Heavenly Recordings
Dexys Midnight Runners - LOVE Dexys Midnight Runners
LOVE, Dexys Midnight Runners latest, possibly last ever album, is a luminous collection of scenes and reckonings. Stories of family and friends, tales from past and present. All drawn from Kevin Rowland’s life, each an individual jewel, threaded together with love. Songs begun three decades ago sit alongside those written in the last year. A vivid depiction of Rowland's Irish immigrant childhood [‘My Life in England Pt 1’]; a moving letter to his grandchildren [‘You’re Alright’]; a wistful moment at the start of a love affair [‘I Want To Be Holding You Next Christmas’]; a pin-perfect portrait of time spent with a dying parent [‘Once A Man, Twice A Child’]; the difficulties of relationships when you're older [‘Old Love’]. All deeply personal, all true, all here; the full human span of relationships, family and intimate emotion.
The theme of this album - Kevin's ninth, Dexys' seventh - gradually emerged as the songs progressed. "I don’t remember when it happened, but I just thought, 'Hang on, these are all love songs, of different kinds',” he says. "I knew then: Call it LOVE." These are love songs, but not of the usual pop style. Not will-she-won't-she romance, but something more emotional and all-encompassing. Those small moments that illustrate a rollercoaster sweep. "Everyone came at this project with love," he says. To tell a lifetime of different loves. A love life.
LOVE is also their first album under the Dexys Midnight Runners name since 1985’s Don’t Stand Me Down. “We realised a couple of years ago that some young people know Dexys Midnight Runners from ‘Geno’ and ‘Come On Eileen,’ but some that we spoke to, were confused by the name, Dexys. And some, thought Dexys was a different outfit to Dexys Midnight Runners.,” says Kevin. “Since Dexys returned in 2012, we’ve always felt what we do is worthy of a young audience, so it was a no brainer to revert to Dexys Midnight Runners”.
Those familiar with Kevin’s wonderful autobiography, Bless Me Father, will recognise some of the people in these songs: his dad, his brother, his first love, more recent romances. But this is a Dexys Midnight Runners album, the group of players where Kevin began his music career, and where he works best. So his lyrics are explored and highlighted, lifted to greater heights by the songwriting and creativity of long-time collaborators Sean Read, Mike Timothy and Jim Paterson. There are strings, too, arranged by Brian Irving, originally from Belfast.
Fellow Belfast man, DJ and musician David Holmes, is the album's producer. Holmes had long wanted to work with Kevin and Dexys: “They were the first act I was ever truly obsessed with, the first I saw live”. David's older sister bought him a Walkman when he was 11, and his first cassette was Searching For the Young Soul Rebels. When Kevin sent him a demo of ‘Once A Man, Twice a Child’ (written with Sean soon after Dexys' triumphant 2024 Glastonbury appearance), David was captivated. "His song writing is so strong," he says.
Black LP
Black vinyl
3mms spine outer sleeve w Matt lamination & title embossing
Inner sleeve 200gsm w Matt machine varnish
Image Insert inside packaging 200mm x 250mm, gloss finish
Marketing sticker
Polybag
Download included
Indies Yellow LP
Yellow vinyl
3mms spine outer sleeve w Matt lamination & title embossing
Inner sleeve 200gsm w Matt machine varnish
Image Insert inside packaging 200mm x 250mm, gloss finish
Marketing sticker
Polybag
Download included
CD
4 panel digisleeve w matt lamination
8-page folded concertina fold booklet
Marketing sticker
Shrinkwrapped
Track List
Side A:
A1 - My Life In England Pt.1
A2 - You’ve Got The Love
A3 - Once A Man and Twice A Child
A4 - You’re Alright
A5 - I Want To Be Holding You Next Christmas
Side B:
B1 - I’ll Always Love You
B2 - Strange Feelin
B3 - It’s Over Now
B4 - Old Love
B5 - My Life In England Pt.2
Pickup available at Cambridge
Usually ready in 24 hours. Unless it's a Pre-Order
Product information
Shipping
We aim to keep postage costs as low as possible while making sure your records arrive safely. All orders are packed securely using Defenda MusicMax stiff cardboard mailers, with plenty of “FRAGILE” tape, to provide the best protection in transit.
Shipping costs are calculated automatically at checkout based on the weight and destination of your order, along with packaging materials.
We send most orders via Royal Mail tracked services. For larger or heavier orders, we may use a courier service or split your order into multiple parcels to ensure it arrives safely and efficiently.
Pre-orders
Any items ordered alongside a pre-order item will be held back and posted alongside your pre-order. If you’d like them sent individually, please make separate orders.
On the subject of pre-orders, please note than release dates can change (sometimes not until the scheduled release date). Please keep an eye on our website
Returns
Returns Procedure
If you wish to cancel or return an order, you need to notify us by email (quoting your order number), and wait for us to get back to you before returning goods.
We will email you with instructions and a returns reference number. When returning items to us, you will need to take reasonable care to ensure they are not damaged in transit and that they are labelled clearly with the correct address & reference number (as provided by us) :
Relevant Record Café,
260 Mill Road
Cambridge,
CB1 3NF.
We reserve the right to not process returns sent to us without prior permission.
It’s your responsibility to retain possession and to take reasonable care of the goods in the period prior to return and until you send them back to us.
Your Right To Cancel An Order
Your right to cancel your order starts from the moment you place the order, and ends 14 days from the time you receive your order.
Non-Faulty Products
If you wish to return a product because it’s unwanted or it was ordered in error, please follow the returns procedure (see above).
We’ll happily accept a return as long as the product is still in its original shrink-wrapped packaging and is completely undamaged. You have 14 days from when you receive your order to notify us that you wish to return your order.
By opening a sealed product in any way (or using any digital download code accompanying your order), you waive your right to cancel or return your order.
Obviously we’d rather offer you store credit (in the form of a gift card), but if you’d prefer a refund, we promise to get this sorted within 14 days of receiving your return.
Please take care when ordering!
Faulty Products
If you believe you have purchased a faulty or damaged record, please follow the returns procedure (see above).
Once we receive your record, it will be tested by a member of staff in store.
If your record is deemed as faulty, you will be entitled to a refund, swap or store credit (to the same value as your initial purchase).
If this record is not deemed as faulty, we will not cover any additional postage and packaging costs incurred by either you or us, and we will not be able to offer you a refund, store credit or swap.
Basically, please be absolutely certain the record you have purchased is faulty before following the returns procedure. If possible, we suggest testing the record on different turntables and weighting the tone arm differently.
Steepletone and Crosley Record Players
After having several “faulty” records returned to us (that in actuality had nothing wrong with them), we cannot guarantee that any records we sell will play correctly Crosley or Steepletone branded record players.