As an autistic individual, after a while I just got tired of trying to mask and please everyone. I love this song because it gives me the freedom to truly be myself
I’m sorry. I don’t normally swear but. “FUCKING A!” He nails it. He owns it. It’s art. He know how to express authentic pain. Fuck me, I know authentic pain.
Regardless of his infirmities he was an actual genius musician and artist and I’ve never heard anyone say that he was not a 100% himself he was a great artist and by all the little things I learned from watching him on television he was a very clever and astute person
"Spasticus Autisticus" was written in 1981 as a protest against the International Year of Disabled Persons, which Dury considered to be patronising. Dury was himself disabled by polio contracted in his youth. Fed up with repeated requests to get involved with charitable causes, Dury wrote an "anti-charity" song. The song was a cross between a battle cry and an appeal for understanding: "Hello to you out there in normal land. You may not comprehend my tale or understand." The repeated refrain "I'm Spasticus, I'm Spasticus, I'm Spasticus Autisticus" made explicit reference to the line "I'm Spartacus" from the 1960 film Spartacus. Dury had been considering touring under the name "Spastic and the Autistics", playing on his disability and the term "blockhead", before his friend Ed Speight suggested: "No, it should be Spasticus Autisticus - he's the freed slave of the disabled
@connieismusical You do know Ian had polio in his younger years and was disabled from it?? He wrote this song in 1981 to show his disdain for that year's 'International Year of Disabled Persons', which he saw as patronising and counter-productive. He's awesome.
Me, leaving Aspergers and Dyspraxia, I can't believe I only discovered this song today. Fantastic. It makes me feel, "Yep, this is the way I am. I'm different but I get by - Deal with it.”
You're not different at all my friend , as someone who's Aspergers myself although that term is kinda ground upon now by some snowflakes in the community due to what Dr. Hans Asperger actually did. What you are, is unique :) not different
@@OfficialJoeyTrash Doesn't make you a snow flake to call out people who still want to associate with nazi terminology. If wanting to separate from nazi ideology makes people snowflakes then I guess id rather be a snowflake than someone who promotes Nazis :))
The Bloke was an absolute LEGEND (he deserves capitals) even at the end of his life he appeared and performed with Madness for 'Drip Fed Fred'. What a Bloke! At the Last Chance Saloon He'd certainly be one bloke I'd buy a drink for!
I've got adhd it's caused ne depression and I've lost jobs because of it ,bullied at school lost relationships because of it . Was put into care in the early 89s because of it .... Ian Dury is a total fucking hero.
This song was turned down by the Year of the Disabled people after they heard it, horrified by the lyrics. They wanted something along the lines of 'aw, look at the poor liddle cripple', Dury gave them reality. Dury was right and they were wrong.
FrankChickens Reality as it used to be known doesn't exist nowadays cos of the iddle lidl "poor me. Give me sympathy" types, reality is now what people say it is. Cracked globe
I have a vague memory of Ian performing this on British TV back in 1981 and it ruffling more than a few feathers then. I think the BBC may have even banned it, being the moral guardians of the nation that they are. Ian Dury’s rejection of what he believed to be the patronising International Year of the Disabled Persons was controversial at the time, but it was gratifying to see it embraced and performed at the 2012 Paralympics.
I think this song is a true contribution to feelings u don't hear about whether peeps get offended or not this song is excellent contribution to how Ian felt about life and how you live with a disability, truly fantastic song from a master :)
I've heard this song several times before and specifically searched for it in order to give it another listen. What prompted me to do so was the recent "controversy" over a new song by Lizzo that included the word "spaz" and some people began to complain. She had the song edited in order to remove the word within days of the complaints. I'm all for being sensitive to others but this song from 1980 by Ian Dury & The Blockheads was different since it was written by someone who actually suffered from a physical disability and it was his way of protesting how some people are treated. I'm very impressed that it was performed during the opening ceremony of the 2012 Paralympic Games. They understood the meaning of the song. Context means a lot. I might purchase the album now. The musicians that recorded it were top notch. You can never go wrong with Sly & Robbie on drums and bass!
