Dexy’s Midnight Runners – Come On Eileen

Dexys Midnight Runners are best known in America as one of new wave’s ultimate one-hit wonders, thanks to their 1982 number one smash “Come on Eileen,” a distinctive fusion of ’80s pop, Celtic folk and blue-eyed soul. In the U.K., however, they earned a fair amount of critical acclaim and made a greater impression on the public consciousness with their frequent changes in sound, wardrobe, and personnel.

Dexys were formed in 1978 by singer/guitarist/songwriter Kevin Rowland and singer/guitarist Kevin “Al” Archer (who changed his first name to avoid confusion). Both had been members of the Birmingham, England, punk band the Killjoys, and Rowland, who was ethnically Irish, had split his childhood between London, Ireland, and Birmingham, and soaked up the influence of Irish folk and the so-called Northern soul music popular in the Midlands. Seeking a new direction, Rowland and Archer decided to put together a full-fledged soul outfit and named it after the stimulant Dexedrine, a popular drug on the Northern soul scene (despite the strict no-drinking-or-drugs policy Rowland later imposed on the band). The line-up eventually settled on trombonist Big Jim Paterson, tenor saxophonist Geoff Blythe, alto saxophonist Steve “Babyface” Spooner, keyboardist Mick Talbot (who replaced Pete Saunders, was once a member of the Merton Parkas and later joined the Style Council), bassist Pete Williams, and drummer Andy “Stoker” Growcott (who replaced Bobby Junior). Acutely image-conscious, Rowland tried to reflect the band’s working-class roots by dressing them as New York dockworkers, with a wardrobe lifted straight from the Martin Scorsese/Robert DeNiro film Mean Streets. The band struggled financially at first, especially given its large membership, and according to legend, Rowland organized (or at least encouraged) shoplifting expeditions to make ends meet.

Dexys didn’t take long to release their first single; “Dance Stance” (aka “Burn It Down”), an attack on anti-Irish discrimination, appeared on EMI in 1979, but only scraped the lower reaches of the charts. However, their next single, “Geno,” a tribute to American-born soul singer Geno Washington (who’d made his career in the U.K.), went all the way to the top of the British charts in early 1980. Dissatisfied with their share of the profits, the band stole the completed master tapes of their debut album, Searching for the Young Soul Rebels, and successfully reworked their deal. When the album was released later in 1980, it caused a sensation. With their bright, tuneful, horn-heavy take on Memphis soul (which predated Paul Weller’s similar transformation of the Jam), Dexys were hailed as British rock’s return to an organic, soulful sound in the post-punk/new wave era.

Read More:   http://www.allmusic.com/artist/dexys-midnight-runners-mn0000251361

Picture Source:   http://www.cracked.com/article_17423_12-bizarre-true-stories-behind-famous-band-names_p2.html