Kevin Rowland, frontman and principal songwriter of Dexys Midnight Runners, has publicly condemned Reform UK for using the band's 1982 chart-topping hit «Come On Eileen» as entrance music for party leader Nigel Farage at a recent conference. In a statement shared on the group's social media channels, Rowland said he was «disgusted» by the move and made clear that the band's opposition to Farage's politics is absolute.
The song was played as Farage walked onto the stage at the NEC in Birmingham during the party's conference. The band responded soon after, sharing an image of a UK billboard featuring Farage alongside the message «He blames migrants so you don't blame billionaires.» In the caption, Rowland wrote: «I, Kevin Rowland (the son of Irish immigrants) and the main songwriter of 'Come On Eileen,' am disgusted to learn that Nigel Farage has used our Dexys Midnight Runners' song to make his entrance for his party conference speech.» He added: «Myself, and all of Dexys are passionately against Farage's politics.»
The rebuke is consistent with Rowland's long record of political engagement. In 2022, Dexys joined forces with Primal Scream on the song «Enough Is Enough,» released in solidarity with railway workers. At the time, Rowland said the track called out how «millionaires get ever richer while workers are told to accept poverty,» and argued that the media «sets out to confuse people with lies and divide us with side issues like Brexit and culture wars.» Earlier this year, Rowland appeared at a one-off London concert alongside Paul Weller of The Jam, Suggs of Madness, Glen Matlock of the Sex Pistols and Andy McKay of Roxy Music. The event at London's Scala was organised by Artists for Gaza to raise funds for the Health Workers 4 Palestine's Gaza Medics Solidarity Fund, which supports the rebuilding of maternity wards in Gaza, mobile clinics and stipends for Gazan medics.
The dispute over «Come On Eileen» is the latest in a series of clashes between musicians and political parties over the use of copyrighted songs at rallies and conferences. Artists have repeatedly objected when their work is deployed to soundtrack campaigns or leaders whose policies they oppose, and the practice has become a recurring flashpoint in the relationship between pop culture and electoral politics.
For Dexys, the controversy arrives at a busy moment. The band released their latest album, «Love,» last Friday, following its announcement in May alongside the wistful single «My Life In England Pt. 1» and details of a new tour. The live shows opened in Glasgow last Friday, and the European leg begins next month with a night in Stockholm on October 4. The itinerary includes stops in Gothenburg, Malmö, Berlin and Paris before the band returns to the UK for dates in Glasgow, Newcastle, Wolverhampton, Manchester, London, Cambridge, Brighton, Dublin, Belfast, Galway and Bristol. The UK run includes two nights at London's Hackney Empire on October 27 and 28.
Rowland has rarely shied from expressing strong views. In a 2023 interview, he recalled once calling David Bowie «full of shit» and a «bad copy of Bryan Ferry,» and described later writing to Bowie to apologise after entering recovery from cocaine addiction. «I know he got the letter, but I didn't hear back,» Rowland said. «But that's OK.»