Dexys Midnight Runners to record first new album since 1985

Dexys Midnight Runners are working on a new album, their first since 1985's Don't Stand Me Down. The band, who now go by the name Dexys, made the announcement on their Twitter account, @dexysofficial , which was launched on 24 June. The account has since been updated with pictures of the band rehearsing for the album, due in 2012. "Can't really say why, because it's hard to put it down to any one thing," said the original post. "It's early days, but so far so good." The band's current lineup appears to include Kevin Rowland, ex-Style Council keyboardist Mick Talbot, guitarist Neil Hubbard, original Dexys Midnight Runners bassist Pete Williams and an artist who is captioned in one of the pictures as "Maddy". Dexys Midnight Runners formed in 1978 with a mission to mix the energy of punk with the sweetness of soul. Their 1980 debut album, Searching for the Young Soul Rebels, produced a No 1 hit in Geno, although their most enduring hit was Come on Eileen, a chart topper in 1982. The band's third album, Don't Stand Me Down, was a commercial flop although many regard it to be their masterpiece. Dexys split soon after its release, with Rowland embarking on a solo career that included the troubled but underrated covers record, My Beauty. Dexys reunited in 2003 for a tour and a greatest hits package that contained two new songs. But aside from a demo of a track called It's OK Johanna, which Rowland posted on MySpace in 2007, no new Dexys material has appeared. Kevin Rowland will play London club night How Does It Feel to Be Loved? on 16 July.