8. Dexy’s Midnight RunnersDon’t Stand Me Down
This is complicated because you ought to go Searching For The Young Soul Rebels, which when people do these polls is usually the one that comes up, and I like Too-Rye-Ay. When Don’t Stand Me Down came out, it got a bad reception, people didn’t like it very much. When I went to see Dexys doing the live show of it in Manchester, at the Apollo I think, I loved it. It’s that weird Kevin Roland thing that goes from spoken bits and bits that sound like a play or a theatre production, the whole thing’s got this overall ark. Then of course, years later it was released in what Kevin Roland has called "the director’s cut" with the missing opening track put back on again, and actually is brilliant. I’ve got the vinyl, obviously, but it’s one of those weird cases where the CD is definitely superior because it’s got the album as it was meant to play out. I’ve seen Dexys play on their most recent tour, and I love their new album as well, but when they did, ‘This Is What She’s Like’… I just think it’s great. It’s a really great album and it didn’t get the recognition it deserved at the time, but it’s funny how many Dexys fans will tell you that it’s their favourite.
