Dexys Midnight Runners
Encyclopedia
Dexys Midnight Runners are a British pop group with soul
influences, who achieved their major success in the early to mid 1980s. They are best known for their songs "Come On Eileen
" and "Geno
", both of which went No. 1 on the UK Singles Chart
.
(vocals, guitar, at the time going under the pseudonym Carlo Rolan) and Kevin "Al" Archer
(vocals, guitar), both previously of The Killjoys
, founded the band in 1978 in Birmingham
, England, naming the band after Dexedrine, a brand of dextroamphetamine
popularly used as a recreational drug among Northern Soul
fans at the time. The "midnight runners" referred to the energy the Dexedrine gave, enabling one to dance all night. "Big" Jim Paterson (trombone), Geoff "JB" Blythe (saxophone, previously of Geno Washington
's Ram Jam Band
), Steve "Babyface" Spooner (alto saxophone), Pete Saunders (keyboard), Pete Williams (bass) and Bobby "Jnr" Ward (drums) formed the first line-up of the band to record a single, "Dance Stance" (1979).
The song was released on the independent Oddball Records, was named "single of the week" by Sounds
, and reached number 40 in the British charts, but the next single, "Geno
" – about Geno Washington
, and released on EMI
– was a British Number One in 1980. It featured the band's newest recruits, Andy Leek
(keyboards) and Andy "Stoker" Growcott (drums). At age 11, Rowland had been taken by his brother to see Washington perform live. The success of the song prompted Washington to make a return to live performance, and also saw the departure of Leek, who himself cited the "Top of the Pops
thing ... people wanting your autograph and that just because you are in the band" The band at this time dressed in donkey jackets or leather coats and woolly hats, and had a look described as "straight out of DeNiro's Mean Streets
". Rowland said of the band's sound and look in January 1980: "we didn't want to become part of anyone else's movement. We'd rather be our own movement". Image was very important to the group, with Rowland commenting "We wanted to be a group that looked like something...a formed group, a project, not just random".
, was released in July 1980. The album's sleeve featured a photograph of a Belfast
Catholic boy carrying his belongings after being forced from his home in the sectarian clearances of 1969
, the Irish-descended Rowland explaining "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". After the next single, "There, There, My Dear", was a hit, Rowland insisted on choosing the uncommercial "Keep It Part Two (Inferiority Part One)" for the following single. It was a failure, and most of the band members quit, angered over continual personality problems with Rowland, including Rowland's policy of not speaking to the music press (Rowland imposed a press embargo in July 1980, and would instead take out ads in the music papers explaining the band's position). This was a response to some less than complimentary opinions from some music press writers; The NME'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".
Archer eventually formed The Blue Ox Babes
, while Blythe, Spooner, Williams, Stoker and Mick Talbot
(ex-The Merton Parkas
, who had recently joined on keyboards) left to form The Bureau
. Paterson stayed with Rowland, who added Billy Adams (guitar/banjo), Seb Shelton
(drums, formerly of Secret Affair
), Micky Billingham (keyboard), Brian Maurice (alto saxophone), Paul Speare
(tenor saxophone) and Steve Wynne (bass), releasing a handful of singles in 1980 and 1981, and adopting a new look that included hooded tops, boxing
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
before shows was strictly forbidden.
By the time "Plan B" was released, the band were in dispute with EMI
, claiming that as their contract option had not been picked up by the company, they were no longer under contract, and they asked, without success, that EMI not release the single. 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". "Show Me" was released in summer 1981 and reached No. 16 in the UK. It 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. "Liars A to E" was released in October 1981, after which Rowland took the band in a new direction.
(from Archer's new group, The Blue Ox Babes
), Steve Brennan and Roger MacDuff, known collectively as "The Emerald Express". With the addition of new bass player, Giorgio Kilkenny, this line-up recorded Too-Rye-Ay
in 1982, a hybrid of soul and Celtic folk, the new sound accompanied by a 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, rural Irish and Steinbeck
Okie
". Rowland 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 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," was mildly successful but the follow-up, "Come On Eileen
," became a Number One hit not only in the UK, but also in the United States, where it became the biggest-selling single of 1982. Sales in the UK alone amounted to over 1.2 million copies.
