Beschreibung
Dexys Midnight Runners were one of the best groups to come out of the UK. Undervalued and overlooked by critics and modern historians, the band is only now being fully appreciated for its passion, commitment and soul and their contribution to music during the 1980s excess.
In the first truly comprehensive history of the band, Richard White has conducted in-depth, previously unpublished, interviews with former members on the experience of being a midnight runner. They stood out from the background of 80s synthesizers, pop and bogus glitz with their pride passion and infectious, melting-pot tunes. At the centre of it all was front man, Kevin Rowland, considered by many to be a maverick visionary with a passion for pop music culture and a genius for re-invention second to none, but he had an equally fierce streak for maintaining control and domination over Dexys at all costs.
In the first comprehensive and detailed account of the group's history, Richard White has conducted new in-depth interviews with former band members giving their verdict on what made being a Midnight Runner a unique experience.
While celebrating their achievements on record and on stage, this biography also uncovers aspects of Rowland's working methods in the studio and underlines the reality for those players who were dedicated to- yet ultimately frustrated by- the pursuit of Rowland's so-called 'new soul vision', and the subsequent fall-outs and break-ups that ensued.
It also exposes the complex forces and relationships within the group, and the realities of the strong gang ethic, image and philosophy which Rowland famously promoted, ultimately as challengingly and celebrated as the music itself.
The book attempts to shed new light on the Dexys legend, including the fractious period of writing and recording the classic song Come On Eileen the most divisive song they ever produced and one of the biggest selling singles in UK history, it parent album Too Rye Ay, and the commercial landslide of success. But this is also the story of some of the most inspiring and enduring music o9f the last 25 years, encompassing three timeless albums, a dozen singles, numerous explosive gigs, record company clashes and the repercussions of the revolving-door personnel policy that unfolded in dramatic, unforgettable fashion between 1978 and 1986, Rowland's return and the last Dexys reinvention, championed on a triumphant tour in 2003.
Hardback edition.