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Dexys (known as Dexys Midnight Runners from 1978 to 2011) are an English
pop rock Pop rock (also typeset as pop/rock) is a fusion genre and form of rock music characterized by a strong commercial appeal, with more emphasis on professional songwriting and recording craft, and less emphasis on attitude than standard rock musi ...
band from
Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...
, with
soul The soul is the purported Mind–body dualism, immaterial aspect or essence of a Outline of life forms, living being. It is typically believed to be Immortality, immortal and to exist apart from the material world. The three main theories that ...
influences, who achieved major commercial success in the early to mid- 1980s. They are best known in the UK for their songs " Geno" and "
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 reache ...
", both of which reached No. 1 on the UK Singles Chart, and achieved six other top-20 singles. "Come On Eileen" also topped the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100, and, with extensive airplay on
MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...
, they are associated with the
Second British Invasion The Second British Invasion was a sharp increase in the popularity of British synth-pop and new pop artists in the United States. It began in the summer of 1982, peaked in 1983, and continued throughout much of the 1980s. The MTV music video ...
. During the late 1970s and early 1980s, Dexys went through numerous personnel changes over the course of three albums and 13 singles, with only singer/songwriter/co-founder Kevin Rowland remaining in the band through all of the transitions and only Rowland and "Big" Jim Paterson (trombone) appearing on all the albums. By 1985, the band consisted only of Rowland and long-standing members
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. Earl ...
(violin) and Billy Adams (guitar). The band broke up in 1987, with Rowland becoming a solo artist. After two failed restart attempts, Dexys was reformed by Rowland in 2003 with new members, as well as a few returning members from the band's original lineup (known as Dexys Mark I). Dexys released their fourth album in 2012 and a fifth followed in 2016.


History


Dexys Mark I: 1978–1980


Foundation and first single

Dexys Midnight Runners were founded in 1978 in
Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...
, England, by Kevin Rowland (vocals, guitar, at the time using the pseudonym Carlo Rolan)Gimarc, George (2005) ''Punk Diary: The Ultimate Trainspotter's Guide to Underground Rock 1970–1982'', Backbeat Books, and Kevin "Al" Archer (vocals, guitar). Both had been in the short-lived punk band the Killjoys. Rowland had previously written a
Northern soul Northern soul is a music and dance movement that emerged in Northern England and the Midlands in the early 1970s. It developed from the British Mod (subculture), mod scene, based on a particular style of African American music, Black American ...
-style song that the two of them sang, "Tell Me When My Light Turns Green", which became the first Dexys "song". The band's name was derived from Dexedrine, a brand of
dextroamphetamine Dextroamphetamine (international nonproprietary name, INN: dexamfetamine) is a potent central nervous system (CNS) stimulant and enantiomer of amphetamine that is used in the treatment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and narc ...
used as a
recreational drug Recreational drug use is the use of one or more psychoactive drugs to induce an altered state of consciousness, either for pleasure or for some other casual purpose or pastime. When a psychoactive drug enters the user's body, it induces an Sub ...
among Northern soul fans to give them energy to dance all night. Rowland later said of recruiting members for the band that "Anyone joining Dexys had to give up their job and rehearse all day long ... We had nothing to lose and felt that what we were doing was everything." "Big" Jim Paterson (trombone), Geoff "JB" Blythe (saxophone, previously of Geno Washington's Ram Jam Band), Steve "Babyface" Spooner (alto saxophone),
Pete Saunders Peter Saunders (born 1960) is an English keyboard player. Early life Saunders was born in Hammersmith in West London. When he was 14, his family moved to Birmingham. At the age of 16, he joined Pub Theatre and wrote songs and performed with the ...
(keyboard), Pete Williams (bass) and John Jay (drums) formed the first lineup of the band, which began playing live at the end of 1978. By the middle of 1979, Bobby "Jnr" Ward had replaced Jay on drums. Clash manager Bernard Rhodes then signed them and sent them into the studio to record a Rowland-penned single, "Burn It Down", which Rhodes renamed " Dance Stance". In response to Rhodes' criticism of Rowland's singing style, Rowland developed a "more emotional" sound influenced by General Norman Johnson of the
Holland–Dozier–Holland Holland–Dozier–Holland, often abbreviated as H-D-H, was a songwriting and production team consisting of Lamont Dozier and brothers Brian and Eddie Holland. The trio wrote, arranged and produced many songs that helped define the ...
band Chairmen of the Board and the theatricality of
Bryan Ferry Bryan Ferry (born 26 September 1945) is an English singer and songwriter. He became known as the frontman of the band Roxy Music and also launched a solo career. His voice has been described as an "elegant, seductive croon". He also established ...
. After a series of dates opening for
the Specials The Specials, also known as the Special AKA, were 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, J ...
, who wore suits on stage, Rowland decided that his band needed its own distinct look. Borrowing from an outfit that Paterson had worn to rehearsals, Dexys subsequently dressed in donkey jackets or leather coats and woolly hats, a look described as "straight out of De Niro's '' Mean Streets''". In January 1980, Rowland said of the band's sound and look, "we didn't want to become part of anyone else's movement. We'd rather be our own movement". Image became very important to the group: Rowland said, "We wanted to be a group that looked like something ... a formed group, a project, not just random."Reynolds, Simon (2005) ''Rip It Up and Start Again: Postpunk 1978–1984'', Faber & Faber, , p. 293–296 "Dance Stance", which Rhodes produced, was released on Oddball Records, which Rhodes owned, and which was distributed by EMI. Although it was named "single of the week" by '' Sounds'', it stalled at number 40 in the British charts, which EMI and Rowland believed was due to Rhodes' poor production. Rowland said, "We learned that early on, that the wrong producer can totally screw your record up." As a result, Dexys fired Rhodes and signed with EMI, and EMI immediately put
Pete Wingfield William Peter Wingfield (born 7 May 1948) is an English record producer, Keyboardist, keyboard player, songwriter, singer, and music journalism, music journalist. Career Whilst at Sussex University, Wingfield and three other students formed ...
in charge of their production. Saunders and Ward left the band, replaced by Andy Leek (keyboards) and Andy "Stoker" Growcott (drums).


