Dexys

Dexys arrived at their theatrical and shape-shifting sonic identity without contrivance, emerging as a reconfigured edition of Kevin Rowland’s groundbreaking 1980s outfit Dexys Midnight Runners. From the moment they unveiled their first full-length statement, One Day I'm Going to Soar, in 2012, the band wove together threads of soul, Irish folk, new wave, and expansive rock, then draped the mixture in Rowland’s unmistakable delivery and unflinching songwriting. Their interpretive gifts surfaced clearly on the 2016 collection Let the Record Show: Dexys Do Irish and Country Soul, where classic Irish material and pop standards received fresh treatment. Rowland’s evolving reflections on gender, intimacy, and desire drove the 2023 album The Feminine Divine, which folded funk and R&B textures into the group’s existing palette.

The original Dexys Midnight Runners proved equally restless and single-minded, tracing every curve of Rowland’s restless yet disciplined vision. Personnel and stylistic direction changed often, moving from the brass-driven soul resurgence of Searching for the Young Soul Rebels in 1980 through the Celtic-tinged pop of Too-Rye-Ay two years later and its chart-topping single “Come On Eileen.” Reduced to a three-piece for 1985’s Don’t Stand Me Down, the band issued an idiosyncratic pop statement that puzzled listeners upon release yet later acquired classic status. Rowland stepped away for solo work, issuing the characteristically singular The Wanderer in 1998 and following it with the Creation-issued covers album My Beauty the next year.

A refreshed Dexys Midnight Runners configuration began performing again and placed two tracks, “Manhood” and “My Life in England,” on the compilation Let’s Make This Precious. The lineup featured former members Mick Talbot and Pete Williams alongside violist Lucy Morgan. Album sessions proceeded in fits and starts until 2011, when the musicians—now operating simply as Dexys—returned to the studio and finished One Day I'm Going to Soar. Veteran “Big” Jim Paterson came back aboard, and Rowland welcomed vocalist Madeleine Hyland. The resulting record displayed undimmed vocal power and lyrical acuity, earning strong critical notices and marking a decisive return. Extensive touring followed, accompanied by further lineup shifts that removed Talbot, Paterson, Hyland, Williams, and co-vocalist Sean Read. The next recording, Let the Record Show: Dexys Do Irish and Country Soul, appeared on Rhino in June 2016 and presented distinctive readings of Irish staples such as “Women of Ireland” and “Carrickfergus” alongside Joni Mitchell’s “Both Sides Now” and Whitney Houston’s “The Greatest Love of All,” all rendered with equal conviction.

Rowland later oversaw a reissue of My Beauty and passed considerable time in Thailand. Experiences there broadened his perspectives on love, sexuality, and masculinity, prompting a set of songs that revisited the early soul sound of Dexys Midnight Runners while venturing into deep funk, modern R&B, and smooth soul. Retaining core contributors Big Jim Paterson and Sean Read and adding Mike Timothy, Dexys released The Feminine Divine in 2023, confirming that Rowland’s exploratory impulse remained fully intact and that the music continued to provoke and exhilarate in equal measure.