2003 was an exciting year in the story of Dexys Midnight Runners. After years of speculation and rumours of come-backs which
failed to materialise, Kevin Rowland decided that the time, the place (and yes, the mood) was right for a new Dexys incarnation.
New material was recorded and a tour organised. A line-up was recruited, featuring old soul rebels Pete Williams and Mick
Talbot alongside fellow ex-Bureau member, Paul Taylor and "My Beauty" guitarist Neil Hubbard.
On Wednesday 17th September, Dexys Midnight Runners played together in front of
BBC TV cameras for the first time in 18 years. This historic occasion took place in a TV performance of "Manhood"
for "Top Of The Pops 2" (which was subsequently broadcast on October 8th) and was the first time the full new Dexys
line-up had performed together in public.
A new best of compilation, 'Let's Make This Precious', released on 22nd September 2003
included the two newly recorded songs, 'Manhood' and 'My Life In England (Part One)' produced by Mike
Hedges who had previously worked with U2, Travis and Manic Street Preachers. The new tracks (co-written by Kevin Rowland,
Jimmy Paterson and David Ditchfield back in the early 90's) also featured original Dexys keyboard player, Pete Saunders
and backing vocals from Pete Williams as well as session players Brilliant Strings, including Lucy Morgan who subsequently
joined the Dexys tour.
For further details of the album
see the Kevin Rowland and Dexys Midnight Runners discography.
This release was followed by a live appearance at Newcastle's Baltic Centre on October 4th which was broadcast on Radio 2. The short
set featuring "My Life In England", "Because Of You" and "Come On Eileen" was performed by a four-piece line-up of Kevin Rowland, Pete Williams, Mick Talbot and Neil Hubbard, giving the songs
an 'unplugged' feel.
The full line-up
of Dexys' 2003 incarnation was as follows:
Kevin
Rowland - Main ideas man, general inspiration and angelic, soulful voice. (ex-Killjoys)
Pete Williams - Right hand man, multi-talented
guy, joint lead-singer (ex-Bureau, Blue Ox Babes, These Tender Virtues, Basehart).
Mick Talbot - "I am not a keyboard player, I am a Hammond player." Musical
Director
Lucy Morgan
- Violin (Celticana, Brilliant Strings)
Neil Hubbard
- Guitar, last played with Kevin on My Beauty, also appeared with Roxy Music and a whole host of others
Julian Crampton - Bass, (ex-Incognito) also worked
with Pasedenas and Terry Callier
Crispin
Taylor - Drums (ex-Galliano, a band that Mick Talbot appeared with)
Volker
Janssen - Keyboards (ex Spear Of Destiny)
In October Dexys Midnight Runners returned to the stage for their first tour in eighteen years,
playing a warm-up gig in Dubai before completing twenty dates on the British leg of the tour, and then relocating to Scandinavia
for a further four dates.
The tour
which received enthusiastic responses from audiences and rave reviews from the media was heralded as a triumphant return.
Dexys played the opening show of their British tour in Portsmouth on 21st October 2003 . The full details of the tour were as follows:
British leg:
1 Tue
21st Oct PORTSMOUTH Guildhall
2 Wed 22nd Oct BRIGHTON: CANCELLED)
3 Thu 23rd Oct
WOLVERHAMPTON Civic Hall
4
Sat 25th Oct LEEDS Grand Theatre
5 Sun 26th Oct BASINGSTOKE The Anvil
6 Tue 28th Oct BRISTOL Colston
Hall
7 Wed 29th Oct
CAMBRIDGE Corn Exchange
8
Fri 31st Oct GUILDFORD Civic
9 Sun 2nd Nov ABERDEEN Music Hall
10 Mon 3rd Nov GLASGOW Pavilion
11 Tue 4th Nov
NEWCASTLE Opera House
12
Thu 6th Nov MANCHESTER Academy
13 Fri 7th Nov LIVERPOOL Royal Court Theatre *
14 Sat 8th Nov NORTHAMPTON Derngate
15 Mon
10th Nov LONDON Royal Festival Hall
16 Tue 11th Nov MILTON KEYNES Stables
17 Wed 12th Nov PLYMOUTH Pavilions
18 Fri 14th Nov
COVENTRY Warwick Arts Centre
19
Sat 15th Nov DUBLIN Vicar Street
20 Sun 16th Nov BELFAST Waterfront Hall
21 Tue 18th Nov LEICESTER De Montford Hall
Scandinavian leg:
1 Thur 20th Nov: MALMO (KB)
2 Sat 22nd Nov: OSLO (Rockefeller)
3 Sun 23rd Nov: STOCKHOLM (Cirkus)
4 Mon 24th Nov: GOTHENBURG (Trädgårn)
The
Singles:
When news of Dexys' return
was first publicised it was announced that "Manhood" would be the band's come-back single. However its release
date was repeatedly postponed and although promo copies were produced and played on national radio as "the new Dexys
single" the track never gained a commercial release.
Following the non-release of "Manhood", "My Life In England" was expected to be the new Dexys
single but no firm plans for release were ever announced and it gradually became clear it would never see the light of day.
Although both recordings were included on the 'Let's Make This Precious' CD, only promo copies of either single
release are available. See the Singles Discography for more details.