''Searching for the Young Soul Rebels'' and first band split

Building on the unexpected success of "Dance Stance" (aka "Burn It Down"), Dexys' next single, " Geno" – about Geno Washington – became a British Number One in 1980. It featured the band's "Late Night Feelings" imprint on the single, which became a trademark of the band's records on EMI. Rowland wrote about Washington as he had seen one of his performances aged 11 with his brother. The success of the song prompted Washington to make a return to live performance, but it also prompted the departure of Leek, who said he didn't want to be famous. Pete Saunders returned to the band temporarily, replacing Leek, to record their debut album. Dexys' debut LP, ''
Searching for the Young Soul Rebels ''Searching for the Young Soul Rebels'' is the debut studio album by English band Dexys Midnight Runners, released on 11 July 1980, through Parlophone and EMI Records. Led by Kevin Rowland, the band formed in 1978 in Birmingham, England, and for ...
'', which featured "Geno", was released in July 1980. The label of the album also included the band's "Late Night Feelings" imprint, and the album's sleeve featured a photograph of a
Belfast Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...
Catholic boy carrying his belongings after moving from his home during
the Troubles The Troubles () were an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland that lasted for about 30 years from the late 1960s to 1998. Also known internationally as the Northern Ireland conflict, it began in the late 1960s and is usually deemed t ...
; the Irish-descended Rowland explained that "I wanted a picture of unrest. It could have been from anywhere but I was secretly glad that it was from Ireland." Of the album's title, Rowland said "I don't know ... I just liked the sound of it, really." Of the songs on the album, only two ("Geno" and " There, There, My Dear") were written by Rowland (lyrics) and Archer (music) together; producer
Pete Wingfield William Peter Wingfield (born 7 May 1948) is an English record producer, Keyboardist, keyboard player, songwriter, singer, and music journalism, music journalist. Career Whilst at Sussex University, Wingfield and three other students formed ...
hadn't liked Rowland's lyrics on their third co-composition ("Keep It") and had instead turned those lyrics into a separate song ("Love Part One"); Blythe wrote new lyrics for the version of "Keep It" on the album. The same month, Rowland imposed a press embargo on the band; instead, Dexys would take out ads in the music papers explaining the band's position on various issues. This was a response to some less than complimentary opinions from some music press writers; for example, the ''
NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...
's'' Mark Cordery accused the band of "emotional fascism" and described their music as a perversion of soul music with "no tenderness, no sex, no wit, no laughter". After the album, Saunders was replaced by
Mick Talbot Michael Talbot (born 11 September 1958) is an English keyboardist. He was a co-founder of the Style Council with Paul Weller, and has also been a member of Dexys Midnight Runners, the Merton Parkas and The Bureau (band), the Bureau. Career ...
(ex- The Merton Parkas) on keyboards. "There, There, My Dear" became the band's second top-10 single. However, after a couple of months of touring, Rowland insisted on writing new lyrics to Archer's music for "Keep It" for release as the band's next single, despite EMI's objections. The single, called "Keep It Part Two (Inferiority Part One)", was a failure, and five of the band members then quit, angered over continual personality problems with Rowland, as well as Rowland's policy of not speaking to the music press. Archer and Paterson both remained with Rowland at first, but then Archer also decided to leave, which reduced Dexys to just Rowland and Paterson, whom Rowland referred to as "the Celtic soul brothers" (in reference to Paterson's Scottish background and Rowland's Irish background)."Young Guns" BBC interview, available a
"The Dexys Story"
.
Archer (and Leek) eventually formed The Blue Ox Babes, while the other departing members—Blythe, Spooner, Williams, "Stoker", and Talbot—formed The Bureau, which Wingfield continued to produce.


