Tuesday, April 8, 2008

DEXYS MIDNIGHT RUNNERS PRT.1


Dexys were formed in 1978 from the ashes of Birmingham punk band The Killjoys. Combining elements of Northern Soul with punk energy and attitude. Dexys produced one of the greatest debut albums and were one of the best groups to emerge from the post punk aftermath.
Kevin Rowland and Kevin “Al” Archer put the band together, naming it after Dexedrine, an amphetamine that was popular with Northern Soul fans at all-nighters’.

An exceptional band led by an exceptional character in Kevin Rowland who would be responsible for lyrics as Archer put together most of the music.
Their first release was “Dance Stance”, in 1979. The single would reach number 40 in the British charts not a bad debut. However, it would be with the next single “Geno” that they would make their mark. A tribute to soul legend Geno Washington it would go to number one in 1980.
As is the case with many up and coming bands, they had been too quick in signing their contract with EMI. They felt their share of profits should be greater, so would try to pressure EMI into a re-negotiation by stealing the master tapes of their debut album, “Searching for the Young Soul Rebels.” The record was eventually released in late 1980 and was a huge success. The next single, “There, There My Dear”, would maintain their run of successful singles. At this point the pressure would begin to tell on Rowland, nearing a breakdown he decided to release “Keep it, Part Two,” an unpopular choice with the other band members but, a song that Rowland cared for greatly, as he poured out his inner turmoil in the lyrics. The public did not take to the song and it flopped. Kevin lost confidence in his ability as he realized that he was out of sync with what the public wanted to hear. Rowland’s moods and stubbornness proved to be too much for the rest of the group. It would lead to the first of many personnel changes that Dexys’ would go through over the course of their existence.

A new Dexys line-up exuberantly announced its arrival with the classic singles ‘Plan B’ and ‘Show Me’. But it really took hold in November1981, when the (flop) single ‘Liars A To E’ signified a bold turn away from brass to strings, and when Kevin Rowland brought this new-look Dexys Midnight Runners to the Old Vic Theatre in London’s Waterloo for three nights of what he called the Projected Passion Revue.
Rooted in the punk ethos of questioning all convention the Projected Passion Revue represented a complete rejection of all that had become a Rock ’n’ Roll ritual. By seating his musicians around him like a double quartet, by mixing up brass and strings while mostly eschewing rock band Harmonix-Profile instrumentation, by dressing the group in uniforms of track suits, by having that group bring pre-rehearsed actions and words and movements to a theatrical venue, and most of all, by singing his heart out to the extent you thought it might burst in front of you, Kevin Rowland showed that there was a different way to present live music than those methods which were tried and tested, and had grown stale.

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