Skip to main content

Dexy's Midnight Runners

Dexys Midnight Runners were an English pop band with soul influences from Birmingham, who achieved major commercial success in the early to mid-1980s. They are best known in the UK for their songs "Come On Eileen" and "Geno", both of which peaked at No. 1 on the UK Singles Chart, as well as six other top-20 singles.

The original Dexys Midnight Runners were founded in 1978 in Birmingham, England by Kevin Rowland (vocals, guitar) and Kevin "Al" Archer (vocals, guitar). Both had been in the short-lived punk band the Killjoys. Rowland had previously written a Northern soul-style song that the two of them sang, "Tell Me When My Light Turns Green", which became the first Dexys "song".


The band's members were "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 John Jay (drums).

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".


After a series of dates opening for The Specials, who wore suits on stage, Rowland decided that his band needed its own distinct look. They borrowed heavily from  Robert De Niro's film "Mean Streets".

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.


Dexys' debut LP, 'Searching for the Young Soul Rebels', which featured "Geno", was released in July 1980. 

From this album came "There, There, My Dear" again written by Rowland (lyrics) and Archer (music).


After the album, Saunders was replaced by Mick Talbot (ex-The Merton Parkas and later of The Style Council) on keyboards.

After this the band fell on hard times and with lack of success five of the band members then quit, exacerbated by  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). From this emerged the second incarnation of Dexys Midnight Runners.

Rowland and Paterson 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 (tenor saxophone) and Steve Wynne (bass).

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 Helen 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.

This fractured line-up recorded 'Too-Rye-Ay' in early 1982 wit, 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.




Dexys' follow-up single, "Come On Eileen" (cowritten by Rowland and Paterson with Billy Adams), became a much-needed hit – a Number One hit in the UK.



The third UK single from the album, Van Morrison's "Jackie Wilson Said (I'm in Heaven When You Smile)", also reached the top 5 in the UK singles chart.



Labels:

Popular Posts

Patti Smith

Patti Smith was an American singer-songwriter, musician, author, and poet who became an influential component of the New York City punk rock movement with her 1975 debut album ' Horses '. Her most widely known song is " Because the Night ", which was co-written with Bruce Springsteen. It reached number 13 in America and number 5 in the U.K.
Read more

The Psychedelic Furs

 The Psychedelic Furs were a British new wave band founded in London in the mid to late 1970s, led by singer Richard Butler and his brother Tim Butler on bass guitar, the Psychedelic Furs are one of the many acts spawned from the British post-punk scene. Their music went through several phases, from an initially austere art rock sound, to later touching on new wave and elements of hard rock. Early tracks that I particularly liked included ' Sister Europe ' & ' India ' from their self-named debut album in 1979. The band had several hits in their early career. In 1986, filmmaker John Hughes used their song " Pretty in Pink " for his film of the same name. I saw them play at the Sports Centre in Crawley and then again later in Reading, whilst at Uni.
Read more

Puff Daddy

Sean Combs   also known by the stage names Puff Daddy, P. Diddy, Puffy, or Diddy , is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, record executive, entrepreneur, and actor. Combs was born in New York City but was raised in Mount Vernon, New York. He worked as a talent director at Uptown Records before founding his own record label, Bad Boy Entertainment, in 1993. Combs' debut album, ' No Way Out ' from 1997 was an instant success, followed by multiple successful albums and singles. Combs formed the musical group Dirty Money and  also produced and cultivated artists such as Mary J. Blige and The Notorious B.I.G. The Track ' I'll be Missing You ' featuring Faith Evans is about the death of The Notorious B.I.G. in a shooting incident, and samples heavily form The Police 's ' Every Breath I Take '.
Read more

JoBoxers

JoBoxers were a British new wave group formed in the early 1980s, when former Subway Sect members Rob Marche (guitarist), Dave Collard (keyboardist), Chris Bostock (bassist), and Sean McLusky (drummer), teamed up with England-based American singer Dig Wayne. The band's debut single, " Boxerbeat ", peaked at number three in the UK while the group were the opening act on the Madness 'Rise and Fall' tour. However, it was their next hit, " Just Got Lucky ", that broke the band internationally. This single  made the UK Top 10, and cracked the US Top 40, in 1983. The band split in 1985.
Read more

The Rolling Stones

The Rolling Stones  were an English rock band formed in London in the early 1960s.  THey were at odds wit hthe prevailing popular pop music of the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered a gritty, heavier-driven sound that came to define hard rock. The band's first stable line-up consisted of bandleader Brian Jones (guitar, harmonica, keyboards), Mick Jagger (lead vocals, harmonica), Keith Richards (guitar, vocals), Bill Wyman (bass guitar), Charlie Watts (drums), and Ian Stewart (piano), the last of whom was removed from the official line-up in 1963, but continued to work with the band as a contracted musician until his death in 1985.  Jones left the band less than a month before his death in 1969, having already been replaced by Mick Taylor, who in turn left in 1974 and was replaced in 1975 by Ronnie Wood, who has since remained.  To my mind there are only four great Stones tracks - three from the late 60s, early 70s period, these being ' Paint it Black ' 'Sympat...
Read more