Dexys Mark II: 1981–1982


''The Projected Passion Revue''

Rowland and Paterson first chose to write several new songs, so that Dexys could move forward from the split. They then brought in an old friend of theirs, Kevin "Billy" Adams (guitar/banjo), along with Seb Shelton (drums, formerly of Secret Affair), Mickey Billingham (keyboard), Brian Maurice Brummitt (who dropped his last name for his stage name "Brian Maurice", alto saxophone),
Paul Speare Paul George Speare (born 10 December 1955) is an English composer, producer, freelance saxophonist and flute player, formerly a member of Dexys Midnight Runners and The TKO Horns. He was born to Reginald and Julia Speare in Romford, Essex. He ...
(tenor saxophone) and Steve Wynne (bass). This new lineup also adopted a new look that included hooded tops,
boxing Boxing is a combat sport and martial art. Taking place in a boxing ring, it involves two people – usually wearing protective equipment, such as boxing glove, protective gloves, hand wraps, and mouthguards – throwing Punch (combat), punch ...
boots, and pony tails. Along with the new image, Rowland brought in a fitness regime, which included working out together and running as a group, Rowland commenting "The togetherness of running along together just gets ... that fighting spirit going". The group would also take part in group exercise sessions before performances, and
drinking Drinking is the act of ingesting water or other liquids into the body through the mouth, proboscis, or elsewhere. Humans drink by swallowing, completed by peristalsis in the esophagus. The physiological processes of drinking vary widely among ...
before shows was strictly forbidden. By the time the new band's first single "Plan B", produced by Alan Shacklock instead of Wingfield, was released in March 1981, the band's management had discovered that EMI had failed to pick up a mandatory contract option, so Dexys were technically no longer under contract. They asked, without success, that EMI not release the single; without promotion, the single flopped. Later in March 1981, an ad appeared in which Rowland stated that the previous members of the band had "hatched a plot to throw Kevin out and still carry on under the same name". It also cited Rowland's suggestion that "they might learn new instruments" as a reason for their displeasure. The ad announced that Dexys had been working on a new live venture, "The Midnight Runners Projected Passion Revue". In April, Dexys prevailed to win their release from EMI, although without the financial support of a label, they were unable to mount the spring tour that had planned and had to settle for playing only five dates, including one recorded by
BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and Contemporary hit radio, current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including ...
. In June they signed to
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. Mercury Records released ...
, where Dexys remained until their 1987 breakup. Dexys' first single for Mercury, "Show Me", produced by
Tony Visconti Anthony Edward Visconti (born April 24, 1944) is an American record producer, musician and singer. Since the late 1960s, he has worked with an array of performers. His first hit single was T. Rex's " Ride a White Swan" in 1970, the first of man ...
, was released in July 1981 and reached No. 16 in the UK. The label switch was followed by a session for Richard Skinner's BBC Radio 1 show in which the band previewed tracks that would be reworked later on ''Too-Rye-Ay''. Wynne was sacked by the group at this point, to be replaced by Mick Gallick (whom Rowland gave the stage name "Giorgio Kilkenny") on bass. Music journalist
Paolo Hewitt Paolo Hewitt is a music journalist and writer from Woking in Surrey. Biography Hewitt was placed in care at a very early age, and went to live with a foster family. Following years of abuse he was sent to Burbank children's home in Woking at t ...
commented about this version of Dexys: "Dexys wouldn't make a record unless they thought it was great. And they wouldn't play a gig unless they thought they were gonna be great." Around this time, Archer played Rowland demos of Archer's new group, The Blue Ox Babes, which featured, in Rowland's words, "a Tamla-style beat with violins". The violins had been played by a
Birmingham School of Music Royal Birmingham Conservatoire is a music school, drama school and concert venue in Birmingham, England. It provides education in music, acting, and related disciplines up to postgraduate level. It is a centre for scholarly research and doc ...
classical violin student named Helen Bevington. Rowland's first idea was to get the horn players to also play strings, as he had discussed in the March interview (with Speare on viola, which he already played, and string novices Paterson and Maurice on cello), and the horn players (with session musician support) contributed strings to the third single with the new lineup, "Liars A to E", produced by Neil Kernon, which was released in October 1981. In November, the group played a three-night stand at The Old Vic in London, with the horn section again doubling on strings. The Old Vic shows attracted unexpectedly rave reviews in the press, although these concerts were not recorded. Rowland said of these shows, "Those three nights at the Old Vic were all I wanted to say in '81." Dexys' 1981 recordings, including all three singles (both A-sides and B-sides) as well as the tracks from the two
BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and Contemporary hit radio, current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including ...
appearances, were released by Dexys on CD in 2007 as '' The Projected Passion Revue''.


