However in Ian Dury & The Blockheads: Song By Song, John Turnbull (guitarist with the Blockheads) claims that the middle instrumental section was brought over from one of the songs four of the The Blockheads had written while they were in their previous band, Loving Awareness.
Dury's first hit, "What A Waste / Wake Up And Make Love With Me" was released in April 1978 just before the start of a headlining tour, entering the Top 75 on 29 April and spent 12 weeks there. It peaked at number 9 in the UK Singles Chart, becoming Stiff Records' biggest selling single to date. A very limited 12" pressing was also released.
The single has most likely contributed to the confusion over exactly what Ian Dury songs are by 'Ian Dury & The Blockheads' including as it did "Wake Up and Make Love with Me" on its B-side: this is not a new version of the song re-recorded by the band but the version from New Boots and Panties!! which is not a Blockheads album (although some of the band do play on it). "What a Waste", however, is a Blockheads track.
in keeping with Dury's then policy of not including singles on albums: the song was not available again until the compilation album Jukebox Dury. The song can be found in abundance today, not only on Dury compilations but on various punk, new wave and rock albums.
"What a Waste" is included as the final track on the Demon Records re-issue of New Boots and Panties!!, and as the first track on the Edsel Records re-issue of Do It Yourself.
.
Dury re-recorded the song with Curve
in 1993 for the Peace Together
album. The recording was also included on Curve's 2004 compilation album, The Way of Curve
.
"What a Waste" is sometimes written with an exclamation mark, including on Live! Warts 'n' Audience: the original single omits the exclamation mark.
The bridge section of "What a Waste" was sampled by A Tribe Called Quest
on their 1991 single "Can I Kick It?".
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...
and the Blockheads, originally released on the Stiff Records
Stiff Records
Stiff Records is a record label created in London in 1976, by entrepreneurs Dave Robinson and Andrew Jakeman , and active until 1985. It was reactivated in 2007....
single BUY 27 "What a Waste" / "Wake Up and Make Love with Me". The song has remained in The Blockheads' set following Dury's death.
Essentially a song about being in a job that makes you happy, Dury claimed in a 1984 interview with Penthouse
Penthouse (magazine)
Penthouse, a men's magazine founded by Bob Guccione, combines urban lifestyle articles and softcore pornographic pictorials that, in the 1990s, evolved into hardcore. Penthouse is owned by FriendFinder Network. formerly known as General Media, Inc. whose parent company was Penthouse International...
that while not condemning 9-to-5 jobs, he had written the song to make people question their lives, echoing the sentiments of his earlier single "Sex and Drugs and Rock and Roll
Sex and Drugs and Rock and Roll
"Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll" is a song and single by Ian Dury. It was originally released as the Stiff Records single BUY 17 with "Razzle In My Pocket" as the B-side, on 26 August 1977...
". The song's verses list a number of things the song's narrator could have been, from a driver, poet, teacher or soldier to an inmate in a long-term institution and the ticket man at Fulham Broadway station
Fulham Broadway tube station
Fulham Broadway is a London Underground station on the branch of the District Line. It is between and stations and is in Travelcard Zone 2. The station is located on Fulham Broadway . It is notable as the nearest station to Stamford Bridge stadium, the home of Chelsea Football Club...
before the chorus reveals that instead he chose to 'play the fool in a six-piece band' highlighting some of the pitfalls of this (loneliness specifically), before deciding that 'rock and roll don't mind'.
The song was written following the break-up of Kilburn and the Highroads in a lull between the formation of Ian Dury & the Kilburns and was written with Rod Melvin in mid-1975, two year before it was released. Originally a third writing credit was given to Chaz Jankel (Dury's long-term songwriting companion): this third writing credit has gradually been phased out and the 2004 Edsel Records re-issue of Do it Yourself credits the song to Dury/Melvin solely. However in Ian Dury & The Blockheads: Song By Song, John Turnbull (guitarist with the Blockheads) claims that the middle instrumental section was brought over from one of the songs four of the The Blockheads had written while they were in their previous band, Loving Awareness.
Dury's first hit, "What A Waste / Wake Up And Make Love With Me" was released in April 1978 just before the start of a headlining tour, entering the Top 75 on 29 April and spent 12 weeks there. It peaked at number 9 in the UK Singles Chart, becoming Stiff Records' biggest selling single to date. A very limited 12" pressing was also released.
The single has most likely contributed to the confusion over exactly what Ian Dury songs are by 'Ian Dury & The Blockheads' including as it did "Wake Up and Make Love with Me" on its B-side: this is not a new version of the song re-recorded by the band but the version from New Boots and Panties!! which is not a Blockheads album (although some of the band do play on it). "What a Waste", however, is a Blockheads track.
Re-releases
The song was omitted from Do It YourselfDo It Yourself (Ian Dury & the Blockheads album)
Do It Yourself is a 1979 album by Ian Dury & The Blockheads. It was the first album to be credited to Ian Dury & The Blockheads rather than Ian Dury alone, although Dury had used the full band name for the "What A Waste" 7" single of 1978...
in keeping with Dury's then policy of not including singles on albums: the song was not available again until the compilation album Jukebox Dury. The song can be found in abundance today, not only on Dury compilations but on various punk, new wave and rock albums.
"What a Waste" is included as the final track on the Demon Records re-issue of New Boots and Panties!!, and as the first track on the Edsel Records re-issue of Do It Yourself.
Versions
Live versions can be found on both Warts 'n' Audience and Straight from the DeskStraight from the Desk
Straight From The Desk is a live album by Ian Dury & The Blockheads recorded 23 December 1978 at the Ilford Odeon, Ilford, Essex.There is little information about the album available other than what can be heard on the record...
.
Dury re-recorded the song with Curve
Curve (band)
Curve was an English music group formed in 1990 chiefly around the collaboration of singer/songwriter Toni Halliday and bassist/guitarist/programmer Dean Garcia.-History:...
in 1993 for the Peace Together
Peace Together
Peace Together was a 20 July 1993 fundraiser compilation album released by the Peace Together organisation, dedicated to promoting peace in Northern Ireland, which was started by Robert Hamilton, of The Fat Lady Sings, and Ali McMordie of Stiff Little Fingers.Tracks 1 and 13 feature contributions...
album. The recording was also included on Curve's 2004 compilation album, The Way of Curve
The Way of Curve
The Way of Curve is a compilation album by Curve.The album consists of two discs: the first is basically a greatest hits disc, containing many of Curve's most famous and successful songs; the second contains rare tracks, including one that had never been released...
.
"What a Waste" is sometimes written with an exclamation mark, including on Live! Warts 'n' Audience: the original single omits the exclamation mark.
The bridge section of "What a Waste" was sampled by A Tribe Called Quest
A Tribe Called Quest
A Tribe Called Quest is an American hip hop group, formed in 1985, and is composed of rapper/producer Q-Tip , rapper Phife Dawg , and DJ/producer Ali Shaheed Muhammad. A fourth member, rapper Jarobi White, left the group after their first album but rejoined in 2006...
on their 1991 single "Can I Kick It?".
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.