Hello Trash Menagerie readers! Welcome to my first post, in a series I’ll be calling, “THE MORE TRASH YOU KNOW“. I’m kicking things off with 80’s British Pop sensation, Dexys Midnight Runners.

Last week, I received an email from my friends at Buffet Libre asking me for a song suggestion for the next mix they were compiling, “Verbena Rewind 2 – Double Portion” (you can hear it on our mix page). They wanted a retro song, something from the 80’s, “totally awesome idea, like, oh my god!” I was all about it. Dexys Midnight Runners instantly popped into my head. I chose the band and their song, “Come On Eileen” for a few reasons. One – *where Dexys derived their name from, two – it was a big hit, and mainly, and most important – I LOVE their song and video for “Come On Eileen“. I posted a bit about them back in January – Monday’s – Blue, Happy, and Despised, where I was reflecting back to being a kid, what I went through to get tickets to go to my first concert (Duran Duran), how I discovered and was turned on to new music, and how I used to rip music off MTV using my “boombox.
“Come On Eileen” – Dexys Midnight Runners

Enter – “THE MORE TRASH YOU KNOW” . . .

Dexys Midnight Runners were formed in 1978 in Birmingham, England, naming the band after Dexedrine, a brand of dextroamphetamine popularly used as a recreational drug among Northern Soul fans at the time. * The midnight runners referred to the energy the Dexedrine gave, enabling one to dance all night. Their first single, “Dance Stance” was released on the independent Oddball Records and reached number 40 in the British charts, but the next single, “Geno” – about Geno Washington, released on EMI – was a British Number One in 1980.

Their debut LP – “Searching for the Young Soul Rebels“, was released in 1980 and became a massive success. Their follow up LP, “Too-Rye-Ay” was released in 1982. The first single, “The Celtic Soul Brothers“, was mildly successful, but “Come on Eileen” followed and became a number one hit, in both the UK and the US. Subsequently, “Come on Eileen“, went on to be the biggest-selling single of 1982, and in 1983, Dexys took home the award for “Best British Single” for the song at the BRIT Awards.

Their follow-up “Jackie Wilson Said (I’m in Heaven When You Smile)“, (Van Morrison cover) reached the top 5 in the UK singles chart. They performed the song on the UK cult comedy show – The Young Ones, (great freaking show) as well as BBC’s, Top Of The Pops. The Top Of The Pops performance, went down as infamous, as it’s broadcast live, and as a prank, one of the show engineers, put up a image of Jocky Wilson, a Scottish darts player, instead of U.S. soul singer, Jackie Wilson.

In 2005, Dexys said they were going back into the studio to make another album. And just as Homer Simpson predicted, in an episode of the Simpson’s, after beating them out and winning the Grammy, “You haven’t hear the last of them!” They’ve recently posted a new track on their myspace.

So folks, that wraps up my first “THE MORE TRASH YOU KNOW“, featuring Dexys Midnight Runners. If anyone out there wants to make me a graphic incorporating “Trash“, into the ““More You Know” bit posted above, I’ll send you something nice in the mail.

Now I’m off to pack for WMC and while doing so, I’m going to blast “Come On Eileen”. I hope you can hear it loud and clear, coming out of the speakers of my flat, where ever it is that you may be. (Or you can just listen and watch the video above, eh?)

To LEARN MORE about Dexys Midnight Runners, visit some linkage:
Dexys.org
Dexys.co.uk