{"id":668631,"date":"2026-09-02T11:28:18","date_gmt":"2026-09-02T11:28:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/668631\/"},"modified":"2026-09-02T11:28:18","modified_gmt":"2026-09-02T11:28:18","slug":"kevin-rowland-i-wish-id-stuck-to-my-guns-more-not-be-influenced-by-people-who-didnt-get-it-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/668631\/","title":{"rendered":"Kevin Rowland: \u2018I wish I\u2019d stuck to my guns more, not be influenced by people who didn\u2019t get it\u2019 \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

Beginning an interview by deliberating an ending is somewhat unusual, but Kevin Rowland<\/a> has never been a man to play by the rule book. <\/p>\n

We\u2019re talking about Love, the new (and perhaps final) Dexys Midnight Runners<\/a> album, which was recorded in Belfast with David Holmes<\/a>. Rowland says he was clear when they were making it that it would be the swansong of the band that he has led in various iterations since 1978.<\/p>\n

\u201cMe and David got on great; it really worked,\u201d he says. \u201cAnd while I was over there he went, \u2018This is f**king great. I want to do more albums with you. Let\u2019s do more and more.\u2019 <\/p>\n

\u201cBut I\u2019d already decided that this feels like the last one, and I don\u2019t really want to do another one. I mentioned that to the record company as well, and then they wanted me to promote it as the last Dexys album \u2013 but that\u2019s when I said no, just in case I change my mind.\u201d<\/p>\n

He laughs, a glint in his eye. <\/p>\n

\u201cSo never say never, but I haven\u2019t got any inspiration and I haven\u2019t got any desire to do another one at the moment, I must confess. But in three or four years, who knows? It might feel different.\u201d<\/p>\n

Anyone who has read Rowland\u2019s excellent memoir Bless Me Father<\/a>, which was published last year, will be aware what a complex character he is. A maverick both inside and outside the music industry<\/a>, he had an often turbulent childhood in Wolverhampton and London, the son of Irish parents from Crossmolina, Co Mayo. (Yes, he confirms with a smile, he did celebrate their All-Ireland triumph.)<\/p>\n

There were teenage forays into petty crime, his hard-fought success in the music business with Dexys and, later, a debilitating cocaine addiction and bankruptcy before a glorious comeback in the 2010s. <\/p>\n

It\u2019s a story for the ages, told without self-pity and in full acknowledgment of his flaws. I tell him it would make a great biopic, which he finds particularly amusing. \u201cWho would play me?\u201d he says, slightly horrified at the thought. \u201cGod knows.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

Dexys Midnight Runners was the first music I ever heard on headphones. They were the first band I ever saw live, and I was obsessed with them<\/p>\n

\u2014 \u00a0David Holmes<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Love is the first album since Don\u2019t Stand Me Down, from 1985, to feature the full Dexys Midnight Runners band name. A conversation Rowland had with a younger neighbour, who didn\u2019t realise that Dexys and Dexys Midnight Runners were the same band, inspired the reversal. <\/p>\n

\u201cI always like the idea of getting through to younger people,\u201d Rowland says. \u201cSo it just seemed like a no-brainer.\u201d<\/p>\n

In many ways Love is a companion piece to Rowland\u2019s memoir. The book provides context for certain songs about his proud Irish heritage (My Life in England), for example, while one of the most touching tracks is Once a Man, Twice a Child, written about his fractious relationship with his overly critical father, which he documents in painful detail in the memoir. <\/p>\n

It was ultimately mended before his dad\u2019s death, at the age of 102, when he had \u201cturned into this sweet person, like a little child\u201d, Rowland says. \u201cAnd I never, ever could have imagined that, because he was such a tough bastard.\u201d<\/p>\n

As its title suggests, this is an album of love songs with a twist. Rowland is a grandfather \u2013 in fact a great-grandfather now \u2013 and the sweet, sprightly soul song You\u2019re Alright (\u201cYou\u2019re the most lovely people, and I\u2019m so proud of you\/Please know that I love you deeply, and I always will do\u201d) was written for his daughter AJ, whom he didn\u2019t meet until her teenage years, and his extended offspring.<\/p>\n

Another song, Old Love, laments the passing of time with lines such as, \u201cI hate getting old, it happened so fast, where did it go?\/They don\u2019t see me, they just see my age.\u201d <\/p>\n

[\u00a0Dolly Parton laid to rest in private Nashville funeralOpens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n

We speak a few days before Rowland\u2019s 73rd birthday, and he accepts congratulations with a grimace. \u201cThere\u2019s not much to recommend [getting older], do you know what I mean?\u201d he says. \u201cYou might have a bit of wisdom on a good day, but, you know, the body starts to deteriorate, and that\u2019s not fun.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rowland has battled health issues in recent years, including problems with his kidneys. He became gravely ill while in Thailand in 2024, and made peace with the fact that he may not pull through. These days he is doing better; his kidney function is now at 50 per cent, up from the 20 per cent that almost led to him going on dialysis. \u201cBut five years ago they were 97 per cent or something.\u201d He shrugs. \u201cSo it\u2019s slow, but it\u2019s going the right way.\u201d<\/p>\n