The follow-up "Jackie Wilson Said (I'm in Heaven When You Smile)
", a cover of a Van Morrison
tune, 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
, the Scottish darts player.
Feeling that their role in the group had diminished following the arrival of the fiddles, the brass section of Paterson, Speare and Maurice left to form The TKO Horns
and recorded an album in 1985 with Howard Jones
, while Kilkenny was replaced by John "Rhino" Edwards on bass and Billingham left to join General Public
. The group continued to tour until 1983 with a nucleus of Rowland, Adams, O'Hara and Shelton augmented by other musicians.
, featuring Rowland, Adams, O'Hara and Nicky Gatfield together with various seasoned performers including Vincent Crane
(ex-Atomic Rooster
), Julian Littman and Tim Dancy (who had been Al Green
's drummer). In an interview with HitQuarters
Gatfield later described the recording process as "very long and painful".
The new album brought another new look, with the band pictured on the sleeve wearing ties, pin-striped suits, and with neatly combed hair, what Rowland described as "so clean and simple; it's a much more adult approach now".
Some reviewers were highly critical, yet writing in the Melody Maker
, 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, and 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. The group disbanded the following year after a brief return to the charts with the single "Because Of You" (which was used as the theme tune to a British sitcom
, Brush Strokes
).
, releasing an album of interpretations of "classic" songs called My Beauty
in 1999, which received virtually no radio airplay and sold poorly. The demise of Creation Records, shortly after the album's release, meant that the planned follow-up album, which would have featured Dexys, was never made. In March 2010 Rowland said that signing to Creation was "definitely a mistake".
During a June 2005 interview on BBC Radio 2
, 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."
Soul music
Soul music is a music genre originating in the United States combining elements of gospel music and rhythm and blues. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of...
influences, who achieved their major success in the early to mid 1980s. They are best known for their songs "Come On Eileen
Come on Eileen
"Come On Eileen" was a single released by Dexys Midnight Runners in 1982. The song was written by Kevin Rowland, "Big" Jim Paterson, and Billy Adams; it was produced by Clive Langer and Alan Winstanley. It also appeared on the album Too-Rye-Ay...
" and "Geno
Geno (song)
"Geno" is a song by Dexys Midnight Runners which reached #1 on the UK singles chart for two weeks in May 1980. Written by Kevin 'Al' Archer and Kevin Rowland, it was band's second single and their first number one...
", both of which went No. 1 on the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
.
1978–1980: Foundation and first singles
Kevin RowlandKevin Rowland
Kevin Rowland is an English singer-songwriter and former frontman for the pop band Dexys Midnight Runners, which had several hits in the early 1980s, the most notable being "Geno" and "Come On Eileen".-Career:...
(vocals, guitar, at the time going under the pseudonym Carlo Rolan) and Kevin "Al" Archer
Al Archer
Kevin "Al" Archer is an English guitarist and songwriter. He played with Kevin Rowland in the punk rock group The Killjoys, and in 1978 Rowland and Archer formed Dexys Midnight Runners, and co-wrote some of the songs on the group's debut album Searching for the Young Soul Rebels...
(vocals, guitar), both previously of The Killjoys
The Killjoys (UK band)
The Killjoys were a punk rock/new wave band from Birmingham, England, formed in 1976, with members including Kevin Rowland and Kevin "Al" Archer, who would later form Dexys Midnight Runners, and Ghislaine 'Gil' Weston who would later join Girlschool...
, founded the band in 1978 in Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
, England, naming the band after Dexedrine, a brand of dextroamphetamine
Dextroamphetamine
Dextroamphetamine is a psychostimulant drug which is known to produce increased wakefulness and focus as well as decreased fatigue and decreased appetite....
popularly used as a recreational drug among Northern Soul
Northern soul
Northern soul is a music and dance movement that emerged from the British mod scene, initially in northern England in the late 1960s. Northern soul mainly consists of a particular style of black American soul music based on the heavy beat and fast tempo of the mid-1960s Tamla Motown sound...
fans at the time. The "midnight runners" referred to the energy the Dexedrine gave, enabling one to dance all night. "Big" Jim Paterson (trombone), Geoff "JB" Blythe (saxophone, previously of Geno Washington
Geno Washington
Geno Washington 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.-Early to late 1960s:...