Ian Dury was to Disability Equality what Martin Luther King Junior was to Racial Equality. He was a trailblazer both musically and in his efforts to have a voice for disabled people.
I'm autistic. I wasn't diagnosed until I was just short of 47. That was eight years ago pretty much to the day. I finally understood myself, but it didn't erase the horror of my school days. I was called every ablest slur just because my brain processes information differently. I am now just a few months off getting a PhD. Thirty years after I could have done if only things had been different.
A True Gentleman and Musician! I've been listening to this song for over 30 years When it was played in NYC Clubs like The Garage and Silver Shadow etc, etc! This Song was made so ahead of it's time! Alot of Us where unfamiliar or never heard of Autism bak then. But now with Social media and sharing information, We are a little bit more informed! Though , this song was freaking amazing and so danceable. There is a Message that He was telling Us about a Group of individuals that we didn't even know about! Thank You for Your ahead of our time info!! And making Great Music!
You mean like Graham Linehan interfering in the rights of trans people? I know, right? Getting all offended about stuff that doesn't concern them. I hear you brAh
Well high-functioning autistics tend to be more systematising, more right-wing, more conservative, and often *harder to offend*. I don't know if you're autistic yourself, but I know a bunch of spergs who love this song and fall into all of those categories, and there seem to be a lot of spergs in the comments of this video.
@@jphuffinstuff4661 I am not saying he was, only pointing out a number of trends. And conservatives in recent years have shown themselves to be much more tolerant of ideas that do not align with their own.
Ian’s own words about this 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”
I remember the first time I saw Ian Dury on tv, he was performing What a Waste on a Saturday morning kids tv show dressed in a black Crombie coat with the Union Jack drawn on his middle teeth, I was just about in my teens and realising I was a bit different physically and mentally so to see this man on the screen was affirming.
More of the good stuff can't get enough of the blockheads.Durring those transitional '70s I was initially turned off but once I really listened I couldn't get enough of Ian Dury and his band and still inspiring me today tonal and phrasing never boring I don't think they held back much The studio recorded album with Betweenies one of my all time listening favorites.
Eventually it was broadcast worldwide as part of the British Summer Paralympics 2012. It must've been pretty epic. Personally i think it sounds empowering. Ian Dury didn't give two f**ks, and i love him for that
Lyrically luminescent against the modern tripe we are forced to ear-plug ourselves. No auditing and editing of image in video - shows the wonderful maturity of a young mind that wrote this stuff whilst still in school.
Maximilian Bernard 1981 was the year of the disability and Ian took offence to on the grounds that he saw it as a token event that would not change a thing so wrote a song about it
@Anon Ymous Just like them, when money involved there patronising go,s out the window and give you crappy very low pay jobs, they patronise you but don,t put their hand in their pockets, very two face, they did the same to ww1 veterans who had their limbs blown off just stuck them out off way in a home after the great war and for gotten, there,s a good pay off for you after they gave there services
As an autistic individual, after a while I just got tired of trying to mask and please everyone. I love this song because it gives me the freedom to truly be myself
I have been diagnosed autistic myself & also love this lol
Ye your definitely a spasticus mate
@@illllllillilliillll3189 cool! *puts on shades*
I’m sorry. I don’t normally swear but. “FUCKING A!” He nails it. He owns it. It’s art. He know how to express authentic pain. Fuck me, I know authentic pain.
Couldn't have put it better!
Anyone who can write a song like this whilst being disabled themselves is a genius .
All respect Mr Dury .
He was! He had polio as a child. He had withered arm & was In a leg iron all his life. I thought it was well known.
Regardless of his infirmities he was an actual genius musician and artist and I’ve never heard anyone say that he was not a 100% himself he was a great artist and by all the little things I learned from watching him on television he was a very clever and astute person
I've known a lot of disabled people in my day. This song is NOT offensive. To the contrary it makes me happy and proud to have had them in my life.