Perhaps it has been that newfound lease of life that led Rowland to try something relatively radical by making a connection with Holmes. It\u2019s not the most obvious pairing, but the Belfast musician, composer and producer is an avowed Dexys fanboy. <\/p>\n

\u201cDexys Midnight Runners was the first music I ever heard on headphones,\u201d Holmes says. \u201cThey were the first band I ever saw live, and I was obsessed with them. And the fact that I have now played a part in what could be their final album is beyond.\u201d <\/p>\n

Rowland admits to being nervous about the partnership, as he had only met Holmes in passing over the years. \u201cI didn\u2019t know him, really,\u201d he says. \u201cAnd I thought, \u2018What\u2019s he going to do? Is he going to want to turn it into a remix or something?\u2019\u201d <\/p>\n

He chuckles, noting there was some push and pull between them right from the beginning. <\/p>\n

\u201cI said, \u2018David, the only way this is going to work is if we do it together. It has to be together.\u2019 And I think he was a bit nervous as well; he said, \u2018If you micromanage everything, it\u2019s going to be difficult.\u2019 And I just said, \u2018Well, I\u2019m not prepared to hand it over to anybody.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

He shrugs. \u201cBut those conversations helped us get to where we\u2019re going. He\u2019s quite out-there. I had to get used to his way of working, but I\u2019m really happy with it.\u201d<\/p>\n

This may well be the final Dexys album, but Rowland doesn\u2019t mention whether that extends to another solo record, too. His last solo album, My Beauty, from 1999, featured his superb interpretations of songs that had seen him through his darkest hours, such as This Guy\u2019s in Love with You, You\u2019ll Never Walk Alone and The Greatest Love of All. <\/p>\n

The press attention at the time was largely focused on the cover art, however, which depicted Rowland in make-up, a dress and stockings. (He admitted that he \u201cbattened down the hatches\u201d after its unfair critical mauling, although the album has since been reappraised and was re-released in 2020 to UK chart success.) <\/p>\n

The dapper Rowland has always placed huge importance on image and clothes, since the very first incarnation of Dexys Midnight Runners; but considering the way gender-bending artists and imagery is celebrated now, does he feel he was simply ahead of his time?<\/p>\n

[\u00a0Irish rapper Reggie: \u2018Dundalk\u2019s on top of the world right now. The centre of the universe\u2019Opens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve never thought that, really,\u201d he says, shaking his head. \u201cI don\u2019t think I was ahead of my time in 1978 when we formed Dexys, and with the original flamboyant look of the band; I think the timing was right. <\/p>\n

\u201cI think the only thing is I wish I\u2019d stuck to my guns more, rather than be influenced by people who didn\u2019t understand what I was doing, who didn\u2019t get it.\u201d He shrugs. \u201cThat\u2019s how it goes sometimes.\u201d<\/p>\n

These days he is a vegan tai-chi practitioner, still in an addiction-recovery programme. It may be poles apart from what his younger self might have envisaged, but he is grateful to have come this far. <\/p>\n

After a lifetime of questioning who he is artistically, is he any closer to figuring himself out? <\/p>\n

\u201cI suppose so,\u201d he says, \u201cbut it\u2019s always changing. Everybody is. I do feel more at peace with it all. I\u2019ve made a lot of statements about who I am and how I feel at a certain time, and I\u2019ve done what I\u2019ve wanted to do, largely. <\/p>\n

\u201cBut, quite often, it\u2019s something different to what it was two years ago. And I have to work on peace of mind daily, but it\u2019s all good.\u201d<\/p>\n

If Love really is the final Dexys album, it\u2019s a bookend to a remarkable career. Does he think about legacy much these days? Rowland tilts his head for a moment, thinking deeply.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know if I can put that into words,\u201d he says. \u201cBut I\u2019ll tell you what I do think: it\u2019s been a hell of a journey from Searching for the Young Soul Rebels to here, to Love.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s a good body of work now, and I wouldn\u2019t have said that before. And this new album, Love, is a pretty good way to end it, really. Because what else is there?\u201d<\/p>\n

Love is released by Heavenly Recordings<\/a> on Friday, September 4th. Dexys Midnight Runners<\/a> play 3Olympia Theatre<\/a>, Dublin, on Wednesday, November 4th; Ulster Hall<\/a>, Belfast, on Thursday, November 5th; and Black Box<\/a>, Galway, on Friday, November 6th<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Beginning an interview by deliberating an ending is somewhat unusual, but Kevin Rowland has never been a man…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":668632,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[268],"tags":[434,282297,282296,18,117,19,17,282295],"class_list":["post-668631","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-celebrities","tag-celebrities","tag-david-holmes","tag-dexys-midnight-runners","tag-eire","tag-entertainment","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-kevin-rowland"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/117201214428724415","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/668631","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=668631"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/668631\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/668632"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=668631"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=668631"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=668631"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}