's Ram Jam Band
Geno Washington & The Ram Jam Band
Geno Washington & the Ram Jam Band were an English based soul band, active from 1965 to 1968.-Career:The Ram Jam Band were formed around 1964 and evolved out of a group called Les Blues who were formed to rival an English group with a Black American singer called Milton And The Continentals...
), Steve "Babyface" Spooner (alto saxophone), Pete Saunders (keyboard), Pete Williams (bass) and Bobby "Jnr" Ward (drums) formed the first line-up of the band to record a single, "Dance Stance" (1979).
The song was released on the independent Oddball Records, was named "single of the week" by Sounds
Sounds (magazine)
Sounds was a long-term British music paper, published weekly from 10 October 1970 – 6 April 1991. It was produced by Spotlight Publications , which was set up by Jack Hutton and Peter Wilkinson, who left "Melody Maker" to start their own company...
, and reached number 40 in the British charts, but the next single, "Geno
Geno (song)
"Geno" is a song by Dexys Midnight Runners which reached #1 on the UK singles chart for two weeks in May 1980. Written by Kevin 'Al' Archer and Kevin Rowland, it was band's second single and their first number one...
" – about Geno Washington
Geno Washington
Geno Washington 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.-Early to late 1960s:...
, and released on EMI
EMI Records
EMI Records is the flagship record label founded by the EMI company in 1972 and launched in January 1973 as the successor to its Columbia label. The EMI label was launched worldwide...
– was a British Number One in 1980. It featured the band's newest recruits, Andy Leek
Andy Leek
Andy Leek is an English musician, noted for his work with Dexys Midnight Runners.-Biography:Andy began his musical career while still at school fronting progressive punk band The Wailing Cocks...
(keyboards) and Andy "Stoker" Growcott (drums). At age 11, Rowland had been taken by his brother to see Washington perform live. The success of the song prompted Washington to make a return to live performance, and also saw the departure of Leek, who himself cited the "Top of the Pops
Top of the Pops
Top of the Pops, also known as TOTP, is a British music chart television programme, made by the BBC and originally broadcast weekly from 1 January 1964 to 30 July 2006. After 25 December 2006 it became a radio program, now hosted by Tony Blackburn...
thing ... people wanting your autograph and that just because you are in the band" The band at this time dressed in donkey jackets or leather coats and woolly hats, and had a look described as "straight out of DeNiro's Mean Streets
Mean Streets
Mean Streets is a 1973 drama film directed by Martin Scorsese and written by Scorsese and Mardik Martin. The film stars Harvey Keitel and Robert De Niro. It was released by Warner Bros. on October 2, 1973...
". Rowland said of the band's sound and look in January 1980: "we didn't want to become part of anyone else's movement. We'd rather be our own movement". Image was very important to the group, with Rowland commenting "We wanted to be a group that looked like something...a formed group, a project, not just random".
1980–1982: Searching for the Young Soul Rebels
The band's debut LP, Searching for the Young Soul RebelsSearching for the Young Soul Rebels
Searching for the Young Soul Rebels is the first album by Dexys Midnight Runners, released in July 1980 .The album was ranked 98th in a 2005 survey held by British television's Channel 4 to determine the 100 greatest albums of all time...
, was released in July 1980. The album's sleeve featured a photograph of a Belfast
Belfast
Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...
Catholic boy carrying his belongings after being forced from his home in the sectarian clearances of 1969
1969 Northern Ireland Riots
During 12–17 August 1969, Northern Ireland was rocked by intense political and sectarian rioting. There had been sporadic violence throughout the year arising from the civil rights campaign, which was demanding an end to government discrimination against Irish Catholics and nationalists...
, the Irish-descended Rowland explaining "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". After the next single, "There, There, My Dear", was a hit, Rowland insisted on choosing the uncommercial "Keep It Part Two (Inferiority Part One)" for the following single. It was a failure, and most of the band members quit, angered over continual personality problems with Rowland, including Rowland's policy of not speaking to the music press (Rowland imposed a press embargo in July 1980, and would instead take out ads in the music papers explaining the band's position). This was a response to some less than complimentary opinions from some music press writers; The NME's
NME
The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...
