As you come up the escalator at Leicester Square underground station, you might notice the posters lining the walls advertising Mamma Mia!, Viva Forever! and We Will Rock You. You could be forgiven for wondering what place Dexys have in the heart of West End theatreland, especially here among these big karaoke musicals. But itโs worth remembering that Kevin Rowland has always seemed to relish his band's underdog status โ finding something heroic, I guess, in the ongoing struggle against more orthodox forms of music. Indeed, his first appearance on Top Of The Pops โ February 7, 1980 โ found Dexys Midnight Runners sharing a bill with AC/DC and Buggles, while Legs & Co danced to โThe Beat Goes Onโ by Whispers. 33 years on, Rowland continues to remind us that heโs on the outside looking in. He and his band are here for a nine-night residency at Londonโs Duke of Yorkโs theatre on St Martin's Lane, sandwiched between David Hareโs play The Judas Kiss and Peter Nicholsโ Passion Play, starring Zoรซ Wanamaker. How on earth did they get in? Did the caretaker forget to lock the doors properly? Of course, Kevin Rowland has always been one of our most challenging and idiosyncratic musicians. Following the 27 year gap between Donโt Stand Me Down and last yearโs One Day Iโm Going To Soar (and 13 years since his last solo album, My Beauty), Rowland chose a predictably unconventional route back into the public consciousness. Before One Day Iโm Going To Soar was released last June, Rowland and the latest incarnation of Dexys played their as yet-unreleased new album in full and in sequence. Of course, the practise of playing albums in their entirety like this is traditionally reserved for a band revisiting a classic album, not launching a new one. But such is the high-stakes drama of the Dexys narrative โ and the sheer confidence in the albumโs songs โ that it arguably felt like there was no other logical way to do it. The programme for these run of dates at the Duke of Yorkโs is essentially the same as last yearโs shows: One Day Iโm Going To Soar followed by a selection of old favourites. But this setting in the 120 year-old venue seems particularly apt for Rowland and his nine co-conspirators, who give full rein to the more theatrical aspects of a Dexys show. If One Day Iโm Going To Soar was the latest chapter in Rowlandโs ongoing spiritual autobiography, then these narrative-driven confessionals are splendidly โ and stylishly โ played out. Rowland leads the sartorial charge with, by my reckoning, three costume changes, while his accomplices opt for a kind of 1940s American casual look. The show opens with a piano motif played in darkness before a spot catches Rowland for โNowโ, and the first of many, brilliantly acerbic moments of self-examination: โOh I know that I've been crazy and that cannot be denied, but inside of me there's always been a secret urge to flyโ. The story โboy meets girl, they fall in love, he canโt commit, sad face, the end โ is played out in song, and also a series of dialogues between Rowland and Pete Williams, who acts as his foil in the early part of the show, and later, Madeleine Hyland, as the object of Rowlandโs lustful attentions. First glimpsed reclining on a chaise lounge above the band, Hyland is a relatively conventional vocal presence compared to Rowlandโs rich, swooning soul voice. In essence, sheโs a pencil-sketch, a narrative device to get Rowland to the moment of realisation that he is โincape, incape, incapable of loveโ. All the same, Hyland and Rowland get into a terrific scrap on โIโm Always Going To Love Youโ, with Hyland, first wooed and now abandoned, snarling at Rowland: โKevin, don't talk to me ... You saw me as a challengeโ. Despite being absent for great chunks of the set, Williams fares well. His banter with Rowland โ however well-rehearsed (and in some cases, stretching back to the early Eighties) โ is loose and good humoured. Trombonist Big Jim Paterson, Rowlandโs longest serving collaborator, elicits some of the biggest cheers of the night. Rowland himself is terrific. He has a Brando-esque emotional intensity, whether during the stripped down soliloquizing on โMeโ or snapping into moments of sudden violence. The big songs โ especially the encore โ find him turning up the soul power, but I kind of prefer the softer croon he uses for the more introspective songs, in particular a show-stopping โItโs OK John Joeโ. โWe couldnโt leave it like that, could we?โ says Pete Williams, ushering in a final act of Dexys classics, including a powerful take on โThe Waltzโ, a mischievous reworking of โGenoโ, a jubilant โI Love You (Listen To This)โ and a version of โUntil I Believe In My Soulโ that simply wonโt stop. The finale, โThis Is What Sheโs Likeโ, repurposes the show as rousing soul revue, Rowland at one point leaning over the side of a box, shouting over and over again, "This is our stuff - this, this, this is our stuff." The stuff of brilliance itself. Dexys played: Now (into) Lost (into) Me She Got A Wiggle You (into) Thinking Of You I'm Always Going To Love You Incapable Of Love Nowhere Is Home Free It's OK John Joe Free Reprise The Waltz Geno (into) Listen To This Until I Believe In my Soul/Light Turns Green I Couldnโt Help It If I Tried This Is What She's Like Photo credit: Dean Chalkley Follow me on Twitter @MichaelBonner Special offer! For one week only, subscribe to Uncut from only ยฃ15.35 and save up to 50%! Donโt miss out on this great offer as it wonโt be around for long. Please note, the 50% discount is available to UK Direct Debit subscribers only.
