546 Goodbye Dexy's Midnight Runners - Because Of You

Chart  entered : 22  November  1986

Chart  peak : 13

It's  take  a  deep  breath  time  as  I   attempt  a  coherent  account  of  all  the  line  up  changes  since  the  first  hit.  Keyboard player  Pete  Saunders  and  drummer  Bobby  Ward   left   immediately  after  "Dance  Stance"  to  be  replaced  by  Andy  Leek  and  Andy  Growcott  respectively.  When their  next  single  "Geno"  got  to  number  one,  Andy L  took  fright  and  left. Pete  temporarily  returned  to  record  the  album  "Searching  For  The  Young  Soul  Rebels"  before  being  replaced  by  Mick  Talbot  from  The  Merton  Parkas. Ructions  around  the  next   ( flop ) single  "Keep  It"   contributed  to  the  departure  of  Talbot  , bassist  Pete  Williams , sax  players  Geoff  Blythe  and  Steve  Spooner  and  Andy  G  to  form  The  Bureau.  Their  replacements  were  Steve  Wynne  ( bass ),  Micky  Billingham ( keyboards ), Brian  Maurice  ( sax ), Paul  Speare  ( sax )  and   Seb  Shelton, formerly  drummer  with  briefly  successful  mod  band  Secret  Affair.  Guitarist  Kevin  Archer  joined  the  exodus  shortly  afterwards  but  didn't  join  The  Bureau  and,  crucially,  remained  on  good  terms  with  singer /dictator  Kevin  Rowland. He  was  replaced  by  Kevin "Billy"  Adams.  This  new  line  up  recorded  the  hits  "Plan  B"  and  "Show  Me"  then  Wynne  was  sacked  and  replaced  by  Mick  Gallick.

Kevin  A   then  asked  Kevin  R  for  his  opinion  of  a  demo  he'd  made  with  his  new  group  The  Blue  Ox  Babes  which  matched  Motown  soul  with  strings . Kevin  liked  it  so  much  he  filched  the  idea  for   Dexy's - something  for  which  he's  repeatedly  expressed  contrition -  and  asked  his  horn  players  to  learn  string  parts.  He  then  invited  violinist  Helen  Bevington  who'd  featured  on  The  Blue  Ox  Babes  tape  to  join. She  brought  along  Steve  Shaw ( and  briefly  Roger  Huckle ) , fellow  violinists  at  Birmingham  School  of  Music. Kevin  re-christened  them  with  Irish-sounding  surnames  as  part  of  his  new  vision. Seeing  which  way  the  wind  was  blowing,  the  sax  players  and  trombonist  Big  Jim  Paterson   ( the  last  survivor  , besides  Kevin R, of  the  original  line  up )  left  at  the  end  of  1981  although  they  all  featured  on  the  next  album  and  Jim  co-wrote  their  mega-hit "Come  On  Eileen" .  One  new sax  player  Nick  Gatsfield   was  recruited.

At  the  beginning  of  1983,  Micky  and  Mick   left  to  be  replaced  by  Bob  Noble  and  John  Edwards  for  a  US  tour  during  which   Helen  and  Kevin  became  an  item. After  the  tour  finished  Noble, Edwards, Seb  and  Steve   dropped  out  ( though  some  were  re-hired  as  session  musicians )   leaving  a  quartet  of  Kevin, Billy, Helen  and Gatsfield  for  the  next  album  "Don't  Stand  Me  Down"  . The  latter  had  left  by  the  time  it  came  out  in  the  summer  of  1985  though  he's  featured  on  the  cover.

"Don't  Stand  Me  Down"  has  divided  critics  ever  since. It's  either  a  self-indulgent  mess  or  misunderstood  masterpiece  according  to  taste. What's  not  in  dispute  is  that  it  was  a  huge  commercial  failure. There  were  no  singles  on  it; the  belated  release  of  an  edited  version  of  the  track  "This  Is  What  She's  Like "  only  proved  the  point.

Given  that  album's  long  gestation  period,  the  appearance  of  a  new  single  the  following  year
was  quite  a  surprise. The  band  had  been  approached  to  write  a  theme  tune  for  Brush  Strokes , Esmonde  and  Larbey's  new sitcom  about  a  womanising  painter  and  came  up  with  "Because  Of  You"  . The  song  is  deceptively  simple  with  a  basic  romantic  lyric  and  a  woozy  country  rock  feel  but  there  are  sophisticated  string  and  brass  parts  interwoven  in  the backing. Kevin  sings  it  like  he's  had  a  skinful  which  adds  some  unpredictability. It's  mellowness  though indicates  Kevin's  future  direction. It's  a  shame  it's  associated  with  a  fairly  dire  TV  programme.

