Charles Jeremy "Chaz" Jankel (born 16 April 1952) is an English musician. In a music career spanning more than 40 years, he came to prominence in the late 1970s as the guitarist and keyboardist of the rock band

Ian Dury Ian Robins Dury (12 May 1942 27 March 2000) was a British singer, songwriter and actor who rose to fame during the late 1970s, during the punk and new wave era of rock music. He was the lead singer and lyricist of Ian Dury and the Blockheads ...

and

the Blockheads The Blockheads are an English rock band formed in London in 1977. Originally fronted by lead singer Ian Dury as Ian Dury and the Blockheads or Ian and the Blockheads, the band has continued to perform since Dury's death in 2000. Current member ...

. With Dury, Jankel co-wrote some of the band's best-known songs including "

Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll "Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll" is a song and single by Ian Dury. It was originally released as a Stiff Records single, with "Razzle in My Pocket" as the B-side, on 26 August 1977. The song was released under the single name "Ian Dury", but three me ...

", " Hit Me with Your Rhythm Stick" and " Reasons to Be Cheerful, Part 3". In addition to his work with the Blockheads, Jankel has had a solo career which has resulted in nine studio albums. He has a long list of credits as both a performer and as songwriter.

Early life

Charles Jeremy Jankel was born on 16 April 1952 in

Stanmore Stanmore is part of the London Borough of Harrow in London. It is centred northwest of Charing Cross, lies on the outskirts of the London urban area and includes Stanmore Hill, one of the highest points of London, at high. The district, whi ...

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a historic county in southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the ceremonial county of Greater London, with small sections in neighbour ...

. Inspired by

skiffle Skiffle is a genre of folk music with influences from American folk music, blues, country, bluegrass, and jazz, generally performed with a mixture of manufactured and homemade or improvised instruments. Originating as a form in the United Stat ...

singer

Lonnie Donegan Anthony James Donegan (29 April 1931 – 3 November 2002), known as Lonnie Donegan, was a British skiffle singer, songwriter and musician, referred to as the " King of Skiffle", who influenced 1960s British pop and rock musicians. Born in Scot ...

, he started to learn how to play the Spanish guitar at age 7, and then went on to study the piano. He attended the boarding school

Mill Hill School Mill Hill School is a 13–18 mixed independent, day and boarding school in Mill Hill, London, England that was established in 1807. It is a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference. History A committee of Nonconformis ...

and became a fan of the American rock, funk and soul band

Sly and the Family Stone Sly and the Family Stone was an American band from San Francisco. Active from 1966 to 1983, it was pivotal in the development of funk, soul, rock, and psychedelic music. Its core line-up was led by singer-songwriter, record producer, and multi ...

during his time there. Jankel's fondness for this style was later responsible for much of the

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African Americans in the mi ...

influence on the Blockheads' music and also influenced Jankel's solo career. As a student at the art college

Saint Martin's School of Art Saint Martin's School of Art was an art college in London, England. It offered foundation and degree level courses. It was established in 1854, initially under the aegis of the church of St Martin-in-the-Fields. Saint Martin's became part of ...

he played with a folk rock band called

Byzantium Byzantium () or Byzantion ( grc, Βυζάντιον) was an ancient Greek city in classical antiquity that became known as Constantinople in late antiquity and Istanbul today. The Greek name ''Byzantion'' and its Latinization ''Byzantium' ...

from 1972 to 1973.

Career

In 1973, Jankel contributed a track titled "Let's Go" to

Long John Baldry John William "Long John" Baldry (12 January 1941 – 21 July 2005) was an English musician and actor. In the 1960s, he was one of the first British vocalists to sing the blues in clubs and shared the stage with many British musicians including ...

's studio album '' Good to Be Alive''. He then joined the folk rock band Jonathan Kelly's Outside and worked on their only studio album '' ...Waiting on You'', released in early 1974. Jankel first started working with

as part of the pub rock band

Kilburn and the High Roads Kilburn and the High Roads were a British pub rock band formed in London by Ian Dury in 1970. The band released one studio album in 1975, disbanding the same year. AllMusic credits the band with being "an undeniable influence on punk and new w ...

in the early part of the 1970s. He went on to work with Dury on albums such as 1977's ''

New Boots and Panties!! ''New Boots and Panties!!'' is the debut studio album by Ian Dury, released in the UK on Stiff Records on 30 September 1977. The record covers a diverse range of musical styles which reflect Dury's influences and background in pub rock, taking i ...

