Bless Me Father: A life story

by Kevin Rowland

'Warts and all, mainly my own.'

At home, the prayerful eight-year-old altar boy was planning to attend college to train to be a priest. Elsewhere, he was thieving, lying, swearing, fighting and rarely out of trouble.

In this astonishing memoir, Dexys’ iconic frontman 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.

Vividly detailed, and with a truly rare degree of self-insight, this is Kevin's own, deeply personal account of an extraordinary life, raw and unvarnished. A remarkable memoir, as compelling and original as you would expect from one of the great mavericks of British music.

Genres: Music, Nonfiction, Memoir, Audiobook, Biography, Autobiography

400 pages, Hardcover

Published July 10, 2025

Reviews

[Stephen · Rating 4 out of 5]

very interesting autobiography very frank and open discussing life and his relationship with his father and later musical career drugs and debt. overall enjoyed the book

[Craig White · Rating 5 out of 5]

Too-Raw-Aye!
A blisteringly raw and damaged autobiography, some parts must actually have been sore to write! At times I was 'ocht, I'd have left that out!', but the whole picture, and at times it's a pretty ugly picture, is presented here - little wonder he doesn't intend to write another!
Kevin Rowland is the owner of 6 brilliant Dexys albums, and 2 solo records (one wasn't great, the other finding its audience now, after 20 odd years of controversy over the sleeve images - but boy, does he settle the score in the brilliantly haunting 2020 video for Rag Doll!), and although the pride in the music is evident, that's not the story here.
For good or ill, probably both, he sets his life out in front of us, and it's a headful to contend with - mostly troubled, negative touching on toxic, anxious, addicted, lost and directionless. But incredibly honest. He does a lot of apologizing for his behaviour toward certain individuals (family, bandmates, lovers, etc), but he's not looking for pity...just to make things right. A hard write that is at times a hard read!
It gladdens me that he continues to create original and crucial music. Despite everything detailed here in uneasy and difficult detail, his creative legacy is practically unsurpassed! It's Alright, Kevin!

[Mervyn Whyte · Rating 5 out of 5]

When a person pours out his heart like this, it feels almost unkind—churlish even—to be overly critical. Yes, the book is a little uneven: over a hundred pages are devoted to his childhood and teenage years, which are fascinating and moving, yet the last thirty years of his life get much less attention. Rowland warns us up front that this is going to be 'warts and all,' and he’s not wrong—there are some truly awful moments here.

What struck me as particularly sad was how often Rowland failed to act on his instincts. Time and again, especially in relation to his music, his instincts were right—often ahead of their time—but he ignored them. It’s a shame he alienated so many people in the industry; sometimes you just have to play the game. Because when he did trust his instincts, the results were extraordinary. Dexy’s music is incredible: Don’t Stand Me Down is a masterclass, This Is What She’s Like could have been a phenomenal single, and the music on The Waltz and Knowledge of Beauty is outstanding.

I understand that much of Rowland’s aggression and difficult behaviour stemmed from fear and anxiety—a terrible position to be in. But it must have made him very hard to deal with, especially combined with his perfectionism. And yet, without that perfectionism, we wouldn’t have the music. It’s just a shame he couldn’t enjoy it more when it was happening. I’m glad to read that he’s happier and more at peace with himself now.

He's wrong about Roger Waters. And labelling what the IRA did as 'horrific mistakes' is difficult to read. But a great artist and fundamentally a decent man.

[Grahaeme Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

For people of a certain age, Dexys Midnight Runners were a group that took the attitude and aggression of punk but attached it to the brass heavy sound of soul music (and later attached the same attitude to Irish folk music). Dexys was an extraordinary group, under the primary direction of the equally extraordinary Kevin Rowland. "Bless Me Father" is the story of his dramatic life: from abrasive (and occasionally criminal) teenage years through to his success in the late 70s/early 80s with Dexys, through the drama of bankruptcy and cocaine addiction.

At the heart of the book is the continual conflict between Rowland and his father, which only comes to some kind of positive conclusion after his father suffers a severe stroke. Rowland finds himself caught in a cycle between chasing his father's approval and reacting against the continual criticism that he receives, even when at the height of Dexys' chart success. In the first part of the book, Rowland explains in detail how this resulted in increasing acts of criminality (sometimes with the influence of his older brothers), and how a life of crime was narrowly averted by his passion for clothes, music and girls.

There are a number of details about the early incarnations of Dexys were heading in a stylistic direction that was perhaps closer to the New Romantic flouncing of Spandau Ballet and Duran Duran. It was a tour with The Specials that ended up forcing the band to adopt the iconic donkey jackets and beanie hats that became the image for debut album "Searching For The Young Soul Rebels". He details the record label manipulations and his own insecurities (which resulted in combative behaviour) which resulted in band member after band member leaving. Most upsetting is the details of his treatment of various romantic relationships which seems to indicate worrying levels of controlling behaviours. It eventually comes as no surprise when everything falls apart, and Rowland is left to deal with the clusterfuck that has been his professional and personal lives.

