Helen O'Hara

Helen O'Hara held the violin chair in Dexy's Midnight Runners between 1982 and 1987, after which she pursued an array of additional creative paths. Session work with Graham Parker, Tanita Tikaram, and Mary Coughlin formed part of that activity, yet her own recordings also drew notice. On her first solo release, Southern Hearts, she received keyboard contributions from Nicky Hopkins and drumming from Woody Woodmansey, who had long backed David Bowie.

She wrote and sang “Because of You,” the signature theme for the BBC comedy series Brush Strokes.