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".
Archer eventually formed The Blue Ox Babes
The Blue Ox Babes
The Blue Ox Babes were an English pop group, formed in early 1981 by the former Dexys Midnight Runners guitarist Kevin 'Al' Archer, together with his girlfriend Yasmin Saleh, and former Dexys keyboard player Andy Leek. Archer was keen to mix the soul sounds of his previous group with folk styles...
, while Blythe, Spooner, Williams, Stoker and Mick Talbot
Mick Talbot
Michael 'Mick' Talbot is a British keyboardist. He played with the late 1970s mod revivalists The Merton Parkas; Dexys Midnight Runners; The Bureau, and later with Paul Weller in The Style Council....
(ex-The Merton Parkas
The Merton Parkas
The Merton Parkas were a mod revival band, formed in the Merton area of South London in the mid 1970s, by Danny Talbot , his brother, Mick Talbot , Neil Hurrell and Simon Smith ....
, who had recently joined on keyboards) left to form The Bureau
The Bureau
The Bureau were a New Wave soul group formed in late 1980 in Birmingham, England, when the original lineup of Dexys Midnight Runners split-up....
. Paterson stayed with Rowland, who added Billy Adams (guitar/banjo), Seb Shelton
Seb Shelton
Seb Shelton is a British musician who was a drummer for the bands The Young Bucks , Secret Affair , and Dexys Midnight Runners...
(drums, formerly of Secret Affair
Secret Affair
Secret Affair were a mod revival band, formed in 1978 and disbanded in 1982. They reformed to perform and record in the 2000s.-Career:In a period of a little over two years, Secret Affair posted five releases in the UK Singles Chart and released three albums...
), Micky Billingham (keyboard), Brian Maurice (alto saxophone), Paul Speare
Paul Speare
Paul George Speare is a former member of Dexys Midnight Runners, The TKO Horns and The Expresso Bongo Orchestra.He was born to Reginald and Julia Speare, in Romford, Essex. He attended Dagenham County High School where he started playing drums, piano and viola when he was 15 years of age. At 16...
(tenor saxophone) and Steve Wynne (bass), releasing a handful of singles in 1980 and 1981, and adopting a new look that included hooded tops, boxing
Boxing
Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
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
Alcoholic beverage
An alcoholic beverage is a drink containing ethanol, commonly known as alcohol. Alcoholic beverages are divided into three general classes: beers, wines, and spirits. They are legally consumed in most countries, and over 100 countries have laws regulating their production, sale, and consumption...
before shows was strictly forbidden.
By the time "Plan B" was released, the band were in dispute with EMI
EMI
The EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...
, claiming that as their contract option had not been picked up by the company, they were no longer under contract, and they asked, without success, that EMI not release the single. 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". "Show Me" was released in summer 1981 and reached No. 16 in the UK. It was followed by a session for Richard Skinner
Richard Skinner
Richard Skinner was an American politician, attorney, and jurist from the US state of Vermont.Skinner was born in Litchfield, Connecticut. He completed preparatory studies and graduated from Litchfield Law School, and was admitted to the bar in 1800, beginning a practice in Manchester, Vermont...
's BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation which also broadcasts internationally, specialising in current popular music and chart hits throughout the day. Radio 1 provides alternative genres after 7:00pm including electronic dance, hip hop, rock...
show in which the band previewed tracks that would be reworked later on Too-Rye-Ay. "Liars A to E" was released in October 1981, after which Rowland took the band in a new direction.
1982–1985: Too-Rye-Ay
Rowland then recruited fiddle players Helen O'HaraHelen O'Hara
Helen O'Hara is a British musician, formerly a member of the band Dexys Midnight Runners between 1982 and 1987, including performing on songs such as "Come on Eileen" from the Too-Rye-Ay album....
(from Archer's new group, The Blue Ox Babes
The Blue Ox Babes
The Blue Ox Babes were an English pop group, formed in early 1981 by the former Dexys Midnight Runners guitarist Kevin 'Al' Archer, together with his girlfriend Yasmin Saleh, and former Dexys keyboard player Andy Leek. Archer was keen to mix the soul sounds of his previous group with folk styles...