❤❤❤❤
The parody of the movie "Spartacus" only now sinks in....he's amazing!!
Mr. Ian Dury was as authentic as only a great artist can be.
XXX🔊🎶🦌🦌🦌🥁🎤📃🌹
"Spasticus Autisticus" was written in 1981 as a protest against the International Year of Disabled Persons, which Dury considered to be patronising. Dury was himself disabled by polio contracted in his youth. Fed up with repeated requests to get involved with charitable causes, Dury wrote an "anti-charity" song.
The song was a cross between a battle cry and an appeal for understanding: "Hello to you out there in normal land. You may not comprehend my tale or understand." The repeated refrain "I'm Spasticus, I'm Spasticus, I'm Spasticus Autisticus" made explicit reference to the line "I'm Spartacus" from the 1960 film Spartacus. Dury had been considering touring under the name "Spastic and the Autistics", playing on his disability and the term "blockhead", before his friend Ed Speight suggested: "No, it should be Spasticus Autisticus - he's the freed slave of the disabled
which it was of course
A beautiful copy and paste from Wiki. 🤣
Hi Gern
Great explanation of Ian's predicament. Up you go Spartan.
@connieismusical You do know Ian had polio in his younger years and was disabled from it?? He wrote this song in 1981 to show his disdain for that year's 'International Year of Disabled Persons', which he saw as patronising and counter-productive. He's awesome.
Me, leaving Aspergers and Dyspraxia, I can't believe I only discovered this song today. Fantastic. It makes me feel, "Yep, this is the way I am. I'm different but I get by - Deal with it.”
You're not different at all my friend , as someone who's Aspergers myself although that term is kinda ground upon now by some snowflakes in the community due to what Dr. Hans Asperger actually did.
What you are, is unique :) not different
I have cp which is spastic but can't use that word now ive just said it lol❤❤😂
@@OfficialJoeyTrash Doesn't make you a snow flake to call out people who still want to associate with nazi terminology. If wanting to separate from nazi ideology makes people snowflakes then I guess id rather be a snowflake than someone who promotes Nazis :))
The Bloke was an absolute LEGEND (he deserves capitals) even at the end of his life he appeared and performed with Madness for 'Drip Fed Fred'. What a Bloke! At the Last Chance Saloon He'd certainly be one bloke I'd buy a drink for!
Here here!!!
I listen to this song every time people are mean to me for having autism.
Punch them as hard as you can...they won't do it again. Smile at them just before you do it...
@@Warpedsmac dont do that, just know youre a better person for not stooping to their level
Courteney Love is also autistic if you want more songs to scream along to, ha
Its good when you are autistic nobody wants to know you until you have money well that's want I fawned out, people isn't what they seem
@@bizarreisthenewblack Nah, she's just an alcoholic prick.
I'm happily married to a Spasticus and so is my wife ♥️
I bet you all shake the bed a lot.
@@Evemeister12 Hell Yeah!
I've got adhd it's caused ne depression and I've lost jobs because of it ,bullied at school lost relationships because of it .
Was put into care in the early 89s because of it ....
Ian Dury is a total fucking hero.
You have failed
This song was turned down by the Year of the Disabled people after they heard it, horrified by the lyrics.
They wanted something along the lines of 'aw, look at the poor liddle cripple', Dury gave them reality. Dury was right and they were wrong.
FrankChickens Reality as it used to be known doesn't exist nowadays cos of the iddle lidl "poor me. Give me sympathy" types, reality is now what people say it is. Cracked globe
He don,t want there patronisation
Yup.
He didnt even die from polio
Blood disease, I think.
Clair Duffy cancer
@@artdecade2275 Cancer gets every body i hate the illness it needs to be eradicated a bit quick
THE FU anthem for the different, utterly misunderstood in its day. Lots of us are Spasticus, just as we are all Blockheads.
