Kevin Rowland – Looking Good
With his rebellious early career with Dexys Midnight Runners to a now more settled period as an artist, musician and DJ, Kevin Rowland has courted many varied interpretations in his career. Artist, artisan, poet, philosopher, pugilist, hes led a challenging course creatively, right from the gang mentality of Dexys to his wizened underground attitudes today.
Despite turning away from the massive successes for Dexys most commercial hits in the early Eighties, when they toppedthe charts on both sides of the Atlantic with Come On Eileen and Geno and recording two albums as solo artist, Kevin has nonetheless reinvented Dexys over the past few years and is presently recording their 4th album whilst also DJing at the sharper end of UK clubs and festivals, including gigs at the likes of Bestival and The Big Chill, notably wearing his new Kirk Originals glasses, all of which serves to keep his artistic fires burning bright.
At the centre of each line up for Dexys, Kevin saw their initial acclaim kick in from post punk 1979 as their mixture of Irish culture and multi-culturalism, yielded three, very distinctive albums, Searching For The Young Soul Rebels, Too Rye Ay, and Dont Stand Me Down, the latter confusing the critics on its release with its art-school vibes but its now highly acclaimed as an innovative album of the mid 80s. Dexys reputation grew with their rebelliousness, fighting with their record company, stealing the master tapes, and jibbing trains to gigs but as Kevins got older hes hardly nostalgic for those days. In a line that echoes the Small Faces Oh La La he claims, No, I dont miss those days at all, I wasnt happy. I miss having my youth though and I wish I knew then what I know now.
As with many Kirk Originals wearers, he finds that they do make a considerable impression when hes out and about. Quite a few people have come up to me when I haven been out and about and commented on my Kirk Originals. Without exception, they all liked them and people have been asking me where I got them from.
http://www.myspace.com/dexysmidnightrunners
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