As you come up the escalator at Leicester Square underground station, you might notice the posters lining the walls advertising Mamma Mia!, Viva Forever! and We Will Rock You. You could be forgiven for wondering what place Dexys have in the heart of West End theatreland, especially here among these big karaoke musicals.
But itโs worth remembering that Kevin Rowland has always seemed to relish his bandโs underdog status โ finding something heroic, I guess, in the ongoing struggle against more orthodox forms of music.
Indeed, his first appearance on Top Of The Pops โ February 7, 1980 โ found Dexys Midnight Runners sharing a bill with AC/DC and Buggles, while Legs & Co danced to โThe Beat Goes Onโ by Whispers. 33 years on, Rowland continues to remind us that heโs on the outside looking in. He and his band are here for a nine-night residency at Londonโs Duke of Yorkโs theatre on St Martinโs Lane, sandwiched between David Hareโs play The Judas Kiss and Peter Nicholsโ Passion Play, starring Zoรซ Wanamaker. How on earth did they get in? Did the caretaker forget to lock the doors properly?
Of course, Kevin Rowland has always been one of our most challenging and idiosyncratic musicians. Following the 27 year gap between Donโt Stand Me Down and last yearโs One Day Iโm Going To Soar (and 13 years since his last solo album, My Beauty), Rowland chose a predictably unconventional route back into the public consciousness. Before One Day Iโm Going To Soar was released last June, Rowland and the latest incarnation of Dexys played their as yet-unreleased new album in full and in sequence. Of course, the practise of playing albums in their entirety like this is traditionally reserved for a band revisiting a classic album, not launching a new one. But such is the high-stakes drama of the Dexys narrative โ and the sheer confidence in the albumโs songs โ that it arguably felt like there was no other logical way to do it.
The programme for these run of dates at the Duke of Yorkโs is essentially the same as last yearโs shows: One Day Iโm Going To Soar followed by a selection of old favourites. But this setting in the 120 year-old venue seems particularly apt for Rowland and his nine co-conspirators, who give full rein to the more theatrical aspects of a Dexys show. If One Day Iโm Going To Soar was the latest chapter in Rowlandโs ongoing spiritual autobiography, then these narrative-driven confessionals are splendidly โ and stylishly โ played out. Rowland leads the sartorial charge with, by my reckoning, three costume changes, while his accomplices opt for a kind of 1940s American casual look. The show opens with a piano motif played in darkness before a spot catches Rowland for โNowโ, and the first of many, brilliantly acerbic moments of self-examination: โOh I know that Iโve been crazy and that cannot be denied, but inside of me thereโs always been a secret urge to flyโ.
The story โboy meets girl, they fall in love, he canโt commit, sad face, the end โ is played out in song, and also a series of dialogues between Rowland and Pete Williams, who acts as his foil in the early part of the show, and later, Madeleine Hyland, as the object of Rowlandโs lustful attentions. First glimpsed reclining on a chaise lounge above the band, Hyland is a relatively conventional vocal presence compared to Rowlandโs rich, swooning soul voice. In essence, sheโs a pencil-sketch, a narrative device to get Rowland to the moment of realisation that he is โincape, incape, incapable of loveโ. All the same, Hyland and Rowland get into a terrific scrap on โIโm Always Going To Love Youโ, with Hyland, first wooed and now abandoned, snarling at Rowland: โKevin, donโt talk to me โฆ You saw me as a challengeโ.
Despite being absent for great chunks of the set, Williams fares well. His banter with Rowland โ however well-rehearsed (and in some cases, stretching back to the early Eighties) โ is loose and good humoured. Trombonist Big Jim Paterson, Rowlandโs longest serving collaborator, elicits some of the biggest cheers of the night. Rowland himself is terrific. He has a Brando-esque emotional intensity, whether during the stripped down soliloquizing on โMeโ or snapping into moments of sudden violence. The big songs โ especially the encore โ find him turning up the soul power, but I kind of prefer the softer croon he uses for the more introspective songs, in particular a show-stopping โItโs OK John Joeโ.
โWe couldnโt leave it like that, could we?โ says Pete Williams, ushering in a final act of Dexys classics, including a powerful take on โThe Waltzโ, a mischievous reworking of โGenoโ, a jubilant โI Love You (Listen To This)โ and a version of โUntil I Believe In My Soulโ that simply wonโt stop. The finale, โThis Is What Sheโs Likeโ, repurposes the show as rousing soul revue, Rowland at one point leaning over the side of a box, shouting over and over again, โThis is our stuff โ this, this, this is our stuff.โ The stuff of brilliance itself.
Dexys played:
Now (into)
Lost (into)
Me
She Got A Wiggle
You (into)
Thinking Of You
Iโm Always Going To Love You
Incapable Of Love
Nowhere Is Home
Free
Itโs OK John Joe
Free Reprise
The Waltz
Geno (into)
Listen To This
Until I Believe In my Soul/Light Turns Green
I Couldnโt Help It If I Tried
This Is What Sheโs Like
Photo credit: Dean Chalkley
Follow me on Twitter @MichaelBonner
Special offer!
For one week only, subscribe to Uncut from only ยฃ15.35 and save up to 50%! Donโt miss out on this great offer as it wonโt be around for long. Please note, the 50% discount is available to UK Direct Debit subscribers only.