Dexys frontman Kevin Rowland was originally in a punk band called The Killjoys with guitarist Kevin "Al" Archer. Rowland had an idea to form a big soul band with a brass section and he founded Dexy's Midnight Runners in 1978 in Birmingham, England with Archer, recruiting trombonist "Big" Jim Paterson, saxophonist Geoff "JB" Blythe, alto saxophonist Steve "Babyface" Spooner, keyboardist Pete Saunders, bassist Pete Williams and drummer Bobby "Jnr" Ward.
They took their name from Dexedrine – a pep pill favored by '60 mods. The "midnight runners" referred to the energy the Dexedrine gave, enabling the poll poppers to dance all night.
It was Bernie Rhodes, manager of The Clash, who steered Dexys early career, by arranging a recording recording career with EMI. The band fell out with Rhodes after he interfered with the production of their debut single, "Dance Stance," accusing him of muddying the sound.
See your Spotify stats (with number of plays and minutes listened) and discover new music.
Music data, artist images, album covers, and song previews are provided by Spotify. Spotify is a trademark of Spotify AB.