The Unlikely Afterlife of ‘Come On Eileen’

It was the meeting that would change Kevin Rowland’s life forever.The decision reached that day would bring the Dexys Midnight Runners singer immense wealth and worldwide fame, bankruptcy and addiction, and finally a certain kind of peace. The meeting had been called to decide which single Dexys Midnight Runners would release from their second album, 1982’s “Too-Rye-Ay.” The band had already watched the album’s first single, “The Celtic Soul Brothers,” fail miserably in the charts. If the next single wasn’t a hit, there was every possibility that the record company would drop them — and Dexys Midnight Runners would cease to exist.Present at the meeting was Roger Ames, the band’s A&R man. He was determined that the band’s cover of Van Morrison’s “Jackie Wilson Said” should be the next single. Equally adamant was Kevin Rowland, who wanted “Come On Eileen.”Within ten minutes, the meeting had degenerated into a shouting match. At that point, Ames suggested that they bring in Brad Missell, the company’s radio plugger. Ames reasoned that, because Mr. Missell worked closely with radio stations, he would know which of the two songs had the best chance of succeeding.Roger played him “Come On Eileen.” Then he played him “Jackie Wilson Said.” Missell asked to hear “Eileen” again. Halfway through the song, he stopped them.“This one.”“Are you sure?” Roger asked. Brad nodded.Kevin Rowland had won the argument. It was one of those tiny decisions on which an entire career can turn. And turn it did.The video for ‘Come On Eileen,’ by Dexys Midnight Runners. Wikimedia CommonsOn Friday, June 25, 1982, “Come On Eileen” was released as a single. At first, nothing much happened. The single did not take off.A worried and very concerned Mr. Rowland returned to the office in early July and asked to see Missell again. He told him bluntly that unless “Come On Eileen” became a hit, the band was finished. Missell told him that a record producer at Radio 1 owed him a favor.He called in that favor. “Come On Eileen” was played on national radio. Slowly, the record began to gather momentum. The following week it climbed to number 31 in the charts, enough to earn Dexys an appearance on the hugely influential BBC show “Top of the Pops.” The following week it was at number nine. And the week after that, it reached number one.It would stay there for four weeks. The song that the record company had not wanted had become one of the biggest singles of the decade. Yet despite its incredible success, “Come On Eileen” was in no way a typical pop single.Indeed, it sounds exactly like someone refusing to compromise. The fiddle is central, but this isn’t simply Irish folk music. The rhythmic foundation comes out of soul. The song has enormous pop hooks, but it refuses the polished, synthesized sound that was beginning to dominate the early 1980s.And then there is Kevin Rowland’s voice. It isn’t conventionally beautiful. It is urgent, with a real edge to it. The song is also unusually long for a pop single, running to four minutes and twelve seconds. At a time when record companies were often nervous about singles running beyond three minutes, Dexys had produced something that was the opposite of a carefully trimmed pop record.The success was enormous. Dexys set out on a punishing tour that would take them around Britain, Europe and America. At first, Mr. Rowland loved it. He enjoyed the attention. He enjoyed being a pop star and all the benefits that came with it. The song reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, and the group performed it on “Saturday Night Live” in May 1983, on an episode hosted by New York Mayor Ed Koch.Dexys Midnight Runners performing on ‘Saturday Night Live.’ Wikimedia CommonsBut gradually, the excitement began to wear off. Mr. Rowland became exhausted by the grinding routine of touring, the endless interviews, and television appearances, and by the media circus that had developed around him. The attention that had initially thrilled him began to feel intrusive.More seriously, Mr. Rowland began to realize that fame was threatening his most important possession: His songwriting. He needed time alone to write. Instead, he was constantly travelling, performing and answering questions. As the tour continued, he found himself increasingly unable to write music to the standard he demanded of himself.Eventually, when the promotional cycle for “Too-Rye-Ay” was over, Mr. Rowland retreated to Birmingham. He disappeared from the world. He needed to recover.By now he was living with the band’s chief violinist, Helen O’Hara, and he was deeply in love. Together with guitarist Billy Adams, they began work on the next Dexys