Phoning Up A Buddy

Phoning up a Buddy: The 46th reason to be cheerful brought to mind an old British Telecom ad campaign, "Make someone happy with a phone call", the bird was called Busby and like The Wombles was voiced on TV by Bernard Cribbins.

Something Nice To Study

Something nice to study: With only 8 more Reasons To Be Cheerful to go, I've a feeling this one wasn't Ian Dury necessarily musing about sitting down with a text book. So here's Marilyn Monroe.

Volare

Volare: The song was originally recorded in 1958 and was the Italian entry for that year's Eurovision song contest. With only 10 entrants that year the song only came 3rd. It was the last year to feature no songs in the English language and the last year the UK didn't enter. It was not originally called Volare, but "Nel blu di pinto di blu" and written and originally recorded by Domenico Modugno. The song has been recorded 100s of times, arguably the most famous version is that of Dean Martin. In 2005 it came second to Abba's Waterloo as the greatest Eurovision song of all time.

Balabalabala

Balabalabala: The occasionally incorrect yet informative H2G2 breakdown of Reasons To Be Cheerful speculates that Balabalabala could be the opening of Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata, it could also be a bit of filler when Ian couldn't think of anything else. Alternatively there are several places in the world called Bala, Ian Dury could be referencing three of them, one in Wales, one in Romania and a small town in Kansas that has the signpost pictured.

Pasquale

Pasquale: Assuming Ian Dury was referring to Don Pasquale and not Joe, this is a picture of Luigi Lablache playing Don in 1843. Don Pasquale is a comic opera. There are obvious differences between Don & Joe Pasquale, one is quite amusing and often incorporates new and original material, the other is a comic with a squeaky voice.

Dmitri

Dmitri: Dmitri Shostakovich was a 20th century Russian composer. 15 symphonies, 6 concertos, 2 operas, film music and some other stuff (extensive research here!). Ian Dury perhaps considered his music a reason to be cheerful, that or his face.

Dali

Dali: Ian Dury studied art and Salvador Dali painted some "eyeball pleasers". On the surface he appears to be a bit of a nutter with a crazy moustache, but he was quite a talented nutter with a crazy moustache. The last public release of his was a short animated film "Destino" a project he started with Walt Disney in 1945.

Woody Allen

Woody Allen: Here pictured in a still from the film Sleeper. Reason to be cheerful number 39.

Slap and Tickle

Slap and tickle: What better way to signify such an expression than a still from a Carry On film. In Carry On Up The Khyber the use of 'tiffin' had the same meaning. Other expressions to slip in could be 'a bit of how's your father', 'nookie', 'hanky panky'. Ian Dury was more than fond of a euphemism. In the song This Is What We Find, Harold Hill comes home to find another gentleman's kippers in the grill and that's nothing compared to what Billericay Dickie gets up to with Nina in the back of his Cortina.

The Vincent Motorsickle

The Vincent Motorsickle: So here is a Vincent motorycyle. Phil Vincent founded the British manufacturing company in 1928, producing many models until their liquidation in 1959. The company has since had several other incarnations and attempts to resurrect the brand.