Kevin Rowland
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Kevin Rowland | |
|---|---|
 Kevin Rowland in the music video of "Come on Eileen".
|
|
| Background information | |
| Born | August 17, 1953 |
| Origin | Wolverhampton, England |
| Genre(s) | Soul |
| Associated acts | Lucy & The Lovers, The Killjoys, Dexys Midnight Runners |
 |
This article may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. Please improve this article if you can. (May 2008) |
|
|
The tone or style of this article or section may not be appropriate for Wikipedia. Specific concerns may be found on the talk page. See Wikipedia's guide to writing better articles for suggestions.(May 2008) |
 |
This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (May 2008) |
Kevin Rowland (born 17 August 1953, Wolverhampton, England) is a singer, songwriter and frontman of Dexys Midnight Runners. Rowland draws on his Irish ancestry in much of his music[citation needed].
Contents |
[edit] Career
Rowland's first group, Lucy & The Lovers, were influenced by Roxy Music and turned out to be short-lived. His next project, punk rock act The Killjoys, were slightly more successful, releasing the single "Johnny Won't Go To Heaven" in 1977. Alienated by the punk scene, Rowland, together with Killjoys guitarist, Al Archer, decided to form a new soul influenced group, Dexys Midnight Runners.
When Dexys disbanded in 1987, Rowland recorded a solo album called The Wanderer which, together with its three singles, was a commercial failure. His next release was not until 1999 when he recorded a collection of interpretations of classic songs called My Beauty, the album cover of which depicted a heavily made-up Rowland in a dress.
In 2003, Rowland reformed Dexys Midnight Runners - featuring only one other original member, trombonist "Big" Jim Paterson - and embarked on a successful comeback tour backed up with a greatest hits album including two newly recorded songs, "Manhood" and "My Life in England". Both of these new songs were touted as new singles but, despite airplay on national radio, neither was commercially released.
Rowland has launched his own MySpace site[1] where he has promised a new Dexys album soon and had been regularly writing blogs. A new song "It's OK Johanna" is available on there. He also appeared as a DJ at the 2007 Big Chill festival.
His brother-in-law is Barnet F.C. manager Paul Fairclough.
[edit] Discography
[edit] Singles
- "Walk Away" / "Even When I Hold You" (1988)
- "Tonight" / "Kevin Rowland's Band" (1988)
- "Young Man" / "One Way Ticket To Palookaville" (1988)
- "Concrete and Clay" / "I Can't Tell The Bottom From The Top" (instrumental) (1999)
[edit] Albums
- The Wanderer ("Young Man" / "Walk Away" / "You'll Be The One For Me" / "Heartaches By The Number" / "I Am A Wanderer" / "Tonight" / "When You Walk Alone" / "Age Can't Wither You" / "I Want" / "Remember Me" (1988)
- My Beauty ("The Greatest Love Of All" / "Rag Doll" / "Concrete And Clay" / "Daydream Believer" / "This Guy's In Love With You" / "The Long And Winding Road" / "It's Getting Better" / "I Can't Tell The Bottom From The Top" / "Labelled With Love (I'll Stay With My Dreams)" / "Reflections Of My Life" / "You'll Never Walk Alone" (1999)