'' and the Blockheads' albums including the 1979 release ''

Do It Yourself "Do it yourself" ("DIY") is the method of building, modifying, or repairing things by oneself without the direct aid of professionals or certified experts. Academic research has described DIY as behaviors where "individuals use raw and se ...

'' before leaving the band. He wrote funk songs such as "Hit Me with your Rhythm Stick", and "Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll". In 1981, Jankel joined Dury again, without the Blockheads, for his second solo studio album ''

Lord Upminster ''Lord Upminster'' is the second solo studio album by the English rock and roll singer-songwriter Ian Dury. It was released by Polydor Records in September 1981. It was recorded over a period of one month at Compass Point Studios in Nassau, B ...

'', which spawned the US Top 40 dance hit "

Spasticus Autisticus "Spasticus Autisticus" is a song written by Ian Dury and co-written by Chaz Jankel, released both as a single and on the album '' Lord Upminster''. History and ban by the BBC "Spasticus Autisticus" was written in 1981 as a protest against the ...

", which he co-wrote. After leaving the Blockheads, Jankel pursued a solo career and issued four studio albums for A&M, including his 1980 self-titled debut and 1981's '' Chasanova'', which was also released under the title ''Questionnaire''. This album featured major lyrical contributions from Ian Dury, and musical contributions from two of the Blockheads, bassist

Norman Watt-Roy Norman Joseph Watt-Roy (born 15 February 1951) is an English musician, arranger and composer. Watt-Roy's music career spans more than 40 years. He came to prominence in the late 1970s, during the punk and new wave era of rock music as the bass ...

, and drummer Charlie Charles and also contained the US dance hit " Glad to Know You", which was one of the tracks with lyrics written by Dury, plus the

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

music video of its title track. In 1981,

Quincy Jones Quincy Delight Jones Jr. (born March 14, 1933) is an American record producer, musician, songwriter, composer, arranger, and film and television producer. His career spans 70 years in the entertainment industry with a record of 80 Grammy Award n ...

had a UK chart hit with a cover version of Jankel's " Ai No Corrida", which reached No. 14 in April of that year. The song was also covered by

the Nylons The Nylons are an a cappella group founded in 1978 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, best known for their covers of pop songs such as The Turtles' " Happy Together", Steam's "Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye", and The Tokens' "The Lion Sleeps Tonight ...

, and Laura More with

Uniting Nations Uniting Nations are a British dance music act formed in Liverpool in 2004. They achieved chart success across Europe. The act was originally made up of Paul Keenan and Daz Sampson as band members, songwriters and producers. After their 2005 hi ...

. In 2005, the Uniting Nations' version peaked at No. 18 in the UK. Chas Jankel at Water Rats

Jankel hit No. 1 on the

Hot Dance Music/Club Play Dance Club Songs is a chart published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine in the United States. It is a national look over of club disc jockeys to determine the most popular songs being played in nightclubs across the country. It was launched as t ...

chart in 1982 with the triple A-side " Glad to Know You"/"3,000,000 Synths"/" Ai No Corrida". His single "Number One" went to No. 1 in the clubs in France and was used in the 1985 film ''

Real Genius ''Real Genius'' is a 1985 American comic science fiction film directed by Martha Coolidge and written by Neal Israel, Pat Proft, and PJ Torokvei. Starring Val Kilmer and Gabriel Jarret, the film, set on the campus of Pacific Tech, a science ...

''. He went on to release the studio albums '' Chazablanca'' in 1983 and '' Looking at You'' in 1985. In 1985

Jerry Moss Jerome S. Moss (born May 8, 1935) is an American recording executive, best known for being the co-founder of A&M Records, along with trumpet player and bandleader Herb Alpert. Music career After graduating from Brooklyn College with a degree ...