''Too-Rye-Ay'', stardom, and turnover

As Dexys prepared to record their first album for Mercury, Rowland decided that he needed more proficient string players to achieve the sound he envisioned. He sent Speare to invite Bevington to join Dexys, which she agreed to do, and Rowland gave her the Irish-sounding stage name of Helen O'Hara. Rowland also asked her to recruit two other violinists; she brought fellow students Steve Shaw and Roger Huckle, whom Rowland renamed as Steve Brennan and Roger MacDuff, and Rowland named the violin section "The Emerald Express". However, the need to rearrange all the songs for both strings and horns left the brass section of Paterson and Maurice (and to a lesser extent Speare) feeling that their role in the band had diminished. Thus, just prior to the recording sessions, Paterson and Maurice quit. Rowland was able to persuade them to remain in Dexys long enough to record the next album .Richard White, ''Dexys Midnight Runners: Young Soul Rebels'' (2005), p. 121-22. Shortly thereafter, Speare also joined their planned departure. This fractured line-up recorded ''
Too-Rye-Ay ''Too-Rye-Ay'' is the second studio album by English pop band Dexys Midnight Runners. It was released in July 1982 by Mercury Records. The album is best known for the hit single " Come On Eileen", which included the refrain that inspired the a ...
'' in early 1982 with producers Rowland,
Clive Langer Clive Langer (born 19 June 1954) is an English record producer and songwriter, active from the mid-1970s onwards. He usually works with Alan Winstanley. He composed the music for the films '' Still Crazy'' and '' Brothers of the Head''. Biog ...
and
Alan Winstanley Alan Kenneth Winstanley (; born 2 November 1952) is an English record producer and songwriter, active from the mid-1970s onwards. He usually works with Clive Langer. Early life He was born in Fulham in November 1952 to parents Ken and Doreen. ...
. The album featured a hybrid of soul and Celtic folk, similar to Archer's new direction. All of the post-breakup singles and the ''Projected Passion Revue'' material were re-arranged and re-recorded with the new lineup. The new sound was accompanied by the band's third new look, with the band attired in dungarees, scarves, leather waistcoats, and what was described as "a generally scruffy right-off-the-farm look", or "a raggle-taggle mixture of
gypsy {{Infobox ethnic group , group = Romani people , image = , image_caption = , flag = Roma flag.svg , flag_caption = Romani flag created in 1933 and accepted at the 1971 World Romani Congress , po ...
, rural Irish and
Steinbeck John Ernst Steinbeck ( ; February 27, 1902 – December 20, 1968) was an American writer. He won the 1962 Nobel Prize in Literature "for his realistic and imaginative writings, combining as they do sympathetic humor and keen social percep ...
Okie An Okie is a person identified with the state of Oklahoma, or their descendants. This connection may be residential, historical or cultural. For most Okies, several (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their bei ...
". Rowland jokingly said of the new image: "These are my best clothes. Again it just feels right for the music. Everybody else is dressing up sort of straight-laced and pretty down-to-earth and we come in wearing these and it's like, y'know here we are, a bit of hoedowning is even possible". The first single, "The Celtic Soul Brothers" (cowritten by Rowland and Paterson with Mickey Billingham), which was released before the album, only reached number 45 on the UK charts. After the failure of this single, O'Hara said that the band believed that they immediately needed a hit single to survive. To help create momentum, the band performed a live BBC Radio 1 concert in Newcastle on 6 June 1982, which was the last appearance of the horn section of Paterson, Maurice, and Speare with Dexys. Released right after the live appearance, Dexys' follow-up single, "
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 reache ...
" (cowritten by Rowland and Paterson with Billy Adams), became that much-needed hit – a Number One hit in the UK, which also became Dexys' first single released in the United States (and second in North America, after "Seven Days Too Long", which was only released in Canada) – where it peaked at #1 in April 1983 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart. The third UK single from the album,
Van Morrison Sir George Ivan "Van" Morrison (born 31 August 1945) is a Northern Irish singer-songwriter and musician whose recording career started in the 1960s. Morrison's albums have performed well in the UK and Ireland, with more than 40 reaching the UK ...
's "
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 f ...
", also reached the top 5 in the UK singles chart. The band sang this song on the UK comedy '' The Young Ones''. When the band performed this single on the BBC TV music show ''Top of the Pops,'' instead of a picture of Jackie Wilson, the American soul singer, the band performed in front of a photo of
Jocky Wilson John Thomas "Jocky" Wilson (22 March 1950 – 24 March 2012) was a Scottish professional darts player. After turning professional in 1979, he quickly rose to the top of the game, winning the World Professional Darts Championship in 1982, ...
, the Scottish darts player. The horn section became known as
the TKO Horns The TKO Horns were a horn section formed in 1982 when Big Jim Paterson ( trombone), Paul Speare (tenor saxophone) and Brian Maurice (alto saxophone) left Dexys Midnight Runners. After a brief spell touring with Paul Young's Q Tips they began pe ...
and continued working with ''Too-Rye-Ay'' producers Langer and Winstanley, just as The Bureau and The Blue Ox Babes had continued working with Pete Wingfield. To replace them, Dexys added saxophonist Nick Gatfield and used various session musicians, including Kevin Gilson (saxophone) and Mark Walters and
Spike Edney Philip "Spike" Edney (born 11 December 1951) is an English musician who has performed with a number of bands since the 1970s, most notably with Queen (band), Queen in their live concerts since 1984. Career Queen Edney's association with Quee ...
(trombone). Soon thereafter, Billingham also left the band but continued to appear with Dexys on a session basis until the end of the year, when he joined
General Public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociological concept of the ''Öffentlichkei ...
.


