The Rock 'n' Roll Book Club are beyond thrilled to welcome Dexys Kevin Rowland to The Ivy House.
This event celebrates publication of 'Bless Me Father - A Life Story'.
A searingly honest memoir from Dexys’ iconic frontman, one of the great mavericks and creative geniuses of British music.In this astonishing memoir, Kevin takes us from the juvenile courts of his troubled teenage years to the early days of the New Romantic scene in the late ’70s. An unwavering passion for music and highly tuned sense of fashion and style ignited an unstoppable drive within him, compelling him down a path that led to his huge chart successes with Dexys Midnight Runners in the early 1980s. However, despite being celebrated as a creative genius, inner turmoil was never far away, and a terrifying series of self-sabotaging events were to follow – including a serious cocaine addiction – leaving him in the wilderness in the 1990s, bankrupt, living in a bedsit, on the dole.Always resilient in the face of adversity, after a massive upheaval Kevin found his way back. He charts his return journey, from shocking audiences with his pioneering embrace of gender fluidity with My Beauty, right through to Dexys’ triumphant appearance at Glastonbury in 2024.
Kevin Rowland is a British singer-songwriter, best known as the frontman of the influential band Dexys (formerly Dexys Midnight Runners), who rose to prominence in the eighties with their first number one ‘Geno’ and later with their iconic hit ‘Come On Eileen’, Britain’s bestselling single in 1982. Kevin's career has spanned five decades and eight albums, marked by his distinctive voice, eclectic style, and passionate performances. With a reputation for reinvention and a relentless pursuit of artistic integrity, Kevin has left anindelible mark on the music industry, and continues to tour and release new music. This is his first book and he does not intend to write another.
'Remarkably candid, gripping… the book is confessional, contrite to an extraordinary degree, and packed with granular detail.' ― The i Paper
‘Blazingly honest ... a confessional book ― at times almost recklessly candid ― but it’s also a profoundly sad family memoir that grapples with Rowland’s lifelong desire for approval from his Irish parents, especially his laceratingly critical father, a man who would frequently take his belt to his son’s legs.’ ― The Sunday Times
'Brutally candid' ― Mojo
Kevin is in conversation with Will Hodgkinson chief rock and pop critic for The Times newspaper
The Ivy House is accessible.
