''The Very Best of Dexys Midnight Runners'' is a best of compilation album by English

pop rock Pop rock (also typeset as pop/rock) is a fusion genre with an emphasis on professional songwriting and recording craft, and less emphasis on attitude than rock music. Originating in the late 1950s as an alternative to normal rock and roll, earl ...

band Dexys Midnight Runners, released in 1991.

Content

The album contains seven Dexys singles that had also been album tracks ("Geno, "There, There My Dear", "The Celtic Soul Brothers", "Come On Eileen", "Jackie Wilson Said", "Old", and "

This Is What She's Like "This Is What She's Like" is a song by Dexys Midnight Runners, released on their third studio album ''Don't Stand Me Down'' in September 1985 by Mercury Records, and in November 1985 as a single. The song is credited to Kevin Rowland, Billy Ad ...

") but was more notable as the first album to contain ten of Dexys' non-album singles, including "Let's Get This Straight (From the Start)", "Because of You", "Show Me", "One Way Love", "Breaking Down the Walls of Heartache", "Dance Stance", "Keep It Part Two (Inferiority Part One)", "I'm Just Looking", "Soon", and "Soul Finger"), plus the original recordings of two more ("Plan B", "Liars A to E"). "One Way Love" was the only Dexys song with Kevin Archer as the lead vocalist. The tracks cover Dexys' entire career, shown by the fact that, although the album was released on

Mercury Records Mercury Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group. It had significant success as an independent operation in the 1940s and 1950s. Smash Records and Fontana Records were sub labels of Mercury. In the United States, it is ...

, 9 of the album's 19 songs were recorded for

EMI Records EMI Records (formerly EMI Records Ltd.) is a multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It originally founded as a British flagship label by the music company of the same name in 1972, and launched in January 1973 as the succ ...

, Dexys' first label.

Commercial reception

''The Very Best of Dexys Midnight Runners'' peaked at No. 12 in the

UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts C ...

and was certified Gold on 1 June 1991.

Track listing

# " Come On Eileen" (

Kevin Rowland Kevin Rowland (born 17 August 1953) is a British singer and musician best known as the frontman for the pop band Dexys Midnight Runners (currently called ''Dexys''). The band had several hits in the early 1980s, the most notable being "Geno" an ...

-"Big" Jim Paterson-Kevin "Billy" Adams) (from '' Too-Rye-Ay'') # "

Jackie Wilson Said (I'm in Heaven When You Smile) "Jackie Wilson Said (I'm in Heaven When You Smile)" is a song written and performed by Van Morrison and featured as the opening track on his sixth studio album, ''Saint Dominic's Preview''. It was released by Warner Bros. in July 1972 as the fir ...

" (Van Morrison) (from ''Too-Rye-Ay'') # "Let's Get This Straight (From the Start)" (Rowland-Adams- Helen O'Hara) (non-album single) # "Because of You (The Theme from ''

Brush Strokes ''Brush Strokes'' is a British television sitcom, broadcast on BBC television from 1986 to 1991. Written by Esmonde and Larbey and set in south London, it depicted the (mostly) amorous adventures of a wisecracking house painter, Jacko (Karl Ho ...

'')" (Rowland-Adams-O'Hara) (non-album single) # "Show Me" (Rowland-Paterson) (non-album single) # " Celtic Soul Brothers (More, Please, Thank You)" (Rowland-Paterson-Mickey Billingham) (from ''Too-Rye-Ay'') # "Liars A to E" (Rowland-Paterson-Steve Torch) (from ''Too-Rye-Ay'') # " One Way Love" ( Bert Berns-

Jerry Ragovoy Jordan "Jerry" Ragovoy (September 4, 1930 – July 13, 2011) was an American songwriter and record producer. His best-known composition " Time Is on My Side" (written under the pseudonym of Norman Meade) was made famous by the Rolling Stones, alt ...

) (B-side to "Keep It Part Two (Inferiority Part One)" single)* # "Old" (Rowland-Paterson) (from ''Too-Rye-Ay'') # " Geno" (Rowland- Kevin Archer) (from ''

Searching for the Young Soul Rebels ''Searching for the Young Soul Rebels'' is the debut studio album by English pop group Dexys Midnight Runners, released on 11 July 1980, through Parlophone and EMI Records. Led by Kevin Rowland, the group formed in 1978 in Birmingham, England, and ...

'')* # " There, There, My Dear" (Rowland-Archer) (from ''Searching for the Young Soul Rebels'')* # "Breaking Down the Walls of Heartache" ( Sandy Linzer- Denny Randell) (B-side to " Geno" single)* # " Dance Stance" (Rowland) (non-album single)* # "Plan B" (Rowland-Paterson) (non-album single)* # "Keep It Part Two (Inferiority Part One)" (Rowland-Archer) (non-album single)* # "I'm Just Looking" (Rowland-Geoff Blythe-Pete Saunders) (B-side to "Dance Stance" single)* # "Soon" (Rowland-Paterson) (B-side to "Show Me" single) # "

" (Rowland-Adams-O'Hara) (from '' Don't Stand Me Down'') # "

Soul Finger "Soul Finger" is the first single (music), single released by R&B group the Bar-Kays. It was issued by Stax Records on the Volt Records label on April 14, 1967. Background The song was written by the Bar-Kays while they were rehearsing with Norm ...

" (King/Jones/Alexander/Caldwell/Cunningham/Cauley) (B-Side to "Plan B" single)* * - licensed from EMI

References

Dexys Midnight Runners albums 1991 greatest hits albums {{1990s-album-stub