), Steve Brennan and Roger MacDuff, known collectively as "The Emerald Express". With the addition of new bass player, Giorgio Kilkenny, this line-up recorded Too-Rye-Ay
Too-Rye-Ay
Too-Rye-Ay is the second album by Dexys Midnight Runners, released in August 1982 . The album is best known for the hit single "Come On Eileen".-Track listing:#"The Celtic Soul Brothers" – 3:08...
in 1982, a hybrid of soul and Celtic folk, the new sound accompanied by a new look, with the band attired in dungarees
Overall
An overall, coverall, over all, or dungarees, is a type of garment which is usually used as protective clothing when working...
, scarves, leather waistcoats, and what was described as "a generally scruffy right-off-the-farm look", or "a raggle-taggle mixture of gypsy, rural Irish and Steinbeck
John Steinbeck
John Ernst Steinbeck, Jr. was an American writer. He is widely known for the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel The Grapes of Wrath and East of Eden and the novella Of Mice and Men...
Okie
Okie
Okie is a term dating from as early as 1907, originally denoting a resident or native of Oklahoma. It is derived from the name of the state, similar to Texan or Tex for someone from Texas, or Arkie or Arkansawyer for a native of Arkansas....
". Rowland 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 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," was mildly successful but the follow-up, "Come On Eileen
Come on Eileen
"Come On Eileen" was a single released by Dexys Midnight Runners in 1982. The song was written by Kevin Rowland, "Big" Jim Paterson, and Billy Adams; it was produced by Clive Langer and Alan Winstanley. It also appeared on the album Too-Rye-Ay...
," became a Number One hit not only in the UK, but also in the United States, where it became the biggest-selling single of 1982. Sales in the UK alone amounted to over 1.2 million copies.
The follow-up "Jackie Wilson Said (I'm in Heaven When You Smile)
Jackie Wilson Said (I'm in Heaven When You Smile)
"Jackie Wilson Said " 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...
", a cover of a Van Morrison
Van Morrison
Van Morrison, OBE is a Northern Irish singer-songwriter and musician. His live performances at their best are regarded as transcendental and inspired; while some of his recordings, such as the studio albums Astral Weeks and Moondance, and the live album It's Too Late to Stop Now, are widely...
tune, also reached the top 5 in the UK singles chart. The band sang this song on the UK comedy The Young Ones
The Young Ones (TV series)
The Young Ones is a British sitcom, first broadcast in 1982, which ran for two series on BBC2. Its anarchic, offbeat humour helped bring alternative comedy to television in the 1980s and made household names of its writers and performers...
. When the band performed this single on the BBC TV music show Top of the Pops, instead of a picture of Jackie Wilson
Jackie Wilson
Jack Leroy "Jackie" Wilson, Jr. was an American singer and performer. Known as "Mr. Excitement", Wilson was important in the transition of rhythm and blues into soul. He was known as a master showman, and as one of the most dynamic singers and performers in R&B and rock history...
, the American soul singer, the band performed in front of a photo of Jocky Wilson
Jocky Wilson
John Thomas Wilson known as "Jocky" Wilson, is a former Scottish darts champion. He retired from the game in 1995.Wilson was twice World professional Darts Champion in 1982 and 1989...
, the Scottish darts player.
Feeling that their role in the group had diminished following the arrival of the fiddles, the brass section of Paterson, Speare and Maurice left to form The TKO Horns
The TKO Horns
The TKO Horns were horn section formed in 1982 when Big Jim Paterson , Paul Speare and Brian Maurice left Dexys Midnight Runners. After a brief spell touring with Paul Young's Q Tips they began performing on a regular basis with Elvis Costello...
and recorded an album in 1985 with Howard Jones
Howard Jones (musician)
Howard Jones is a musician, singer and songwriter. According to the Guinness Book of British Hit Singles & Albums, "Jones is an accomplished singer-songwriter who was a regular chart visitor in the mid 1980s with his brand of synthpop. Jones, who was equally popular in the U.S., appeared at Live...
