''The Very Best of Dexys Midnight Runners'' is a

best of A greatest hits album or best-of album is a type of compilation album that collects popular and commercially successful songs by a particular artist or band. While greatest hits albums are typically supported by the artist, they can also be creat ...

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, ear ...

band

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 ...

, 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 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 ...

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 ...

, 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 ...

and was certified Gold on 1 June 1991.

Track listing

# "

Come On Eileen "Come On Eileen" is a song by the English group Dexys Midnight Runners (credited to Dexys Midnight Runners and the Emerald Express), released in the United Kingdom in June 1982 as a single from their second studio album '' Too-Rye-Ay''. It reac ...

" (

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" ...

-"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 Helen O'Hara (born Helen Bevington; 5 November 1956) is a British musician. She was a member and violinist of Dexys Midnight Runners from 1982 to 1987, including performing on songs such as "Come on Eileen", and in 2021 rejoined the band. Early ...

) (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 ...

'')" (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 Bertrand Russell Berns (November 8, 1929 – December 30, 1967), also known as Bert Russell and (occasionally) Russell Byrd, was an American songwriter and record producer of the 1960s. His songwriting credits include " Twist and Shout", " Piec ...

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, al ...

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

Geno Geno may refer to: __NOTOC__ People *Geno (given name), including a list of people with the name *Marián Geňo (born 1984), Czech footballer *Evgeni Malkin (born 1986), Russian ice hockey player nicknamed Geno Art and entertainment *Geno (son ...

" (Rowland-

) (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 Sandy Linzer (born 1941) is an American songwriter, lyricist, and record producer, who is best known for his songwriting collaborations with Denny Randell and Bob Crewe in the 1960s and 1970s. He co-wrote hits including "A Lover's Concerto", "Let ...

Denny Randell Denny Randell (born 1941) is an American songwriter and record producer, who is best known for his songwriting collaborations with Sandy Linzer and Bob Crewe in the 1960s and 1970s. He co-wrote hits including "A Lover's Concerto", "Let's Hang O ...

) (B-side to "

" single)* # "

Dance Stance "Dance Stance" is the first single by Dexys Midnight Runners. Written by frontman Kevin Rowland, The song was released in 1979 on the independent label Oddball Records. It reached #40 on the UK Singles Chart in early 1980. The song addresses anti ...

" (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 ''Don't Stand Me Down'' is the third studio album by English pop band Dexys Midnight Runners, released in September 1985 by Mercury Records. The title of the album was inspired by a line in the album's song "The Waltz". The album was released th ...

'') # "

Soul Finger "Soul Finger" is the first 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 Norman West to per ...

" (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