... comes another one hit wonder that seemed out of place for 1983. First off Todd answers the question - Who is Dexy? In relation to the artists' name "Dexy's Midnight Runners". It turns out a "dexy" was an amphetamine popular in England in the 80s so the group name must be about people running around at night, high on these drugs.
Dexy's Midnight Runners, who actually are a three hit wonder in the UK, evolved out of a club scene in the north of England where people would dance to soul hits that never made the charts either in America or the UK.
Todd figures that from the lyrics - much of them incomprehensible - that the song is about asking "Eileen" to "Come on" and leave their depressing town behind. He gathers that from the fact that England was in quite a recession at the time this song came out.
What came later was a break up, followed by the lead singer trying to claw back his original fame, lots of failures, lots of drugs, and even a music video with some cross dressing. None of those follow up attempts made it in America, so from the perspective of the USA, Dexy's Midnight Runners really were a one hit wonder.
Did they deserve better? - Oddly Todd doesn't ask that question. Maybe that's because the band actually did get back together in 2012, when this video was made.
One thing I noticed that Todd didn't mention. The flop song and album that was their end shows the group all dressed in business attire as if working on Wall Street. Maybe because they were originally counterculture their fans thought that this looked too much like selling out mid 80s style.
Dexy's Midnight Runners, who actually are a three hit wonder in the UK, evolved out of a club scene in the north of England where people would dance to soul hits that never made the charts either in America or the UK.
Todd figures that from the lyrics - much of them incomprehensible - that the song is about asking "Eileen" to "Come on" and leave their depressing town behind. He gathers that from the fact that England was in quite a recession at the time this song came out.
What came later was a break up, followed by the lead singer trying to claw back his original fame, lots of failures, lots of drugs, and even a music video with some cross dressing. None of those follow up attempts made it in America, so from the perspective of the USA, Dexy's Midnight Runners really were a one hit wonder.
Did they deserve better? - Oddly Todd doesn't ask that question. Maybe that's because the band actually did get back together in 2012, when this video was made.
One thing I noticed that Todd didn't mention. The flop song and album that was their end shows the group all dressed in business attire as if working on Wall Street. Maybe because they were originally counterculture their fans thought that this looked too much like selling out mid 80s style.