THE driving force behind the Dexys Midnight Runners will appear at Abergavenny’s Borough Theatre later this year, not to perform the hits that earned him global acclaim, but to talk about a life spent in the spotlight, the forces that shaped him, and the demons that almost destroyed him.

With just six studio albums to their name over a career that has spanned 40 years plus, Dexys, formerly known as Dexys Midnight Runners are a lesson in quality over quantity.

Every record they’ve released from their debut, ‘Searching for the Young Soul Rebels,’ to 2023’s ‘The Feminine Divine’ have been hailed as masterpieces.

Sometimes, as with the case of the criminally ignored ‘Don’t Stand Me Down,’ it’s taken a little while for the critics to catch up with the unique vision and genius of Kevin Rowland, but they get there eventually.

Rightly or wrongly, Dexys will always be associated with the globe-conquering colossus that was Come on Eileen, and if you’re of a certain age, the theme to 1980s’ BBC sitcom ‘Brushstrokes.’

However, songs that are hugely popular at wedding receptions are just the tip of a Dexys’ iceberg that runs deep and wide in the waters of popular culture.

There’s a reason they're often hailed as one of the most influential and innovative groups to come out of the UK, and a lot of that has to do with their maverick frontman and the life he has led.

A life that will be all out on the stage for everyone to bear witness to this July when he appears at the only scheduled event in Wales to promote his new memoir, ‘Bless Me, Father.’

The book has been branded as “searingly Honest” and within its pages, the Irish immigrant who grew up in Wolverhampton during the sixties, reveals how his plans to become a priest were derailed by his troubled teenage years that led to the juvenile courts and a life that could have ended a lot differently, if it hadn’t been for his all-consuming passion for music.

It was the music he made and music that made him, but the huge success and critical acclaim that came with fame brought a world of meaning to the old adage be careful what you wish for…..

Drug addiction, inner turmoil, and bankruptcy led him down a dark place and what could have easily been a dead end.

Yet rehab and a period of self-reflection returned him to the one constant in his life - music and his desire to make it.

Kevin explained, “Music had kept me so busy and obsessed that it saved me from acting out in other ways, which surely would have landed me in jail. In that way, music saved me. Yet even with the help of music, I came very close to prison.”

A period of health, sobriety, and stability culminated in his 1999 solo project, ‘My Beauty’, and a comeback for the ages.

But don’t take our word for it, hear it from the horse’s mouth, or at least Kevin’s when he visits the Borough Theatre on July 18 and tells you his own story in his own words.

You can book tickets here.