Nige Tassell was so obsessed with Dexys he’s tracked down all 24 ex-members

Nige Tassell used to go to school in full donkey-jacket-and-woolly-hat ensemble to express his boundless devotion to Dexys Midnight Runners. Forty years later he set out to find and interview everyone who’d ever been a member. For some, their time in the ranks was a joyful, career-launching delight. Others felt it was like a slightly chilly and controlling cult. They all took a while to recover and they all had extraordinary stories to tell in his latest book ‘Searching For Dexys Midnight Runners’. Here’s a flavour of what gets discussed … … ‘No drugs or alcohol! No smiling! No eye contact with the audience!’ and other unsettling Dexys mantras. … examples of Kevin Rowland ‘snatching defeat from the jaws of victory’. … the many ways the band made themselves deliberately different’. … the event supporting Bowie that got their power cut onstage in Paris and had them thrown off the tour. ... the heavy-handed recruitment of Helen O’Hara. … Geno Washington and other strands of the Dexys DNA. … the ad they took in the NME that soured their relationship with the music press. … and how Rowland’s approach today remains resolutely unchanged.   Order Nige’s book here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Searching-Dexys-Midnight-Runners-Tassell/dp/178512059XSubscribe to Word In Your Ear on Patreon for early - and ad-free - access to all of our content, plus a whole load more!: https://www.patreon.com/wordinyourear Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.