It  wasn't  long  after  it  finished  its  chart  run  that  Dexy's  officially  disbanded  with  the  ending  of   Kevin's  relationship  with  Helen. Kevin  emerged  in  May  1988   with  "Walk  Away"  billed  as  "Kevin  Rowland  of  Dexy's  Midnight  Runners". It  was  a  different  beast  from  his  previous  work  with  Kevin  singing  in  his  normal  voice  with  none  of  the  General  Johnson  affectations. Producer  Deodato  underpins  the  sound  with  discreet  electronics but  it's  still  an  old fashioned  pop  tune  with  a  reasonably  catchy  tune  so  you  would  have  expected  it  to  get  out  of  the  bubbling  under  zone.

The  follow-up  "Tonight" put  the  beat  upfront  and  got  a  fair  amount  of  airplay  although  it  took  me  a while  to  realise  who  it  was  with  Kevin  sounding  more  like  Mick  Jagger  than  his  former  self . It  too  failed  to  chart  which  put  the  album  "The  Wanderer"  at  something  of  a  disadvantage. It's  a   pleasant  collection  of  adult  pop  songs,  and  "Young  Man" , the  third  single  is  quite  affecting , but  it  is  all  a  little  bland  compared  to  Dexy's.  This  impression  was  compounded  by  Kevin's  public  appearances  at  this  time, a  guy  who  could  easily  come  across  as  an  arrogant  arsehole  replaced  by  a  quietly-spoken  amenable  everybloke. He  did  a  spot  for  Record  Mirror   reviewing  the  singles  and  went  out  of  his  way  not  to  offend  anyone ; "Another  hit  for  Belinda"  ( Carlisle )  was  one  of  his  penetrating  analyses. I  also  recall  him  appearing  on  one  of  ITV's  night  time  shows  that  Christmas  on   which  they  had  a  Juke  Box  Jury  cum  Gong  Show slot  where  the  panel  buzzed  when  they'd  had  enough  of  a  particular  video. Of  course  the  producers  always  threw  in  a  complete  turkey  and  when  Kevin  did  it  there  was  a  children's  choir  singing  a  Christmas  song  to  the  tune  of  the  Eastenders  theme. The  other  panellists  buzzed  straight  away  then  stared  bewildered  as  Kevin  beatifically  hummed  along  and  let  it  play  to  the  finish.

The  album  didn't  chart, a  complete  disaster . It's  difficult  to  think  of  any  lead  singer  coming  out  of  a  successful  band  faring   quite  so  badly  with  a  mainstream  release. The  nineties  were  almost  a  lost  decade  for  Kevin, sunk  in  depression , bankruptcy  ( due  to  the  debts  incurred  recording  "Don't  Stand  Me  Down ") and  drug  addiction . A  compilation  LP  in  1991  made  number  12 and  helped  fund  spells  in  rehab and  there  was  a  brief  union  with  Jim  and  Billy  mooted  in  1993. Kevin  didn't really  return  to  music  until  1997  when  Alan  McGee, wanting  to  give  him  a  leg  up, signed  him  to  Creation.  The  result  was  1999's  "My  Beauty"  a  covers  LP  of  songs  mainly  from  the  sixties  performed  in  a  low  key,  under  produced  fashion. Some  of  the  lyrics  , particularly  on  Squeeze's  "Labelled  With  Love"  were  changed  to  reference  Kevin's  own  drug  problem. His  vulnerability  at  the  time  is  obvious  , the  occasional  spoken  interjections  of  "It's  gonna  be  alright"  are  tear-jerking. It  was  never  going  to  sell  anyway  but  Kevin  appearing  in  a  dress  and  briefs  on  the  cover  killed  it  stone  dead. When  he  appeared  like  that  at  the  Reading  Festival  he  was  bottled  off. Kevin  commented  at  the  time "Insanity  is  no  fun  mate. People  try  to  romanticize  the  idea  of  the  suffering   artist. At  my  lowest  ebb  there  was  no  romance  to  it  at  all".

