Kevin Rowland talks Dexys Midnight Runners before Birmingham gig
Few bands take as long between records as Dexys Midnight Runners. The gap between the third and fourth albums from the iconic Britsoul group was a staggering 27 years, writes Andy Richardson.
In between times, singer Kevin Rowland, who was born in Wednesfield, suffered a relapse into drugs, angered millions by wearing dresses, and slowly but surely disappeared from view.
The reformation of Dexys earlier this year – having dropped the Midnight Runners from their name – has been one of the musical highlights of 2012.
It's difficult to imagine a more popular reunion and on the festival circuit, they've dazzled crowds with songs from their new album, One Day I'm Going To Soar.
In quintessential Dexys style, the album is an exercise in perfectionism. It's also stylish packaged, with Rowland, 'Big' Jim Paterson, Pete Williams, Mick Talbot and new recruits Neil Hubbard and Tim Cansfield all looking more than the sum of their parts.
Rowland waited an inordinately long time to release One Day I'm Going To Soar for a very simple reason: he has high standards.
"I wanted to have material that I felt confident enough about. . . I've got high standards, and that's a blessing and a curse. The perfectionism hasn't gone, although these days I won't storm out of a room swearing and shouting at people."
Fashion has always been integral to Dexys, and remains so to this day. When I saw Rowland earlier this year, at Latitude Festival, he was dapper in a stylish Don Corleone-esque suit, as were the members of his band.
Rowland says: "The first Dexys look was a kind of on the waterfront, New York docker, carrying bangs, that was the idea. That was from the film, The Fugitive. I was 12 and I remember watching it. I thought it looked good, so I thought I'd keep it and use it when the time was right."
Dexys were always heading in the opposite direction to the pack. During the eighties, when the herd were wearing golden suits, Dexys dared to differ. And yet, surprisingly, there was a lukewarm reception to their third album, Don't Stand Me Down, which spelled the end of Rowland's band for so many years.
"It bothered me a lot," says Rowland. "It hurt me, because I thought it was a really good album. All I was doing was following my intuition, really."
He was just as shocked when people took umbridge when he released a solo album, The Wanderer, in 1999, and dressed up like a coquettish bride in a white dress.
"Some people were so freaked. But I believed in it, I've never done anything I didn't believe in."
Happily, the response to One Day I'm Going to Soar has been universally positive. Rowland adds: "We went for a performance and the way that we did it, my manager, everybody said it wouldn't work.
"They said we couldn't do it. We recorded it pretty much live. We slaved over it, this tempo, that tempo, I feel we got it right and we got a performance. I feel completely blessed. You know, I feel lucky."
Dexys play Birmingham's Symphony Hall on Wednesday and tickets are at www.thsh.co.uk
