The Dexys One...

So there I was about this time 32 years ago. Sitting in a cafe just off Duke St., W1, round the corner from EMI’s iconic Manchester Square offices. As I sipped my tea and read Honey magazine I was aware that I was kind of a part of rock and roll history. 

At my feet were two carrier bags. Inside those carrier bags were the master tapes to an album. Actually not just any old album, the eagerly awaited debut album from Dexys Midnight Runners. It was gonna be called Searching For The Young Soul Rebels, and it was gonna be a classic in years to come. 

Why did I have them? Why weren’t they in the safe keeping of EMI? Well it’s a long story and one I’m probably not allowed to go into detail about for legal reasons. Suffice to say, Kevin and the rest of the band had been talking to people, including the producer of the album Pete ’18 With A Bullet’ Wingfield and they’d realised that their contract with the record company was really shit. Like really, really shit.

If my memory serves me, I do believe attempts were made to renegotiate in the usual ways, but these came to zero, so instead we ‘liberated’ the tapes on the final night of recording and now suddenly EMI wanted to talk.

While Kevin Rowland and Steve Spooner thrashed out a better deal for all concerned I sat there waiting for my cue to deliver the album. After a couple of days, thankfully a deal was done and as we all now know it was a classic.

My association with the band came to a bit of a messy end not too long afterwards, but I stayed on fairly good terms with most of them. I even lived at Kevin’s house for a bit while I worked out what I was gonna do with my life now that my days as a trouser ironer were over. 

Over the years I lost touch gradually with all of the original line up. A few years ago I reconnected with Pete Williams via my stand-up career. He came to a couple of gigs and we would occasionally meet up when I was doing The Glee Club in Birmingham. In fact it was through The Glee Club that I last had any dealings with Kevin too, but that was over the phone, I’ve not seen him since the mid-80’s.

So here I am 32 years later, listening to the newest work by Dexys. Not all of the old members are involved unfortunately, but Big Jimmy is, Pete is, and although I never worked with him Merton Mick Talbot from Dexys Mk2 is there too.

The reviews have been spectacular - ‘album of the year’, ‘album of the century’ - and the little iTunes previews promised much. They’ve definitely got the look right, Kevin suits the 40’s be-bop chic style so much more than the white frock from the ‘Concrete and Clay’ days.

Much has been made about it being a concept album. It’s certainly got a theme, but to me things like The Who’s ‘Tommy’ are concept albums. This reminds me of Marvin Gaye’s ‘Here My Dear’ in feel. 

There’s a little bit of the past Dexys in the songs, there’s a bit of 70’s disco going on in I’m Always Going to Love You and I’m loving the addition of Madeleine Hyland as well as Pete Williams on vocals. Pete’s voice has just got better and better with age. Free would sound even better with a ton of brass blasting out but that’s just me I guess.

The lyrics have the feel of someone who’s spent an awful lot of time in self-contemplation, and now that Kevin’s in his late 50’s you’d hope he would’ve done a bit of that. I think they really speak to those of us who’ve grown up with Dexys. I’m not sure how your average 16 year old would take to it, but fuck them they’ve got The Saturdays and One Direction.

As for me, their old trouser ironer, I love it.