Hit Me with Your Rhythm Stick

"Hit Me with Your Rhythm Stick"
Single by Ian and the Blockheads
B-side"There Ain't Half Been Some Clever Bastards"
Released1 December 1978[1]
Recorded1978
StudioThe Workhouse Studio, London
Genre
Length3:43
LabelStiff
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Laurie Latham
Ian and the Blockheads singles chronology
"What a Waste"
(1978) 		"Hit Me with Your Rhythm Stick"
(1978) 		"Reasons to be Cheerful, Part 3"
(1979)
Official video
"Hit Me with Your Rhythm Stick" on YouTube

"Hit Me with Your Rhythm Stick" is a song by Ian Dury and the Blockheads, first released as a single on Stiff Records in the UK on 1 December 1978 and credited to "Ian & the Blockheads". Written by Dury and the Blockheads' multi-instrumentalist Chaz Jankel, it is the group's most successful single, reaching number one on the UK Singles Chart in January 1979 as well as reaching the top three in Ireland, Australia and New Zealand, and it was also a top 20 hit in several European countries.

"Hit Me with Your Rhythm Stick" was named the 12th best single of 1978 by the writers of British music magazine NME,[6] and best single of 1979 in the annual 'Pazz & Jop' poll organised by music critic Robert Christgau in The Village Voice.[7] It was also named the 3rd best post-punk 7" ever made by Fact magazine.[5] By September 2017, it had sold over 1.29 million copies in the UK, making it the 114th biggest selling single of all time in the UK.[8]

  1. ^ "Music Week" (PDF). p. 52.
  2. ^ "New Wave - Hit Me with Your Rhythm Stick". BBC. 11 December 2021.
  3. ^ a b Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Just Can't Get Enough: New Wave Hits of the 80's, Vol. 2 - Various Artists | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 16 April 2021.
  4. ^ a b Simpson, Dave (13 May 2020). "The 100 greatest UK No 1s: No 18, Ian Dury and the Blockheads – Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick". The Guardian. Retrieved 16 April 2021.
  5. ^ a b Ingram, Matt (31 October 2010). "20 best: Post-Punk 7"s ever made". Fact. Retrieved 8 August 2016.
  6. ^ "Singles of the Year". NME. London, England: IPC Media. 23 December 1978.
  7. ^ Christgau, Robert. "The 1979 Pazz & Jop Critics Poll". Retrieved 3 April 2014.
  8. ^ Copsey, Rob (19 September 2017). "The UK's Official Chart 'millionaires' revealed". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 9 November 2017.