Dexys Mark III: 1982–1987


Touring and more turnover

With Paterson and Billingham's departures, the core of Dexys became Rowland, Adams, and O'Hara. In September, touring behind the hit album, Dexys embarked on ''The Bridge'' tour. On 10 October 1982, the Dexys performance at the Shaftesbury Theatre in London was recorded by
Steve Barron Steven Barron (born 4 May 1956) is an Irish-British filmmaker and music video director. Among the music videos he has directed are "Billie Jean" by Michael Jackson, " Burning Up (Madonna song), Burnin Up" by Madonna, "Summer of '69" and "Run t ...
and then released on videodisk and
videocassette Videotape is magnetic tape used for storing video and usually sound in addition. Information stored can be in the form of either an analog or digital signal. Videotape is used in both video tape recorders (VTRs) and, more commonly, videocasset ...
(and later DVD) as an edited 9-song set also entitled ''The Bridge''. Rowland, Adams and O'Hara jointly wrote the band's next single, "Let's Get This Straight (From the Start)" (with O'Hara also contributing piano on the recording along with Billingham). At the start of 1983, Robert "Bob" Noble replaced Billingham on keyboards and Kilkenny was replaced by John "Rhino" Edwards on bass. Dexys finally toured the U.S. in 1983, and continued to tour through that summer. However, the major success of ''Too-Rye-Ay'' became a problem for Rowland, who said in 1999 that "I was fairly comfortable being the outsider knocking on the door utonce the door opened and I stepped inside, I was completely lost" and that he went into "complete self-destruct mode". Rowland and O'Hara also began a personal relationship during the U.S. tour; in Rowland's words, he was "obsessed with her but not enjoying the band".


''Don't Stand Me Down'' and break-up

Although Dexys began preparing material for a new album in late 1983, once the touring stopped, the band was reduced to a nucleus of Rowland, Adams, O'Hara and Gatfield. Rowland wanted to explore different songwriting, and Dexys Midnight Runners began recording more "introspective, mournful" music. Recording and mixing the new album took almost two years and spread across Switzerland, the U.K., and the U.S; at various times,
Tom Dowd Thomas John Dowd (October 20, 1925 – October 27, 2002) was an American recording engineer and producer for Atlantic Records. He was credited with innovating the multitrack recording method. Dowd worked on a veritable "who's who" of recordings ...
, Jimmy Miller, and John Porter were attached as producers. Some seasoned performers, ex-Dexys members, and session musicians made up the rest of the band, including
Vincent Crane Vincent Rodney Cheesman (21 May 194314 February 1989), known professionally as Vincent Crane, was an English keyboardist, best known as the organist for the Crazy World of Arthur Brown (he was a co-writer of that group's 1968 hit single "Fire") ...
(ex- Atomic Rooster) on piano, Julian Littman on mandolin, Tim Dancy (who had been
Al Green Albert Leornes Greene (born April 13, 1946), known professionally as Al Green, is an American singer, songwriter, pastor and record producer. He is best known for recording a series of soul hit singles in the early 1970s, including " Tired of ...
's drummer) on drums, Tommy Evans on steel guitar, and former Dexys members "Big" Jim Paterson on trombone, Robert Noble on organ and synthesizer, and John "Rhino" Edwards on bass. Near the end of these sessions, Rowland and O'Hara's personal relationship broke up, although they continued to work together. In September 1985, Dexys released their first new album in three years, ''
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 ...
''. Production was originally credited to
Alan Winstanley Alan Kenneth Winstanley (; born 2 November 1952) is an English record producer and songwriter, active from the mid-1970s onwards. He usually works with Clive Langer. Early life He was born in Fulham in November 1952 to parents Ken and Doreen. ...
and Rowland, although reissues also credit Adams and O'Hara.Kevin Rowland, Liner notes to Creation reissue of ''Don't Stand Me Down''. (1997) The four remaining members were pictured on the album cover in the band's fourth look, an
Ivy League The Ivy League is an American collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference of eight Private university, private Research university, research universities in the Northeastern United States. It participates in the National Collegia ...
, Brooks Brothers look, wearing ties and pin-striped suits (except for O'Hara, who wore a grey women's business suit), and with neatly combed hair. Rowland described Dexys' new look as "so clean and simple; it's a much more adult approach now". In an interview with
HitQuarters HitQuarters was an international music industry publication and contact database founded in 1999. It was noted for its in-depth interviews with industry figures, as well as its A&R and manager contact directory, free artist promo pages and song ...
Gatfield later described the recording process as "very long and painful", and he left the group after a short tour of France and the UK. The album's most controversial feature was its use of conversational dialogue in the songs; Rowland said, "The idea of a conversation in a song is interesting to me." Commenting on this, O'Hara said that "we had to keep going ahead with what we believed" despite the length of time that the production took. Most contemporaneous reviewers strongly disliked this latest incarnation of Dexys, comparing the new look to "double glazing salesmen" and condemning the album as "a mess" and "truly awful". Only a few reviewers were supportive; for example, writing in the ''
Melody Maker ''Melody Maker'' was a British weekly music magazine, one of the world's earliest music weeklies; according to its publisher, IPC Media, the earliest. In January 2001, it was merged into "long-standing rival" (and IPC Media sister publicatio ...
'', Colin Irwin described it as "quite the most challenging, absorbing, moving, uplifting and ultimately triumphant album of the year". Rowland at first refused to issue any singles from the album, comparing Dexys to bands like
Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin were an English rock music, rock band formed in London in 1968. The band comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist-keyboardist John Paul Jones (musician), John Paul Jones and drummer John Bonham. With a he ...
that never released singles. By the time a 3-minute edit of the 12-minute " This Is What She's Like" was released, it was too late to save the album from commercial failure, and the "Coming to Town" tour that followed the album was played before "half-empty theaters". Rowland said, "I felt that we couldn't do anything better than 'Don't Stand Me Down'' It took so much out of me, but the record company threw the towel in. I think they wanted to teach me a lesson." In the aftermath, Rowland started to have issues with drug abuse. However, Dexys returned to the U.K. charts in late 1986 with the single "Because Of You", again written by and featuring the nucleus of Rowland, O'Hara and Adams (and which was used as the theme tune to a
British sitcom A British sitcom or a Britcom is a situational comedy programme produced for British television. British sitcoms have predominantly been recorded on studio sets, while some include an element of location filming. Live audiences and multi-camera ...
, '' Brush Strokes''). Dexys disbanded in early 1987.