+WildwoodClaire1 Indeed!
+WildwoodClaire1 & anybodygetting offended needsto listen again, & note the "I'm..." part. . .
Aside from the fact that the whole thing was groundbreaking, the playing on this track is absolutely top notch. That guitar sounds fucking awesome...
Have a listen to the live version of Rhythm Stick...that bass guitar..holy moly!!!
Yep one of my favourite rhythm parts, Chaz Jankel with sly/Robbie laying down the beat
Absolutely! The blockheads are such an insane band, they are so tight
I have a vague memory of Ian performing this on British TV back in 1981 and it ruffling more than a few feathers then. I think the BBC may have even banned it, being the moral guardians of the nation that they are.
Ian Dury’s rejection of what he believed to be the patronising International Year of the Disabled Persons was controversial at the time, but it was gratifying to see it embraced and performed at the 2012 Paralympics.
Ian had polio as a child. He knows what it's liked to be judged for your difference than accepted for your sameness.
F the British Brainwashing Corporation they are living on borrowed time
"...moral guardians of the nation..."😂😂😂
If I was a wrestler, or MMA fighter....this would be my entry song
WHOEVER IS LISTENING TO IAN DURY HAS EXCELLENT TASTE!!!👍
No YOU DO SPASTICUS!
One of the all-time best empowerment anthems.
I'm Spasticus and so is my wife!
TheBigMclargehuge - I go spasticus when my missus is on my testiculas
Shehc
Sounds great. I want a spazzy wife now to complete my whimsical life.
That made me lol 👏
I was recently diagnosed with autism, and I wear that label proudly
Better to know so you can help yourself.
not quite the same but Ok if you wanna join the family
I think this song is a true contribution to feelings u don't hear about whether peeps get offended or not this song is excellent contribution to how Ian felt about life and how you live with a disability, truly fantastic song from a master :)
WHOEVER LISTENS TO IAN DURY IS A FRIEND OF MINE 👍
I'm Spasticus!
Hey! I have a new friend! How are you today??😮😂❤😅
@@smoly37 Autisticus.
Metoo
There was a great extended mix on B side of this lp.
I'm ONE ("aspie"),and I'm waving my FREAK-FLAG high!!!
I've heard this song several times before and specifically searched for it in order to give it another listen. What prompted me to do so was the recent "controversy" over a new song by Lizzo that included the word "spaz" and some people began to complain. She had the song edited in order to remove the word within days of the complaints. I'm all for being sensitive to others but this song from 1980 by Ian Dury & The Blockheads was different since it was written by someone who actually suffered from a physical disability and it was his way of protesting how some people are treated. I'm very impressed that it was performed during the opening ceremony of the 2012 Paralympic Games. They understood the meaning of the song. Context means a lot.
I might purchase the album now. The musicians that recorded it were top notch. You can never go wrong with Sly & Robbie on drums and bass!
0:37 that key change gives me chills every time.
Being newly disabled I find this funny as fuck!
ONE OF US! ONE OF US! 😂
Too right
Ian Dury was to Disability Equality what Martin Luther King Junior was to Racial Equality. He was a trailblazer both musically and in his efforts to have a voice for disabled people.
Ian Dury was more punk than the entire punk scene.
I have always struggled with my Autism. My kids have inherited it! This song is timeless! Love it! Very liberating 🙏
The blockheads are an absolutely amazing band, musically fantastic
I wonder when the studio version of Spasticus Autisticus will be on Spotify?
probably will never be bc spotify sucks balls
Art at the very highest level. RIP Ian Dury.
I'm autistic. I wasn't diagnosed until I was just short of 47. That was eight years ago pretty much to the day. I finally understood myself, but it didn't erase the horror of my school days. I was called every ablest slur just because my brain processes information differently. I am now just a few months off getting a PhD. Thirty years after I could have done if only things had been different.
