"Geno" is a 1980 single by

Dexys Midnight Runners Dexys Midnight Runners (currently officially Dexys, their former nickname, styled without an apostrophe) are an English pop rock band from Birmingham, with soul influences, who achieved major commercial success in the early to mid-1980s. They a ...

. Written by

Kevin Archer Kevin "Al" Archer (born 21 December 1958) is an English guitarist and songwriter. Career Archer played with Kevin Rowland in the punk rock group the Killjoys. In 1978, Rowland and Archer formed Dexys Midnight Runners. Archer co-wrote some of t ...

and Kevin Rowland, it was the band's second single and their first UK number one, staying at the top of the Singles Chart for two weeks. The song charted at number two in

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

Personnel

*Kevin “Al” Archer: guitar, vocals *Geoff Blythe: saxophone *Andy Growcott: drums *Andy Leek: organ *“Big” Jim Paterson: trombone *Kevin Rowland: vocals *Pete Saunders: organ *Steve Spooner: alto saxophone * Pete Williams: bass

Composition

The song is a tribute to soul singer

Geno Washington Geno Washington (born William Francis Washington; December 1943, in Evansville, Indiana) is an American R&B singer who released five albums with The Ram Jam Band between 1966 and 1969, and eight solo albums beginning in 1976. Music career 19 ...

, and performed in approximately the style of Geno Washington's Ram Jam Band. Rowland and Archer began working on the song in early 1979, with Rowland writing lyrics to Archer's music. The song bears resemblance to

Zoot Money's Big Roll Band Zoot Money's Big Roll Band is a British rhythm and blues and soul group, also influenced by jazz, formed in England by Zoot Money, in the early autumn of 1961. The band has had a number of personnel changes over the years and was still performing ...

's "One and Only Man" and

the Turtles ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

' " Happy Together". The "Geno! Geno! Geno!" chant at the beginning and end of the song (sampled from crowd noises on Van Morrison's acclaimed 1974 live album ''

It's Too Late to Stop Now ''It's Too Late to Stop Now'' is a 1974 live double album by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison. It features performances that were recorded in concerts at the Troubadour in Los Angeles, California, the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium ...

'', a favourite of Rowland's) is reminiscent of Washington's 1960s performances, whereby the shows' compères would excite the audience before Washington took to the stage. The song's saxophone riff was inspired by Washington's "(I Gotta) Hold on to My Love", the B-side to " Michael (the Lover)".

Release and reception

EMI EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British Transnational corporation, transnational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in March 1 ...

, the band's record label, wanted their recording of Johnny Johnson and the Bandwagon's " Breakin' Down the Walls of Heartache" to be released, feeling that "Geno" was only suitable as a B-side. The band refused, though the possibility of a double A-side was suggested. However, "Geno" was released (backed with "Breakin' Down the Walls of Heartache") on 15 March 1980. It slowly climbed the charts until it reached number 1 on 3 May. ''

Record Mirror ''Record Mirror'' was a British weekly music newspaper between 1954 and 1991 for pop fans and record collectors. Launched two years after the '' NME'', it never attained the circulation of its rival. The first UK album chart was published in '' ...

'' described "Geno" as "a turgid eulogy with few redeeming features", stating that they believed Dexys Midnight Runners had missed the opportunity to have the same success as Madness and

the Specials The Specials, also known as The Special AKA, are an English 2 tone and ska revival band formed in 1977 in Coventry. After some early changes, the first stable lineup of the group consisted of Terry Hall and Neville Staple on vocals, Lynval ...

. Similarly, Robbi Millar from ''

Sounds In physics, sound is a vibration that propagates as an acoustic wave, through a transmission medium such as a gas, liquid or solid. In human physiology and psychology, sound is the ''reception'' of such waves and their ''perception'' by the ...

'' wrote in March 1980 that "the most boring band of 1979 burst forth again with this erratic and timeless tribute to their hero, Geno Washington, who would probably keep his earplugs in if he heard it". "Geno" soon became a crowd favourite, with audiences chanting for the song throughout whole concerts. Pete Saunders said that the band found it best to play the song once at the beginning of the set, and once towards the end. The song is included in ''1001 Songs You Must Hear Before You Die'', where it is written that the song was inspired by Washington's "Michael (the Lover)" and subsequently inspired the Specials' "

Ghost Town Ghost Town(s) or Ghosttown may refer to: * Ghost town, a town that has been abandoned Film and television * ''Ghost Town'' (1936 film), an American Western film by Harry L. Fraser * ''Ghost Town'' (1956 film), an American Western film by All ...

References

Footnotes

Sources

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Geno (Song) 1979 songs 1980 singles Dexys Midnight Runners songs Songs written by Kevin Rowland Song recordings produced by Pete Wingfield UK Singles Chart number-one singles EMI Records singles