Dexys

Dexys (originally Dexys Midnight Runners) are an English band formed in Birmingham in the late 1970s, built around singer, songwriter and sole constant member Kevin Rowland. Blending punk-era intensity with soul, Motown and Celtic folk influences, the band became one of the most distinctive acts to emerge from the post-punk British pop landscape, known for their theatrical presentation and frequent reinventions of image and sound.

The group's biggest moment came with «Come On Eileen», a UK and US number-one hit driven by fiddle, banjo and an infectious, celebratory arrangement that became one of the defining singles of the early 1980s. Earlier singles like «Geno», a tribute to soul singer Geno Washington, and «There, There, My Dear» established the band's horn-driven soul sound before the Celtic-folk detour of the «Too-Rye-Ay» album era that produced «Come On Eileen».

Despite numerous lineup changes throughout their history — with only Rowland present on every album, alongside long-serving trombonist Jim Paterson — Dexys built a body of work marked by ambition, emotional rawness and stylistic reinvention. After splitting in 1987 and later reforming, the band released further albums in the 2010s, cementing their legacy as one of British pop's most singular and enduring outfits.