, while Kilkenny was replaced by John "Rhino" Edwards on bass and Billingham left to join General Public
General Public
General Public were a band formed by The Beat vocalists, Dave Wakeling and Ranking Roger, and which included former members of Dexy's Midnight Runners, The Specials and The Clash...
. The group continued to tour until 1983 with a nucleus of Rowland, Adams, O'Hara and Shelton augmented by other musicians.
1985–1986: Don't Stand Me Down and break up
After a two-year break, Dexys returned in 1985 with the album, Don't Stand Me DownDon't Stand Me Down
Don't Stand Me Down is the third studio album by Dexys Midnight Runners, released in September 1985 .-Recording:In an interview with HitQuarters saxophonist Nick Gatfield described the recording as a "long drawn out painful process"...
, featuring Rowland, Adams, O'Hara and Nicky Gatfield together with various seasoned performers including Vincent Crane
Vincent Crane
Vincent Crane was a self-taught pianist, who studied theory and composition at Trinity College of Music, and graduated in 1964...
(ex-Atomic Rooster
Atomic Rooster
Atomic Rooster were an English progressive rock band, composed of former members of the The Crazy World of Arthur Brown. Throughout their history, keyboardist Vincent Crane was the only constant member, and wrote the majority of their material. Their history is defined by two periods, in the early...
), Julian Littman and Tim Dancy (who had been Al Green
Al Green
Albert Greene , better known as Al Green, is an American gospel and soul music singer. He reached the peak of his popularity in the 1970s, with hit singles such as "You Oughta Be With Me", "I'm Still In Love With You", "Love and Happiness", and "Let's Stay Together"...
's drummer). In an interview with HitQuarters
HitQuarters
HitQuarters is an international music industry publication and contact database founded in 1999. It is noted for in-depth interviews with industry figures, with past subjects including Simon Cowell, Martin Kierszenbaum, Jason Flom, Diane Warren, Peter Edge, Ron Fair and RedOne, as well as its A&R...
Gatfield later described the recording process as "very long and painful".
The new album brought another new look, with the band pictured on the sleeve wearing ties, pin-striped suits, and with neatly combed hair, what Rowland described as "so clean and simple; it's a much more adult approach now".
Some reviewers were highly critical, yet writing in the Melody Maker
Melody Maker
Melody Maker, published in the United Kingdom, was, according to its publisher IPC Media, the world's oldest weekly music newspaper. It was founded in 1926 as a magazine targeted at musicians; in 2000 it was merged into "long-standing rival" New Musical Express.-1950s–1960s:Originally the Melody...
, 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, and 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. The group disbanded the following year after a brief return to the charts with the single "Because Of You" (which was used as the theme tune to a British sitcom
British sitcom
A British sitcom tends, as it does in most other countries, to be based on a family, workplace or other institution, where the same group of contrasting characters is brought together in each episode. Unlike American sitcoms, where twenty or more episodes in a season is the norm, British sitcoms...
, Brush Strokes
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 amorous adventures of a good-looking, wisecracking house painter, Jacko...
).
1986–2003: Rowland solo and failed reunions
Rowland became a solo singer with the release of 1988's poorly-received album, The Wanderer. Despite spending much of the 1990s suffering from financial problems and drug addiction, Rowland made plans to reform Dexys together with Big Jim Paterson, although these resulted in no more than a solitary TV performance in 1993. Returning once more as a solo performer, Rowland signed to Creation RecordsCreation Records
Creation Records was a British independent record label headed by Alan McGee. Along with Dick Green and Joe Foster, McGee founded Creation in 1983. The label lasted until its demise in 1999. The name came from the 1960s band The Creation , whom McGee greatly admired. McGee, Green and Foster were...
, releasing an album of interpretations of "classic" songs called My Beauty
My Beauty
My Beauty is a solo album by Kevin Rowland, lead singer of Dexys Midnight Runners. It was released in 1999, 11 years after his solo debut The Wanderer. In the interim he had experienced problems with drug addiction. My Beauty is an album of cover songs, although Rowland rewrote several of the...
in 1999, which received virtually no radio airplay and sold poorly. The demise of Creation Records, shortly after the album's release, meant that the planned follow-up album, which would have featured Dexys, was never made. In March 2010 Rowland said that signing to Creation was "definitely a mistake".
