That fucking groove! Lord Upminster is so much fun.
Very good indeed.

His wordplay was brilliant, and he managed this big disco-funk sound in the middle of punk with a bunch of working class Englishmen. And he was a big disabled advocate.

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@GrilloTheFlightless
4 years ago
Ian’s own words about the song:
“I’d written this in the Year Of The Disabled”. I was going to start a band called Spastic & The Autistics, because the word ‘spastic’ is a swear word. There was that girl group Bananarama who used to talk about “Spazz Dancing”. Their ignorance is their own affair. I wanted to do something for the Year Of The Disabled so I wrote ‘Spasticus Autisticus’ knowing it would be unacceptable to the BBC. They banned it as they did ‘Wake Up And Make Love To Me’ and ‘ Sex And Drugs And Rock And Roll’. They actually don’t BAN it. They just don’t play it. Apparently you could only play it after dark, with written permission. I did about 140 interviews related to the song that year. It was a war cry for my brothers and sisters who are disabled. Only a spastic could understand that. It’s not describing a condition. It’s just being spirited”

They had a huge group of disabled singers and dancers perform “Spasticus Autisticus” during the Opening or Closing Ceremonies.

His life was intensely complex and interesting; inspiring and sad.

I remember buying Ian and the Blockheads “New Boots and Panties”album 1977. I had just started playing PUNK music when visitors came by my house.
I put the album on and a visitor walked over to my turn table, stopped the record and not finding another
type of record they wanted to listen to…they closed the turntable cover and turned off the amp.

Their loss.

Tikki