18 - Dexys Midnight Runners with Nige Tassell (Birmingham)

This week we make our first visit to Birmingham to trace the history & early years of Dexys Midnight Runners

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We find out how Kevin Rowland & Kevin Archer formed the band, the strict rules for membership, how the various members came to join.

Writer Nige Tassell, talks us through some of the stories, myths & legends from his new book Searching For Dexys Midnight Runners - published by Nine Eight Books.

We start with early punk band project The Killjoys, how they jump to the soul inflected sound of Dexys, how it went against the grain at the time, the various venues the band played around Birmingham including gigs with Joy Division & UB40.

Nige tells us about the brief possibility of Van Morrison coming in to produce the debut album Searching For The Young Soul Rebels - how the record was made, the heist that ensued after the recording with the master tapes.

Bernie Rhodes brief involvement before the first single Dance Stance is released - signing to EMI after his departure. The huge success of Geno which followed & took the band to number 1 in the charts - how the label didn't want it as a single.

We then detail how the bands fragment quickly leading to 5 members of this original lineup leaving at once to form The Bureau.

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