2003 reunion
In April 2003, a new incarnation of the group announced that they would be embarking on a tour. A greatest hits album, Let's Make This Precious, was released in September 2003, and a successful tour took place in October and November. Two newly recorded songs, "Manhood" and "My Life in England," appeared on the album and were touted as new singles. Despite airplay on national radio, neither was officially released as a commercial single.During a June 2005 interview on BBC Radio 2
BBC Radio 2
BBC Radio 2 is one of the BBC's national radio stations and the most popular station in the United Kingdom. Much of its daytime playlist-based programming is best described as Adult Contemporary or AOR, although the station is also noted for its specialist broadcasting of other musical genres...
, 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."
Studio albums
| Year | Album details | Peak chart positions | Certifications (sales threshold) |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK UK Albums Chart The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart... |
NZ |
SWE Sverigetopplistan Sverigetopplistan, earlier known as Topplistan and Hitlistan and other names, is since October 2007 the Swedish national record chart, based on sales data from Swedish Recording Industry Association .... |
NOR VG-lista VG-listen is a Norwegian record chart. It is weekly presented in the newspaper VG and the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation program Topp 20. It is considered the primary Norwegian record chart, charting albums and singles from countries and continent around the world. The data is collected by... |
US Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists... |
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| 1980 | Searching for the Young Soul Rebels Searching for the Young Soul Rebels Searching for the Young Soul Rebels is the first album by Dexys Midnight Runners, released in July 1980 .The album was ranked 98th in a 2005 survey held by British television's Channel 4 to determine the 100 greatest albums of all time...
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6 | 11 | 31 | — | — |
British Phonographic Industry The British Phonographic Industry is the British record industry's trade association.-Structure:Its membership comprises hundreds of music companies including all four "major" record companies , associate members such as manufacturers and distributors, and hundreds of independent music companies... : Silver |
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| 1982 | Too-Rye-Ay Too-Rye-Ay Too-Rye-Ay is the second album by Dexys Midnight Runners, released in August 1982 . The album is best known for the hit single "Come On Eileen".-Track listing:#"The Celtic Soul Brothers" – 3:08...
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2 | 2 | 22 | 22 | 14 |
Cria A cria is the name for a baby camelid such as a llama, alpaca, vicuña, or guanaco. It comes from the Spanish word cría, meaning "baby". Its false cognate in English, crya , was coined by British sailors who explored Chile in the 18th century and were quick to describe the camelids onomatopoeically... : Gold |
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| 1985 | Don't Stand Me Down Don't Stand Me Down Don't Stand Me Down is the third studio album by Dexys Midnight Runners, released in September 1985 .-Recording:In an interview with HitQuarters saxophonist Nick Gatfield described the recording as a "long drawn out painful process"...
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22 | — | — | — | — | |||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart | |||||||||
Singles
| Year | Single | Peak chart positions | Album | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ... |
AUS ARIA Charts The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June... |
US Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday... |
US AC Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks The Adult Contemporary chart is a weekly chart published in Billboard magazine that lists the most popular songs on adult contemporary and "lite-pop" radio stations in the United States... |
US Main | |||||
| 1979 | "Dance Stance Dance Stance "Dance Stance" is the first single by Dexys Midnight Runners. It reached #40 on the UK Singles Chart in early 1980.The song references a range of Irish playwrights and writers including Oscar Wilde, Brendan Behan, Sean O’Casey, George Bernard Shaw, Samuel Beckett, Edna O’Brien and Laurence... " |
40 | — | — | — | — | Non-album song | ||