, the recording executive of A&M, rejected the release of his fifth album, and terminated his recording career with the label. After both of Jankel's parents died, he moved to the US in 1988 and lived there for several years before returning to the UK to rejoin the Blockheads, working with Dury on their final two studio albums with him: ''

Mr. Love Pants ''Mr. Love Pants'' is a 1998 album by Ian Dury and the Blockheads, released on East Central One under Dury's own label Ronnie Harris Records (named after his accountant). History The album would be the last studio album he would make before h ...

'' (1998), and ''

Ten More Turnips from the Tip ''Ten More Turnips from the Tip'' is the fourth and final studio album by Ian Dury and the Blockheads, and Dury's ninth overall. It was compiled and released in 2002, two years after Dury's death in March 2000. Background The album came to be ...

'' (2000) on which later album he took lead vocals on the song "I Could Lie". After Dury's death in 2000, Jankel continued to write and perform with the Blockheads, with Dury's former friend and minder Derek Hussey being Dury's replacement. Jankel has several composer credits for films, including '' DOA'' (1988), which was co-directed by his sister

Annabel Jankel Annabel Jankel (born 1 June 1955), also known as AJ Jankel, is a British film and TV director who first came to prominence as a music video director and the co-creator of the pioneering cyber-character Max Headroom and as co-director of the film ...

, and '' K2'' (1991). Jankel composed the majority of the music for the Dury biopic ''

'' (2010), in which he was portrayed by Tom Hughes. Jankel received a BAFTA nomination for the film's music. In 2010, Jankel released his first

compilation album A compilation album comprises tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one or several performers. If by one artist, then generally the tracks were not originally intended for rel ...

titled ''My Occupation – The Music of Chaz Jankel'' which included the songs "Ai No Corrida", "Glad to Know You" and "You're My Occupation". This album also contained the additional song "Get Myself Together" Since 2001 Jankel had issued records on his own CJ Records label. Jankel recorded a single with Cherry Cameron in 2016.

Personal life

Jankel moved to

Venice, Los Angeles Venice is a neighborhood of the city of Los Angeles within the Westside region of Los Angeles County, California. Venice was founded by Abbot Kinney in 1905 as a seaside resort town. It was an independent city until 1926, when it was annexed by ...

in September 1988. He lived with his Swedish girlfriend Catharina Hemberg. They were married on the island of

Kauai Kauai, () anglicized as Kauai ( ), is geologically the second-oldest of the main Hawaiian Islands (after Niʻihau). With an area of 562.3 square miles (1,456.4 km2), it is the fourth-largest of these islands and the 21st largest islan ...

. Chaz and Catharina divorced, she moving back to Sweden and he moving back to the UK in 1992, where he met his future wife, the artist Elaine O'Halloran. They had met on the set of the film ''

The Rachel Papers ''The Rachel Papers'' is a 1989 British film written and directed by Damian Harris, and based on the 1973 novel of the same name by Martin Amis. It stars Dexter Fletcher and Ione Skye with Jonathan Pryce, James Spader, Bill Paterson, Jared Har ...

'' (1989) where she was assistant editor. The couple have a son Lewis Shay Jankel (b. 1993), a DJ, record producer, singer and songwriter who uses the stage name Shift K3Y. His sister

is a film and television director who, in 2018, directed the British film drama '' Tell It to the Bees''; Jankel wrote a piano piece called "Unresolved" that features in the soundtrack.

Discography

Solo albums

Singles

References

External links

Official website
* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Jankel, Chaz 1952 births 20th-century English singers 21st-century English singers 20th-century British guitarists 21st-century British guitarists 20th-century multi-instrumentalists 21st-century multi-instrumentalists A&M Records artists Alumni of Saint Martin's School of Art Jewish English musicians English film score composers English male film score composers English rock guitarists English male guitarists English rock keyboardists English multi-instrumentalists English new wave musicians English rock pianists English record producers English songwriters English tenors Lead guitarists Living people Musicians from London People educated at Mill Hill School People from Stanmore Polydor Records artists Singers from London Stiff Records artists The Blockheads members British male pianists 21st-century pianists 20th-century British male singers 21st-century British male singers Varèse Sarabande Records artists British male songwriters