Rowland solo and failed Dexys reunions: 1987–2002

Rowland became a solo singer with the release of 1988's poorly received album, '' The Wanderer''. Rowland suffered from financial problems, drug addiction and depression. Rowland said: "I'd been too confident, too arrogant. I thought everyone would hear our new music and go: 'Wow.'" When he went to sign on for a jobseeker's allowance, another unemployed person recognised him and sang "Come On Eileen". Dexys returned to the charts that year with the greatest-hits TV compilation '' The Very Best of Dexys Midnight Runners'', which featured a number of songs that had never been released on CD, reached #12 on the charts, and was certified "Gold". Consequently, Rowland "spent most of my time in rehab" in 1993 and 1994. As part of that, Rowland made plans to reform Dexys together with Big Jim Paterson and Billy Adams, although these plans resulted in little more than a solitary TV performance in 1993. Rowland then went on the dole; as he put it in 1999, "Insanity is no fun, mate. People try to romanticize the idea of the suffering artist. At my lowest ebbs there was no romance to it at all." After more treatment, Rowland returned once more as a solo performer and signed to
Creation Records Creation Records Ltd. was a British independent record label founded in 1983 by Alan McGee, Dick Green, and Joe Foster. Its name came from the 1960s band The Creation, whom McGee greatly admired. The label ceased operations in 1999, although ...
, although, in his words, "every other record label advised reationagainst it because I was trouble." In 1997, he released his first project on Creation: a remastered and reprocessed version of ''Don't Stand Me Down'' with extensive liner notes, revised credits and titles, and two extra songs, which helped contribute to a significant reversal of opinion with regard to the album, which was now increasingly being re-evaluated and recognized as an unfairly overlooked masterwork. Following this, in 1999 Rowland released a new solo album of interpretations of "classic" songs called '' My Beauty'', which received virtually no publicity or radio airplay and sold poorly but attracted attention for Rowland's
cross-dressing Cross-dressing is the act of wearing clothes traditionally or stereotypically associated with a different gender. From as early as pre-modern history, cross-dressing has been practiced in order to disguise, comfort, entertain, and express onesel ...
cover attire. Rowland limited his pre-release publicity for the album to one interview, and he "auditioned" potential interviewers before selecting Jon Wilde. However, the negative reaction to ''My Beauty'' and the demise of Creation Records shortly after its release meant that Rowland's planned follow-up album, which would have featured Dexys performing new material, was never made. The failure caused Rowland more problems; in his own words from 2003, "Four years ago, I was nuts." Later, in March 2010, Rowland said that signing to Creation was "definitely a mistake".


Dexys Mark IV: 2003–present


Dexys reformed

While recording two new songs, "Manhood" and "My Life in England" (both credited to Rowland, Paterson, and David Ditchfield) for a forthcoming Dexys greatest hits album, Rowland recruited Welsh classical violist (and studio musician) Lucy J. Morgan to play on the sessions along with original Dexys members Pete Williams as co-vocalist and "MD"
Mick Talbot Michael Talbot (born 11 September 1958) is an English keyboardist. He was a co-founder of the Style Council with Paul Weller, and has also been a member of Dexys Midnight Runners, the Merton Parkas and The Bureau (band), the Bureau. Career ...
on keyboards, plus Paul Taylor on trombone and Neil Hubbard on guitar. Following the sessions, Rowland offered Morgan a permanent place in the group, and she accepted. With her addition, Rowland announced the reformation of Dexys in April 2003; he told Williams that his goal for the reformed band was to be true to the memory of Dexys but to "take it somewhere else". The Dexys greatest hits album containing the new songs, '' Let's Make This Precious: The Best of Dexys Midnight Runners'', was released on EMI in September 2003, followed by a successful tour 'to stop the burning' in October and November. The new songs on the album were touted as new singles, with Dexys even performing "Manhood" on ''
Top of the Pops ''Top of the Pops'' (''TOTP'') is a British record chart television programme, made by the BBC and broadcast weekly between 1January 1964 and 30 July 2006. The programme was the world's longest-running weekly music show. For most of its histo ...
''. However, despite promotional single releases for each by EMI and airplay on national radio, neither was officially released as a commercial single. Instead, a live performance by this 2003 version of Dexys was released on DVD, entitled ''It Was Like This – Live'' (although some versions were packaged with a misleading picture of Rowland from the 1980s on the cover). ''It Was Like This – Live'' was reissued in 2012 on CD and DVD as ''At the Royal Court, Liverpool''. It was released digitally in 2019, featuring songs from the first three albums plus "Because Of You", new song "Manhood" and the band's version of The Commodores' "Nightshift". In 2004, another Rowland-supervised reissue of the now-out-of-print ''Don't Stand Me Down'', subtitled "The Director's Cut", was issued on EMI with different remixing and remastering, an additional track ("Kevin Rowland's 13th Time"), and a different cover photograph showing the core trio (Rowland, Adams and O'Hara) walking in a park wearing "preppy" attire (instead of the previous business attire). In the liner notes, Rowland said that, after the remastering and track changes, the album "now sounds to me as it was intended to sound." During a June 2005 interview on
BBC Radio 2 BBC Radio 2 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It is the List of most-listened-to radio programs, most popular station in the United Kingdom with over 14 million weekly listeners. Since launching in 1967, the sta ...
, Kevin Rowland announced that Dexys were "back in the studio" and seeking a record deal for a new album. A new track, "It's OK Johanna", appeared on the band's MySpace site in 2007, and in January 2008, Rowland told '' Uncut'' magazine further details about the album, saying in part: "I'm in the process of demo-ing the songs ... I don't know when it will be ready or who will play on the record. I want to get everything 100 percent right, and know that it's the best I can do and every note is there for a reason ... The only way I can be satisfied is to make the record I'm hearing in my head on my own terms." As Rowland repeatedly stated, "Dexys are not a revival band. They are going forward, not backward."