| 1980 | "Geno Geno (song) "Geno" is a song by Dexys Midnight Runners which reached #1 on the UK singles chart for two weeks in May 1980. Written by Kevin 'Al' Archer and Kevin Rowland, it was band's second single and their first number one... " UK British Phonographic Industry The British Phonographic Industry is the British record industry's trade association.-Structure:Its membership comprises hundreds of music companies including all four "major" record companies , associate members such as manufacturers and distributors, and hundreds of independent music companies... : Silver |
1 | — | — | — | — | Searching for the Young Soul Rebels | ||
| "There, There, My Dear" | 7 | — | — | — | — | ||||
| "Keep It Part Two (Inferiority Part One)" | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
| 1981 | "Plan B" | 58 | — | — | — | — | Too-Rye-Ay | ||
| "Show Me Show Me -Music:* "Show Me" , a 2011 dance song by Jessica Sutta* "Show Me" , a 2003 song by Moya Brennan* Show Me , a 1987 album by Canadian rock band 54-40* "Show Me" , a 2007 R&B song... " |
16 | — | — | — | — | ||||
| "Liars A to E" | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
| 1982 | "The Celtic Soul Brothers" | 45 | — | — | — | — | |||
| "Come On Eileen Come on Eileen "Come On Eileen" was a single released by Dexys Midnight Runners in 1982. The song was written by Kevin Rowland, "Big" Jim Paterson, and Billy Adams; it was produced by Clive Langer and Alan Winstanley. It also appeared on the album Too-Rye-Ay... " UK British Phonographic Industry The British Phonographic Industry is the British record industry's trade association.-Structure:Its membership comprises hundreds of music companies including all four "major" record companies , associate members such as manufacturers and distributors, and hundreds of independent music companies... : Platinum |
1 | 1 | 1 | 31 | 6 | ||||
| "Jackie Wilson Said (I'm in Heaven When You Smile) Jackie Wilson Said (I'm in Heaven When You Smile) "Jackie Wilson Said " 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... " |
5 | — | — | — | — | ||||
| "Let's Get This Straight (From the Start)" | 17 | — | — | — | — | ||||
| 1983 | "Geno" (re-release) | — | — | — | — | — | Geno | ||
| "The Celtic Soul Brothers" (re-release) | 20 | — | 86 | — | — | Too-Rye-Ay | |||
| 1985 | "This Is What She's Like" | 78 | — | — | — | — | Don't Stand Me Down | ||
| 1986 | "Because of You" | 13 | — | — | — | — | The Very Best of... | ||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart | |||||||||
Compilation albums
- GenoGeno (Dexys Midnight Runners album)Geno is a compilation album of singles and b-sides by Dexys Midnight Runners, released in March 1983. The album contains songs released between 1979 and 1981...
(1983) UKUK Albums ChartThe UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart...
# 79 - The Very Best of Dexys Midnight RunnersThe Very Best of Dexys Midnight RunnersThe Very Best of Dexys Midnight Runners is a best of compilation album by Dexys Midnight Runners.-Track listing:# Come On Eileen# Jackie Wilson Said # Let's Get This Straight...
(1991) UK # 12 UKBritish Phonographic IndustryThe British Phonographic Industry is the British record industry's trade association.-Structure:Its membership comprises hundreds of music companies including all four "major" record companies , associate members such as manufacturers and distributors, and hundreds of independent music companies...
: Silver - Because of You (1993)
- 1980–1982: The Radio One Sessions (1995)
- BBC Radio One Live in ConcertBBC Radio One Live in Concert (Dexys Midnight Runners album)BBC Radio One Live in Concert was a live album by Dexys Midnight Runners, recorded for the BBC in 1982 and released in 1995. It was the group's first official live album and remained their only official live album until the release of The Projected Passion Revue in 2007...
(1995) - It Was Like This (1996)
- Master Series (1996)
- Let's Make This Precious: The Best of Dexys Midnight Runners (2003) UK #75
- The Projected Passion RevueThe Projected Passion RevueThe Projected Passion Revue is a compilation album by the group Dexys Midnight Runners, comprising recordings made in 1981, between the group's first album Searching for the Young Soul Rebels and its second, Too-Rye-Ay...
(2007)
External links
- Dexys Midnight Runners fansite
- Extensive interview, March 2010, Kevin Rowland discussing Dexys Midnight Runners
- A BBC audio interview with Kevin Rowland – recorded on 1 October 2003 (This is a RealAudioRealAudioRealAudio is a proprietary audio format developed by RealNetworks and first released in April 1995. It uses a variety of audio codecs, ranging from low-bitrate formats that can be used over dialup modems, to high-fidelity formats for music. It can also be used as a streaming audio format, that is...
file, you will need a compatible media player to play this file)