KEVIN ROWLAND
Dexys’ soul rebel in his own words and by his own hand.
Dexys’ guiding mind presents his Self Portrait, and talks self-obsession, Elvis and what it all means.
I’d describe myself as… neurotic. Obsessive. Thoughtful. Sometimes self-obsessed. Too concerned with what others think about me. Optimistic, but sometimes pessimistic. I work hard on trying to get a balance. I’m trying not to be influenced by my age. I’m possibly deluded about that, but there you go.
Music changed me… because it gave me hope. Seeing Elvis at seven, eight – I loved the romance of it. You could live it, have the songs in your head. It was a transport from reality. But, you know, I don’t even like talking about music, or playing a song to people, that much, ’cos often they don’t get it like I get it. They just go, “Oh yeah, nice”, and I’ll be, Nice? This is like, fucking profound! But I’ve almost got a love-hate relationship with [music], you know. Away from music… I stay healthy, have a good diet, walk, exercise. And I like football, more for the drama surrounding it all more than actually watching the game. I support the Wolves but I’m a fair-weather fan.
My biggest vice is… chocolate. I know that might sound like not very much to some, and at one time it wouldn’t have sounded like very much to me. I’m pretty much vegan and there’s one called Om, sweetened with coconut sugar. I had a couple of small bars this morning. I’m a bugger for sweet things generally.
The last time I was embarrassed was… I’d have to think. I get embarrassed so much.
My formal qualifications are… two GCEs, English and sociology. I’d left school at 15 and three months, and I was working, so I did a day release thing one day a week and did them. And fuck me, oh yeah, I got an honorary doctorate from Wolverhampton University.
The last time I cried was… this morning, when I was thinking about my daughter. I did an interview with The Guardian, and in it I mentioned a couple of weeks of being quite low with what I presume was Covid. One night at about 3am I felt like I couldn’t breathe, and I was thinking, Fuck, are my affairs in order, is my daughter OK? So I sent the interview to her and I told her, When I thought my time was up, it was you I was thinking about.
Vinyl, CD or MP3?… definitely not MP3, they sound shit. CD. I haven’t got a record player, I just got rid of it. Friends say vinyl sounds better but I can’t really hear it. I’ll listen when people post something up on social media, and I listen on Spotify.
My most treasured possession is… a handkerchief my mother gave me. She passed in 2016, on New Year’s Eve, she was 94, nearly 95. I was doing the 2003 tour with Dexys, the first one for a long time, and had a sore throat. She sent me some cough sweets and a cotton hankie and it was so just so lovely and really touching – she was like, “Look after yourself”.
The best book I’ve read is… The Power Of Now by Eckhart Tolle. It’s all about getting you to be present in the moment, and not in the head, which is where I spend way too much of my time. It’s very simple but very profound.
Is the glass half-full or half-empty? … more and more, it’s becoming half-full.
My greatest regret is… I’ve got a few. Kevin Archer not getting credit for the first album, and being too influenced by his demos for the second album… [I wish] I’d just been more fucking chilled in those days.
When we die… I have no idea but I don’t think it’s the end. The life force, the energy, where that goes, who knows?
I would like to be remembered as… a decent bloke. I used to believe, you make great fucking music and put your heart and soul into it, and you’re gonna feel great. You don’t. Wanting people’s acclaim is just a fix. I was having a discussion with a friend about Stanley Kubrick, about what a great artist he was and how unhappy he was. Fuck that – I’m not saying I’m a great artist, but who wants to be a great artist? I’d rather be remembered for who I am, and that’s not always been the best to people, but I’m working on it.
“I’m a bugger for sweet things generally.” KEVIN ROWLAND