Three decades on from its original release, Sex and Drugs and Rock and Roll is brought back for a younger generation, but it is it merely flogging a dead horse?

It’s rather sad to see many bands that’ve lost a vital member trying to grasp on to their careers by celebrating anniversaries. The Blockheads (minus Ian Dury) are another group soon to be added to the rather dubious list that includes Led Zeppelin and the Sex Pistols.

This re-release of the classic Ian Dury song manages to both degrade what was a critically acclaimed piece of music and show how dated it has become. It is, unfortunately, a middle-of-the-road song that could only be truly accepted by those who were there at the time. There is no timeless, classic quality to found here, which can’t be said for Led Zeppelin.

Close To Home, the “new” song to be featured here, offers more of the same. A recording from a similar period, albeit not as big, this blues song offers very little in the way of interest. It plods along as a very stereotypical piece of 12-bar blues that most 14-year-olds learning bass will have no difficulty in bettering. Offered as a reason to buy the single, it would have been best served in a rarities set.