Excellent tune. If he was even allowed to record this today a lot of people would be literally shaking.
No that's Parkinson's your thinking of. 😉
@Scooter People love those who get offended on the behalf of others are the last one's to put their hands in their pockets
That what is good about it
record it anyway who cares
Also inspired by the Kirk Douglas film 'Spartacus' - Douglas is in the 'thanks to' credits in the Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll film.
A True Gentleman and Musician! I've been listening to this song for over 30 years When it was played in NYC Clubs like The Garage and Silver Shadow etc, etc! This Song was made so ahead of it's time! Alot of Us where unfamiliar or never heard of Autism bak then. But now with Social media and sharing information, We are a little bit more informed! Though , this song was freaking amazing and so danceable. There is a Message that He was telling Us about a Group of individuals that we didn't even know about! Thank You for Your ahead of our time info!! And making Great Music!
Norman, the bass guitarist, is my uncle through marriage and I happen to be autistic.
Whooda thought.
Cracking bass player is uncle norman 👍
Fucking brilliant artist and band, super tight mofos.
Ever since '85, I've dug them
i’m autistic and i love this
what would your fight name be? it has to be autism related.
Autistic, love Ian Drury. Saw him once on Hampstead Heath. He definitely represented the 'Other'!
No I'm Spasticus.
No I'm spasticus
I an retartion. We same.
I'm Spasticus and so's my wife!
@@Futurevenomzone no im spasticus.
Way ahead of his time - making light of a subject that generally speaking, people who it does not concern, always seem to find offensive !! Legend
You mean like Graham Linehan interfering in the rights of trans people? I know, right? Getting all offended about stuff that doesn't concern them. I hear you brAh
I’m Spasticus Dyslexicus.
you know i may be one in a million but I have a disablity and I love this song, because I can see it as strangely true, I am not offended
Well high-functioning autistics tend to be more systematising, more right-wing, more conservative, and often *harder to offend*.
I don't know if you're autistic yourself, but I know a bunch of spergs who love this song and fall into all of those categories, and there seem to be a lot of spergs in the comments of this video.
XXX 👌👌🔊🎤🥁🥁📃😋😋😋🎶🎵📃🦌🦌🦌
@@MBKill3rCat If you think Ian Dury was right-wing or that conservatives are hard to offend I have some news for you.
@@jphuffinstuff4661 I am not saying he was, only pointing out a number of trends.
And conservatives in recent years have shown themselves to be much more tolerant of ideas that do not align with their own.
@@MBKill3rCat which ideas?
Ian’s own words about this 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”
i can't believe they played this at the parylympic opening ceremony
I can. People are slowly waking up.
And why Not! It's an anthem for all us disableds
That is absolutely priceless.
Ian Dury suffered polio as a child. He wrote the song about himself. No need for anyone to be offended.
Godspeed Ian
I remember this song....when we finished school we went into a bar and ther was always this song into a jukebox....1982...maybe......
I remember the first time I saw Ian Dury on tv, he was performing What a Waste on a Saturday morning kids tv show dressed in a black Crombie coat with the Union Jack drawn on his middle teeth, I was just about in my teens and realising I was a bit different physically and mentally so to see this man on the screen was affirming.
Bloody brilliant. His attitude is much-missed!
More of the good stuff can't get enough of the blockheads.Durring those transitional '70s I was initially turned off but once I really listened I couldn't get enough of Ian Dury and his band and still inspiring me today tonal and phrasing never boring I don't think they held back much The studio recorded album with Betweenies one of my all time listening favorites.
I found this deeply moving. How could they have been so mindless as to ban it?
Eventually it was broadcast worldwide as part of the British Summer Paralympics 2012. It must've been pretty epic. Personally i think it sounds empowering. Ian Dury didn't give two f**ks, and i love him for that
I’m disabled and I reclaimed this word years ago. Proud to be a spazz 👍
Amazing bass from Norman Watt-Roy.
