If there was any justice on this planet in any respect, legendary Dexys frontman Kevin Rowland could be strolling on throughout the coveted legends slot on The Pyramid Stage this weekend, as opposed showing in entrance of the meagre (however appreciative) crowd that greet him on the far smaller Park Stage this afternoon.
Dexys had been as soon as one among Britain’s largest bands, with a string of hits, a number of quantity ones and demanding adoration from all corners of this nation. That was a very long time in the past, although, and their standing has clearly dropped. A lot of this may increasingly have been right down to the notoriously enigmatic Rowland, a person who has modified his bandmates greater than he does his socks and has a behavior of constructing strikes that appear to intentionally diminish his industrial standing at each flip.
However right this moment Rowland, trying wholesome and joyful and sounding note-perfect, buries all of his earlier demons in a mere 45 minutes, with a set of previous and new songs that, within the case of the previous, sound as effortlessly distinctive and memorable as they did again within the early 80s.
The post-punk, neo soul, people of Tell Me When My Gentle Turns Inexperienced, Geno, Jackie Wilson Says (full with that iconic photograph of darts legend Jockey Wilson), Till I Imagine in My Soul and, after all, Come on Eileen all sound each inch the traditional UK requirements that they need to be thought-about. Even Rowland’s tongue in cheek dad jokes are peppered with a couple of critical moments, as he barks “Free Palestine, and fuck NATO… they’re behind this!” And opens up about his earlier self harmful tendencies with a stage of honesty most artists would balk at. Seeing the person again to his rabble-rousing, crowd-pleasing greatest is kind of a sight.
Dexys concurrently really feel like the best secret at this 12 months’s Glasto and but the proper band for the pageant. A shocking, lovely and superb return from one among our best artists.