''One Day I'm Going to Soar'' and subsequent touring

In 2011, with the band's name officially shortened to "Dexys", work on new material started again with Rowland, Pete Williams, Mick Talbot, Neil Hubbard, and Lucy Morgan, who had all been in Dexys since the 2003 reformation, plus Big Jim Paterson and new female vocalist Madeleine Hyland. Hyland was discovered at the last minute prior to recording, after what Rowland described as "about four years" of searching. Rowland stated that some of the songs Dexys were recording dated back "15 or 20 years." Dexys then announced that they would be embarking on another tour. In February 2012, Rowland officially announced the imminent release of a fourth studio album for Dexys. The band also released a preview of "Now", the album's first track. The album, entitled '' One Day I'm Going to Soar'', was released by BMG on 4 June 2012. All but one song were co-written by Rowland and Talbot, usually with other co-writers such as Paterson or
Glen Matlock Glen Matlock (born 27 August 1956) is an English musician, best known for being the bass guitarist in the original line-up of the punk rock band the Sex Pistols. He is credited as a songwriter on 10 of the 12 songs on the Sex Pistols' only offic ...
; the album continued in the same style as ''Don't Stand Me Down'' (featuring spoken sections in the songs), which led the album to be described as "a concept album with an unreliable narrator". The first single from the album was "She Got a Wiggle", released 28 May 2012. They performed the song on '' Later... with Jools Holland'' in May 2012. The group toured in September 2012 in the UK, performing their new album. Talbot left the group following this tour. In 2013, the band announced that they would play nine shows in London's West End at the Duke of York's Theatre, St Martins Lane between 15 and 27 April. These shows would become the basis for a documentary on the group entitled ''Nowhere Is Home'', directed by Kieran Evans and Paul Kelly. ''Nowhere Is Home'' was issued in both triple-CD and double-DVD formats in October 2014 on Dexys' own label, Absolute Dexys. Dexys played more live dates in 2014; however, as Hyland was not available for several shows during the summer, Siobhan Fahey replaced her in the Dexys lineup. (Fahey's sister, actress Máire Fahey, had portrayed "Eileen" in the
music video A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...
and picture sleeve for "Come On Eileen" in 1982.)


''Let the Record Show: Dexys Do Irish and Country Soul''

On St. Patrick's Day (Thursday, 17 March) 2016, Dexys announced the release of their fifth studio album, '' Let the Record Show: Dexys Do Irish and Country Soul'', which was subsequently released on 100%/
Warner Music Warner Music Group Corp., commonly abbreviated as WMG, is an American multinational entertainment and record label conglomerate headquartered in New York City. It is one of the " big three" recording companies and the third-largest in the gl ...
on 3 June 2016. The album features interpretations of Irish folk standards plus songs written by contemporary musicians. The pre-release videos included on Dexys' Facebook page featured three band members: Rowland, Lucy Morgan, and Sean Read, whom Rowland described as the "nucleus" of the current version of Dexys. The album also includes guest violinist
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. Earl ...
, recording with the band for the first time in 30 years. Rowland said that the idea for the album dated back to 1984–85, at which time the album would have been called ''Irish'' and featured only traditional Irish songs as interpreted by Dexys. O'Hara, in fact, had released such an album in 1998, entitled ''A Night in Ireland'', which includes three of the same songs. According to Rowland, "the brief asexpanded from solely consisting of Irish songs, to songs I've always loved and wanted to record", such as " You Wear It Well", " To Love Somebody", and " Both Sides, Now". Dexys made its only two live appearances of 2016 to support this release: one at a private reception at the Embassy of Ireland in London on 6 June and one at Rough Trade East in London on 3 June. They also performed two songs on the ITV program ''
Weekend The weekdays and weekend are the complementary parts of the week, devoted to labour and rest, respectively. The legal weekdays (British English), or workweek (American English), is the part of the seven-day week devoted to working. In most o ...
'' on 11 June. For these three performances, O'Hara temporarily rejoined Dexys in place of Morgan, who was unavailable. The album entered the UK Official Albums Chart Top 100 at number 10 and remained there for one week.