The song that made me interested in Dury
I love this song as it makes me feel comfortable to be a spazmo
You could dance to this song any way you wanted .
probably the best band ever.
Chaz Jankel and Ian Dury did some great stuff together.
Spartacus is showing on TV at the moment and I can't stop thinking of this great song
I am asd so is my three children I am not offended. Thankyou Ian. RIP
Lyrically luminescent against the modern tripe we are forced to ear-plug ourselves. No auditing and editing of image in video - shows the wonderful maturity of a young mind that wrote this stuff whilst still in school.
Shikiraamzingly so big word make smart sounds
I'd listened to this song many times in my life. However, today was the first time I listened to it and realised he was singing for me.
I'm on the spectrum and I find this shit hilarious, there's nothing wrong with self-deprecating humor.
Saw him at Lisbon Coliseum don't remember the Date around 1980? love it, a great fan since there
Love this song, all his work. Such a powerfull song.
I'm sure they sang this at the Paralympics
They did. At the 2012 Paralympics.
I went and joined the Regiment and this Guy was the real a special time to let the bad things out
Great song. Funky as hell too!
I found another Paradise Garage classic today.
Yes indeed you did. Larry absolutely loved this joint!!! Ill never forget how it sounded when he played it, which was often.
Wow, he's literally me
heard this in the 80s wonderful
What was the reason again why Ian created this masterpiece? :D
Maximilian Bernard 1981 was the year of the disability and Ian took offence to on the grounds that he saw it as a token event that would not change a thing so wrote a song about it
I love how un-PC this is, yet he can get away with it because he was himself disabled lol
Best bass line!!!
Yes brilliant he should of been nominated for an award nothing did he get he was f brilliant
God bless you Ian Dury wherever you are. 💕
Fantastic guy gone too soon, wherever you are love u Ian❤
I have ADHD and I think this song is kickass
I have AC/DC
I'm autistic and this is absolutely hilarious
I'm Spasticus, and so is my wife!
who listening now 2024🐺🦊🦝
What a Great Loft Song.
Still listening on November 2020.
Fucking Bass is off the charts . Love Norman.
Only a guy with polio can get away with a song like this
SHAME THAT ARSEHOLE AT THE BBC TIM YEO BANNED THIS SONG BECAUSE HE JUST DIDN'T GET IT!!!???🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬👹👹👹👹👹👹👹👺👺👺👺👺👺👺
I'm autisticus & gimpicus. . .
It's a double edged sword and can be taken either way I actually fucking love it
Classic
Im spasticus autisticus✌️✌️✌️✌️✌️👏👍👍😇🤶🧞☠️💀😈👽🛸
Simply a genius !!!!!! Wonderful !!!!!!!!!!!
Ian pronounces it "artisticus"
Except he almost certainly deliberately only uses that pronunciation a few times during the song.
That's the way he pronounces o an au sounds. Slightly Americanised.
John Thorne
Got all of it apart from Germans
He would crucify pip assessors today
haaaa shout
@Anon Ymous Just like them, when money involved there patronising go,s out the window and give you crappy very low pay jobs, they patronise you but don,t put their hand in their pockets, very two face, they did the same to ww1 veterans who had their limbs blown off just stuck them out off way in a home after the great war and for gotten, there,s a good pay off for you after they gave there services
The Paralympics sent me here.
Much better than One Moment In Time, Whitney Houston's Special Olympics song.
THIS SONG IS ABOUT ME!!!!!!!
haha are u spastic then?
Yes, about me too. That means, the autisticus part, I'm not spasticus.
@connieismusical
Hello to you out there in Guardian land...
like Lou but way more aggressive, fantastic.
The man was just a genius this is awesome genius
the best song ever Chicago's r2 underground
Thank you sir ☺
You cannot find this song anywhere. It’s not sold on iTunes it’s considered too offensive. I have to come here to listen.
Great song
It's actually a Roman Gladiator