Reason to be cheerful, Dury gets West End show

Punk is to blast its way into the West End with a show commemorating the life and music of Ian Dury.

Hit Me! The Life and Rhymes of Ian Dury will open at the Leicester Square Theatre next month- within spitting distance of productions such as The Sound Of Music, Jersey Boys and Buddy.

It was written by Jeff Merrifield and stars Jud Charlton, a Camden-based actor, as Dury. It premiered at the Edinburgh Festival and is currently playing at the Courtyard Theatre in Hoxton. Now West End audiences will be able to hear the lyrics of the man who wrote Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick, Sex And Drugs And Rock And Roll, Plaistow Patricia and Billericay Dickie.

Charlton, 40, said: "It's a sort of anti-musical, more like a play with music than We Will Rock You or Buddy Holly. It's a bit more hardcore than other things you're likely to see in the West End."

He advised that it would be "full of swearing" and unsuitable for children.

Dury was born in Harrow in 1942, later moved to Upminster, and was educated at the Royal Grammar School in High Wycombe, Walthamstow Art College and the Royal College of Art. At the age of seven he contracted polio and during his career he campaigned for disabled rights. He died of cancer in 2000, aged 57.

The new show has the backing of Dury's family and the band. Chaz Jankel, who played keyboard and guitar with Dury, said: "I worked with Ian for about 20 years and Jud's performance was very convincing. At times you would have thought you were listening to Ian."

Hit Me! will run from 6 January until 17 February.