Kevin  spent  another  three  years  out  of  the  public  eye  but  in  2003  EMI  planned  another  Dexy's  compilation  and  gave  him  the  opportunity  to  record  two  new  songs  for  it. With  the  help  of   Jim ,Pete  W  and  Mick  Talbot  among  others  he  recorded  "Manhood"  and  "My  Life  In  England"  and  in  April  2003  announced  that  Dexy's  were  back  in  business. The  album  "Let's  Make  This  Precious"  didn't  do  very  well  peaking  at  75 and  EMI  weren't  confident  that  either  of  the  new  tracks  would  work  as  singles  but  the  new  look  band  had  a  successful  tour and  stayed  together. After  working on  it ,  on  and  off  for  nine  years , a  new  album " One  Day  I'm  Going  To  Soar"  was  finally  released  in  2012 .   It  got  excellent  reviews  across  the  board  but  I  think  there  was  an  element  of  wishful  thinking  involved. There  are  some  good  songs  like  the  single  "She  Makes  A  Wiggle"  and  "Lost"  is  a  devastating,  plainly  expressed  account  of  his  mental  troubles   but  it's  patchy. Some  of  the  songs  drag  and  anyone  expecting  anything  of  the  energy  and  attack  of  the  first  album  will  be  disappointed.

The  album  reached  number  13  and  the  band  went  on  tour  to  promote  it.  Talbot  left  after  the  tour; well  it  wouldn't  be  Dexy's  without  a  casualty  would  it  ?  He  was  replaced  by  Sean  Read.  They  did  a  few  dates  in  2013  and  2014  then  earlier  this  year  they  released  their  fifth  album  "Let  The  Record  Show : Dexy's  Do  Irish  And  Country  Soul". Pete  W  was  not  involved  but  Jim  appears  once  more  as  does  Helen  for  a  guest  appearance. There  are  no  new  songs  it's  all  covers   mostly  of  traditional  Irish  favourites  like  "  I  Will  Take  You  Home  Kathleen "  and  "Carrickfergus". The  tracks  I've  heard  have  been  pleasant enough  but  it's  not  going  to  change  the  world. It  reached  number  10  in  the  album  charts.

So  what  have  the  other  guys  been  up  to  ?  Pete  S  moved  to  London  and  joined  a  post-punk  outfit  called  The  Decorators. They  had  some  good  ideas - Pete's  first  single  with  them  "Strange  One"  anticipates  baggy  by  eight  years  - but  they  were  never  going  to  break  out  of  night  time  radio  with  singer  Michael  Bevan  who  sounds  like  he's  got  a  peg  on  his  nose. They  recorded  two  LPs,  "Tablets " and  "Rebel  Songs"  before  splitting  up  in  1984. Pete  also  played  organ  on  Carmel's  most  successful  album  "The  Drum  Is  Everything"  and  co-wrote  their  1984  hit  "More  More  More". He  played  as  a  guest  on  the  first  album  by  Norwich  punks  and  Peel  favourites   Serious  Drinking   then  joined  the  band  for  their  final  single  in  1984,  "Country  Girl  Became Drugs  and  Sex  Punk"  an  entertaining  cross  between  The  Smiths  and  Half  Man  Half  Biscuit.

 After  they  dissolved,  Pete  was  picked  up  by  ex-Stiff  Little  Fingers  singer  Jake  Burns  for  his  new  band  The  Big  Wheel  in  1986.   They  released  three  singles  , "She  Grew  Up", "On  Fortune  Street"  and  "Breathless"   which  are  all  OK  in  an  Alarm  with  extra  Hammond   way  but  not  really  strong  enough  to  overcome  the  punk  has-been  tag  hanging  over  their  leader. They  didn't  get  the  chance  to  release  an  album  before  Burns  decided  to  reform  Stiff  Little  Fingers  but  a  compilation  of  their  material  was  released on  CD  in  2001. Stiff  Little  Fingers  didn't  need  a  keyboard  player  and  Pete  dropped  out  of  music  to  become  a  real-life  decorator  for  a  few  years.When  he  returned  in  the  early  nineties  he  was  a  jazz  pianist  playing  with  a  variety  of  artists. In  2005  he  started  working  at  a  burlesque  club . He  formed  his  own  troupe  known  as  Blues  and  Burlesque  and  tours  with  them.

Bob  went   on  to  university. He  now  works  for  the  London  School  of  Economics  as  Policy and  Communications  Director  for  an  Institute  based  there  and  attracts  internet  abuse  for  his  views  on climate  change.

