Dexys Midnight Runners

Dexys Midnight Runners (known simply as Dexys from 2003 to 2026) are an English pop rock band from Birmingham. They are best known in the United Kingdom for their songs “Come On Eileen” and “Geno,” both of which topped the UK Singles Chart, as well as for their cover of Van Morrison's “Jackie Wilson Said (I'm in Heaven When You Smile),” which reached number five. They placed five further songs in the British top 20. Outside the United Kingdom, the band is mostly regarded as a “one hit wonder,” with “Come On Eileen” also reaching number one on the American Billboard Hot 100.

In the late 1970s and early 1980s, Dexys went through numerous lineup changes across three albums and thirteen singles, with only singer, songwriter, and co-founder Kevin Rowland remaining through all these transitions; he and trombonist “Big” Jim Paterson are the only members to appear on every studio album. By 1985, the band consisted only of Rowland and long-standing members Helen O'Hara (violin) and Billy Adams (guitar). The band split up the following year, and Rowland went on to pursue a solo career for several decades.

After two unsuccessful reunion attempts, the band was reformed by Rowland under the name Dexys in 2003, with new members alongside a few returning from the original lineup. Dexys released their fourth album, One Day I'm Going to Soar, in 2012, followed by a fifth, Let the Record Show: Dexys Do Irish and Country Soul, in 2016. The band went on to release their sixth album, The Feminine Divine, in 2023, and their seventh album, Love, in September 2026, after reverting to their original name.