THERE Ain’t Half Been Some Clever B*****, as the late great Ian Dury might have said...

Jeff Merrifield’s production of the life story of the new wave poet come pop star is part play and part gig with Mark White as the late troubled genius Dury alongside the excellent Josh Darcy as his roadie and friend Fred ‘Spider’ Rowe.

The show is cleverly written and performed with just the two characters telling the story of the disabled singer’s life.

The dialogue is interspersed with some of Dury’s classic rock ’n’ roll music which was specially recorded for the show by his former band of brothers, the Blockheads.

There are some gems of information in the play like the fact Dury’s breakthrough album, the classic New Boots and Panties only featured three members of the Blockheads as the band did not form properly until they toured some months later.

White pulls off Dury’s distinctive vocal style and captures the myriad of emotions that made up the artist’s unique and sometimes dangerous character; while Darcy plays the loyal Spider superbly.

The show may have been better off without the toe-curling finale when Dury, calliper-free and with angel wings, duets with Spider for a singalong. This aside Hit Me reminds that Ian Dury’s music and prose left us plenty of reasons to be cheerful.