Kevin Rowland of Dexys Midnight Runners: 'There was a lot of anti-Irish racism'
As frontman of Dexys Midnight Runners, Kevin Rowland was asked to suppress his Irish-ness at the same time as being driven by it. The band's first single, released in 1979, 'Burn It Down', had its title changed at the insistence of management to 'Dance Stance'.
A loss to the Catholic Church, but a great blessing for popular music. Kevin Rowland was turned down for seminary school, but his alternative path did lead him to Dexys Midnight Runners and an impressive output since they broke through in the late 1970s.
You can hear a light Wolverhampton accent, but Rowland, stylish as ever, speaks with a gentle lilt, passed on from his Irish parents. An altar boy in his early days, his calling must have been every Catholic mother's dream?