''Too-Rye-Ay As It Could Have Sounded'' and cancelled 2022 tour

In September 2021, Dexys announced both an upcoming 40th-anniversary remix of ''Too-Rye-Ay'', to be done by Rowland, O'Hara, and longtime Dexys engineer Pete Schwier and tentatively entitled ''Too-Rye-Ay As It Could Have Sounded'', and a September/October 2022 tour to support the reissue. The publicity photo for the tour, which would have played the album in its entirety along with other Dexys material, shows, from left to right, Read, Rowland, O'Hara, and Paterson. Rowland stated, "There is no way on earth I would be doing this tour or even promoting a normal 40th anniversary re-issue, if it wasn't for the opportunity to remix it and present it how it could have sounded. This is like a new album for me." The ''Too-Rye-Ay'' 40th anniversary tour was cancelled in March 2022 after Rowland was injured in a motorcycle accident and needed time to recover from this and other health issues. Although the tour would not move forward, the band promised material from the ''Too-Rye-Ay As It Could Have Sounded'' project would be performed the next time they tour.


''The Feminine Divine''

In December 2022, 100% Records announced via Twitter that they had signed Dexys and that the band's sixth studio album, '' The Feminine Divine'', was scheduled for release in 2023. The band lineup for ''The Feminine Divine'' is Rowland, Paterson, Sean Read and Michael Timothy. The album was preceded by the singles and videos "I'm Going To Get Free", "Coming Home" and "My Submission". The album received 4-star reviews in ''Uncut'' magazine, ''Record Collector'' and ''The Guardian'' amongst others, and entered the UK Official Albums Chart at number 6. The song "It's Alright Kevin (Manhood 2023)" is a re-recorded version of the song "Manhood" which was released before on the 2003 compilation album '' Let's Make This Precious: The Best of Dexys Midnight Runners'' and on the live album ''At The Royal Court 2003''. Dexys toured ''The Feminine Divine Live!'' across the UK and Ireland in September 2023. The show was divided into two halves with the first part featuring '' The Feminine Divine'' album performed in its entirety in the order the tracks appear on the album. The second half saw Dexys play many of the songs that appeared on the ''
Too-Rye-Ay ''Too-Rye-Ay'' is the second studio album by English pop band Dexys Midnight Runners. It was released in July 1982 by Mercury Records. The album is best known for the hit single " Come On Eileen", which included the refrain that inspired the a ...
'' album: "Soon", "Plan B", "I'll Show You", "All In All (This One Last Wild Waltz)", "Until I Believe In My Soul", "
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 reache ...
", "Jackie Wilson Said (I'm In Heaven When You Smile)". Other songs performed in the second part of the show were "Geno", "Free", and "Carrickfergus". The band line up for these live shows was Kevin Rowland (vocals), Mike Timothy (keyboards) Sean Read (keyboards, saxophone), Claudia Chopek (violin), Alistair Whyte (trombone) and Tim Weller (drums). Dexys toured Europe in October. On 30 July, the band announced its first 14-date US tour in 40 years, to take place in October and November 2023. The tour was cancelled at the start of October 2023. On 20 April 2024, Record Store Day UK, Dexys released a special vinyl release of the song "Dance With Me", remixed by Manchester art-pop band Dutch Uncles. On 22 March 2024 the band announced the release of 2CD/3LP live album ''The Feminine Devine + Dexys Classics: Live!'', featuring a full performance of ''The Feminine Divine'', as well as Dexys classics including "Come On Eileen", "Geno", "Jackie Wilson Said", "Plan B" and many more. It was released on 24 May, accompanied by the announcement of a series of UK festival shows, including an appearance at
Glastonbury Glastonbury ( , ) is a town and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated at a dry point on the low-lying Somerset Levels, south of Bristol. The town had a population of 8,932 in the 2011 census. Glastonbury is less than across the River ...
. The setlist for the 2024 Festival Tour featured songs from each of the band's albums. The shows opened with "To Love Somebody" from 2016's '' Let The Record Show'' and closed with "This Is What She's Like". ''Mojo'' reviewed the Glastonbury show positively, saying "A slimmed down Dexys win out thanks to a magnificent turn from their leader."


Awards

* 1983 Brit Awards – Best British single (for "
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 reache ...
")


Discography

* ''
Searching for the Young Soul Rebels ''Searching for the Young Soul Rebels'' is the debut studio album by English band Dexys Midnight Runners, released on 11 July 1980, through Parlophone and EMI Records. Led by Kevin Rowland, the band formed in 1978 in Birmingham, England, and for ...
'' (1980) * ''
Too-Rye-Ay ''Too-Rye-Ay'' is the second studio album by English pop band Dexys Midnight Runners. It was released in July 1982 by Mercury Records. The album is best known for the hit single " Come On Eileen", which included the refrain that inspired the a ...
'' (1982) * ''
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 ...
'' (1985) * '' One Day I'm Going to Soar'' (2012) * '' Let the Record Show: Dexys Do Irish and Country Soul'' (2016) * '' The Feminine Divine'' (2023)


References


External links

*
Pete Williams official website
* * * {{Authority control Musical groups established in 1978 English pop rock music groups English new wave musical groups Musical groups from Birmingham, West Midlands Brit Award winners Second British Invasion artists EMI Records artists Mercury Records artists