Andy  L initially  joined  Kevin  A  in  The  Blue  Ox  Babes but  was   poleaxed  by  Kevin  R's  appropriation  of  their  sound  and  quit. He   put  out  a  couple  of   solo  singles  in  1984  and  through  his  friendship  with  Kirsty  McColl, had  one  of  his  songs  recorded  by  Frida.  In  1988  he  befriended  Robert  Plant  who  recommended  Andy  sign  with  the  management  company  he  used, Hit  and  Run. They  forwarded  Andy's  demo  to  George  Martin  who  agreed  to  come  on  board  and  produce  an  album, much  to  Andy's  surprise. I  don't  think  Andy's  brief  part   in   the   Dexys   story  justifies  a  full    analysis   of  his  subsequent  work  but  if  you  go  to  his  channel  on  Youtube  you'll  find  he  gives  a  very  entertaining  account  of  it  there.

 Hit  for  six  by  Andy  L's  departure  Kevin  A's  band  didn't  get  round  to  recording  anything  until  1988. Dexy's  had  split  up  by  then  of  course  and  Steve  W  and  Steve Sh.  had  joined  up  with  them.I  saw  the  video  for  their  first  single  "There  Ain't  No  Deceiving  You"  on  The  Chart  Show  and  bought  it. It's  an  excellent  Celtic  soul  number  with  a  real  swing  and  melancholic  lilt  but  only  bubbled  under. The  instrumental  B-side  "The  Last  Detail"  is  really  good  as  well. It  wasn't  well  received  in  the  press; I  remember  a  review  in  Record  Mirror  referring  to  them  as  a  Dexy's  rip-off  which  must  have  pleased  Kevin  A  no  end.  The  follow  up  "Apples  and  Oranges  ( The  International  Hope  Campaign )  is  more  abrasive  and  less  melodic   with  Kevin's  rather  raw  singing  voice  too  upfront.  A  third  single  "Walking  On  The  Line"  sounds  like  a  lesser  cousin  of  the  first.  They  didn't  get  the  chance  to  record  an  LP  but  a  compilation  of  their  work  came  out  on  CD  in  2009.

Sadly  Kevin  A's  music  career  ended  there. He's  been  diagnosed  a  paranoid  schizophrenic  but his  long  time  girlfriend  Yasmin  has  stuck  with  him  and  Kevin  R  gives  him  10% of  his  own royalties  from  Too-Rye-Ay.

The  Bureau  recruited  a  new  singer  and  guitarist  from  former  Dexys  support  band  The  Upset  and  later  a  trombonist  to  replace  Jim  and  were  ready  to  go  at  the  beginning  of  1981. Their  first  single  "Only  For  Sheep"  was  released  in  March  1981. Written  by  new  singer  Archie  Brown  , it's  a  cry  of  frustration  at  the  lack  of  personal  liberty. With  producer  Pete  Wingfield  on  board  it  sounds  exactly  like  Dexy's  Mark  1 with  the  important  exception  of  Brown's  snarly  Van  Morrison-esque  vocals. It  was  a  Top  10  hit  in  Australia  but  despite  a  hectic  gigging  schedule  it  didn't  chart  over  here.  In  the  summer  they  released  "Let  Him  Have  It"   an  angry  but  tuneful  song  about  the  execution  of  Derek  Bentley. Radio  wouldn't  touch  it  and  it  too  failed.  With  two  flop  singles  behind  them,  WEA  would  only  release  their  eponymous  LP  in  Canada  and  Australia  and  it  didn't  see  a  UK  release  until  2005. In  the  winter  of  1981  they  toured  with  The  Mo-dettes  and  Roddy  Radiation  and  the  Tearjerkers  then  decided  to  call  it  a  day.