album. The contrast with “Too-Rye-Ay” would be extraordinary.The album that had made them international stars had been exuberant, colorful and accessible. What Mr. Rowland wanted to make next would be something much more difficult. It would take two years before their work was finally released.The album would be called “Don’t Stand Me Down.” It would become the ultimate expression of Kevin Rowland’s determination to make music on his own terms. The record company wanted another hit. Mr. Rowland wanted something else.He had already discovered what happened when the world fell in love with one of his songs. Now he wanted to find out what happened when he refused to give the world another one. The sound on “Don’t Stand Me Down” was inward, sophisticated, and adult. Many of the songs featured Kevin talking. The centerpiece of the album, “This Is What She’s Like” runs for twelve minutes. Many of the songs tackled the thorny subject of Kevin’s country, Ireland, which at the time was at war with Great Britain. Anti-Irish prejudice ran high in the UK at this point. One UK disc jockey even played “Eileen” and apologized if anyone was offended by hearing a song from an Irish band.Furthermore, the band had undertaken a change in their look. When Dexys first appeared in 1980 with their number one single, Geno, they wore leather jackets, T- shirts, beany hats, brogues, and carried holdall bags. It was a look Kevin had derived from New York dockers. The “Come on Eileen” phase saw the band dress in dungarees, neckerchiefs, and sandals. For “Don’t Stand Me Down,” Kevin adopted a totally American style. He, Billy, and Helen wore Brooks Brothers clothes.The cover for ‘Don’t Stand Me Down,’ by Dexys Midnight Runners, 1985. Wikimedia CommonsIn a UK accustomed to rebels dressing flamboyantly, this conservative look was totally misunderstood. This time, no meeting was required to finalize a single, The band refused to put one out. They wanted the album sell on its merit.They also embarked on a tour just as their album entered the top twenty for one week and then fell dramatically down the charts and into obscurity. The band played to half empty halls all over the country before quitting and falling apart.Mr. Rowland found solace in cocaine, so much so that within a few years he was a major addict, a man who would do anything to get the drug. Luckily, a friend took him to a meeting and after a spell in rehab and a commitment to sober living, Mr. Rowland emerged as a completely different person.Kevin Rowland had always been a difficult and complicated man. Those who worked with him over the years have described someone prone to anger, confrontation, and, at times, violence. His determination to make Dexys exactly as he wanted them could become obsessive, and his temper could be formidable. He upset huge swaths of people both in and outside of the music industry.Recovery did not erase his past, nor did it turn him into a different person overnight. But it gave him a way of confronting his behaviour, taking responsibility for it, and, most importantly, living without the drugs and chaos that had once consumed him. After twenty-seven years away, Mr. Rowland reformed Dexys Midnight Runners and released three albums — “One Day I Am Going To Soar,” “Let The Record Show,” and “The Feminine Divine” — all of which were critically acclaimed.Mr. Rowland went back on the road and delivered shows filled with brim, vitality, and energy. Their appearance at the UK’s famous Glastonbury festival last year is considered by many to be one of their greatest performances.Last week Dexys released their seventh album, “LOVE.” It has been warmly received, and listening to Mr. Rowland and reading his recent interviews, there is a sense that he is in a much better place than the young man who stood in that record-company office in 1982, arguing desperately for “Come On Eileen.”That is what makes the story of the song so extraordinary. We usually measure the success of a record in sales, chart positions, awards, and the number of people who still know the words forty years later. By those standards, “Come On Eileen” is unquestionably a success. It was a worldwide number one and became one of the most recognizable British pop songs ever recorded.But there is another way of looking at it. What if the real success of “Come On Eileen” was not simply what happened to the song? What if it was the journey itself that forced Kevin Rowland to become a man who could now make a meaningful contribution to the world?Is that not the real success of “Come On Eileen”?

The Unlikely Afterlife of ‘Come On Eileen’

The Unlikely Afterlife of ‘Come On Eileen’

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