Peter  W  formed  his  own  band  These  Tender  Virtues  with  him  as  vocalist. Their  single  "Waltz"  from  1985  is  horrible,  a  mix  of  queasy  fairground  organ  and  overwrought  vocals  that  doesn't  seem  to  be  in  time. I've  heard  one  other  track  from  their  album  "The  Continuing  Saga  ",  "Cruel  Estella " ,which  is  more  palatable  if  still  somewhat  over-theatrical  with  Peter  sounding  not  unlike  his  former   leader.  The  band  continued  for  another  ten  years  as  a  touring  act  without  a  record  deal.  Pete  then  formed  a  band  called  Baseheart  who  never  got  a  deal.  In  2003  he  got  the  call  to  rejoin  Dexys  as  co-vocalist   and  this  built  up  some  interest  in  his  solo  album  of  2012  "See"   which  included  a  lot  of  the  songs  demoed  by  Baseheart. In  2015  he  released  another  solo  LP  "Roughnecks  and  Roustabouts". From  what  I've  heard  of  it  his  solo  stuff  isn't  far  away  from  Dexy's  latter  day  sound, rootsy  singer-songwriter  stuff  with  less  of  a  Celtic  edge,

Andy  G  was  picked  up  by  General  Public  whose  adventures  we've  already  covered. He  left  the  band  after  the  first  album , in  1985. He  also  worked  with  Stephen  "Tin Tin  " Duffy  in  the  mid-eighties. After  that  he  transferred  to  the  other  side of  the  mixing  desk  and  became  a  recording  engineer. In  1997  he  released  a  CD  of  jazz  covers  under  his  stage  name  "Stoker". He's  now  based  in  Los  Angeles.

Ironically  Geoff  joined  The  TKO  Horns the  outfit  set  up  by  the  second  brass  section  to  quit  Dexy's  as  a  replacement  for  Brian  who'd  originally  placed  him. They  worked  extensively  with  Elvis  Costello  particularly  on  the  Punch  The  Clock  album  and  later  with  Madness, Squeeze, Howard  Jones  and  others. Geoff  and  Jim  had  a  short  spell  in  a  band  called  The  Neighbourhood  in  1989  before  Geoff  emigrated  to  New  York. For  25  years  he  played  in  the  Irish  nationalist  rock  band  Black  47  who  were  too  politicised  to  get  a  UK  deal; they  sound  like  they  might  be  worth  further  investigation. In  2013  he  released  his  own  CD  of  brass-driven  pop  "Lost  In  Space" under  the  name  G  I  Blythe. He's  also  done  some  work  on  film  soundtracks.

Steve  Sp  left  the  music  business  when  The  Bureau  split  up  and  moved  to  Cornwall. He  was   going  to  join  the  reunion  in  2003  but  there  wasn't  the  finance  for  full  brass  and  string  sections. He  was  part  of  The  Bureau's  brief  reunion  in  2005  which  got  the  first  album  released. A  second  CD  of  material  contributed  by  various  members  was  distributed  at  their  gigs  but  never  officially  released.

I've  no  idea  what  Steve  W  did  after  Blue  Ox  Babes  split  up.

As  already  mentioned  Jim, Brian  and  Paul  formed  themselves  as   The TKO  Horns, a  brass  section  for  hire.  Brian  left  and  was  replaced  by  Geoff  then  Brian  came  back  when  Paul  dropped  out.  Brian  now  works  at  Heathrow  Airport  and  lives  in  France. Paul  went  into teaching  and  was  a  music  and  media  lecturer  at  various  colleges  until  2005. Since  then  he  has  been  a  session  musician. After  his  stint  in  The  Neighbourhood , Jim  put  down  his  trombone  and  battled a drink  problem  until  Dexys  reconvened.

Micky  too  went  into  teaching  after  leaving  General  Public  and  teaches  singing  and  performance  at  Dudley  College. He  has  played in  Ranking  Roger's  version  of  The  Beat  but  is not  currently  in  the line-up.

I  have  no  idea  what  happened  to  Mick.

Seb  put  down  his  sticks  and  went  into  band  management, working  with  Tackhead, Adrian  Sherwood, The  Woodentops  and  Julian  Cope. I  would  imagine  managing  the  latter  is  an  interesting  job.

After  the  demise  of   Blue  Ox Babes  Steve  Sh  played  with  The Proclaimers  and  Ricky  Ross  but  had  to  retire  about  ten  years ago  due  to   a  shoulder  complaint.

Helen  became  a  sought  after  session  player  working  with  Mary  Coughlan  and  Graham  Parker. She  recorded  and  toured  with  Tanita  Tikaram  during  her  initial  burst  of  success  in  1988-1990. She's  put out  two  albums  of  instrumental  music  in  the  1990s  and  has  recently  gone back  out  on  the  road  with  Tikaram.

Billy  was  going  to  be  part  of  the  abortive 1993  reunion  and  appeared  in  the video  for Kevin's  "Concrete  And  Clay"  single  from  "My Beauty" but  hasn't  been  involved  with  him  since.