It is not a perfect book, as he spends a lot of the book explaining his youthful exploits but some events are not given the detail I would've liked to have seen explained in more detail. The biggest example of this is when Rowland rather hurridly covers the media outrage that greeted his transgender image that was integral to his solo album of cover versions, "My Beauty". I also feel that the process of the rebuilding of Dexys that resulted in their performance at the 2024 Glastonbury Festival also felt rushed.

If you know all the words to "Geno" or "Come On Eileen", I'd advise you to read this book. If you know nothing of Dexys Midnight Runners, I'd still suggest that you read this book - especially if you were a child of the 70s / 80s.

[Gavin Hogg · Rating 4 out of 5]

As honest as you'd expect if you've followed his career over the years. He spends a lot of time apologising and trying to make amends for previous mistakes. I wasn't aware of quite how low he had sunk at one point so his resurgence as a creative force is even sweeter. My main gripe is the way his later albums are barely mentioned - I'd love to have known more about his feelings while making those records and had some insight into the inspiration behind them. Still, a fascinating and compelling read that will send you back to the records to listen with fresh ears.

[Emma · Rating 5 out of 5]

I haven’t finished a book and continued to think about it like this one in a long time! Kevin pulls no punches about anyone or anything, including himself. I have total admiration for his honesty and ability to look at himself and his life in the way he has.
He is undoubtedly a difficult man, but I feel he is genuine in his truths and opinions. I love his music and hear it differently now I’ve read his book. An absolute masterpiece in honesty and truth.

[Andrew Wesley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Being a massive fan of his music from beginning to end g to end this was, in the event, not the book for me. Hardly anything g on the music - one of his solo albums dealt with in one line, the second in a paragraph.

380 pages of miserable self-sabotage and 10 pages of peace. Not convinced the balance was anywhere near right…

[Jonas Paro · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mestadels briljant självbiografi från ännu en musiker som kanske inte alltid varit helt lätt att samarbeta med. Uppväxtskildringen med stölder, bråk och en hårt uppfostrande pappa är stark (och upptar nästan halva boken). Jag hade gärna läst ännu fler detaljer från tiden med Dexys Midnight Runners. Men att Kevin över huvud taget ger ut sina memoarer är förstås en stor händelse, hur han än lägger upp det.

Väldigt stark fyra.

[Martin Borrott · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful honest autobiography of a musical hero. Loved it.

[Simon Harrison · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wanted and expected to love it, but it hit the bumpers around Too Rye Ay, got very patchy around My Beauty, and reduced the later great albums to mentions (positive, at least). I love Kevin Rowland, and, although his voice cut through, this was a missed opportunity.

[Sharon · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not quite sure why I chose this one to read. I know of the author through Dexys Midnight Runners, but didn't know anything else about him. It's quite a sad story really, he's had a hell of a life through drink and drugs. It was interesting though, especially as he originally came from Wolverhampton, just down the road from me, so I could picture it as I read. It's a very honest read and he certainly doesn't hold anything back. As his life has moved on, I'd like to think he's changed from how he was - he didn't come across as a particularly likeable man throughout most of the book, even at the height of his fame. As a word of warning, there was some bad language and references to sex throughout. I'm not sure I like or dislike the author any more than I did before I started it, but it was still an interesting read.

[Tim Gillett · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are not many non disco songs from the 80's that can still fill a dancefloor. There's one which not only gets people to their feet but also gets them singing along.

It's Come On Eileen which never fails to rouse a crowd. The second No.1 for Dexy's Midnight Runners is without doubt the one song they're remembered for. I learned from lead singer Kevin Rowland's auto biography Bless Me Father that it was his idea, against others' opinions, to slow the song right down and then build it up again. It's a gimmick that works sending many party goers into a happy frenzy.

It's surprising though Kevin Rowland actually got to record it. By his own admission, he really should have been in prison and if he had been, it's unlikely he would ever have become a successful pop star.

He really does come across as a nasty character, constantly fighting in school and in adult life, carrying a knife to rip up cinema seats, a devoted shoplifter, and for periods believing he has a right to the dole even though he's perfectly fit to work.

He's by no means work shy. He describes a succession of jobs but unable to settle down for too long. Quick tempered and impulsive, he describes how he lost his job at a central London branch of former clothes shop C & A by writing in indelible ink in large letters over one clothing item how rubbish it was, wanting to warn the public not to buy.

Such a sense of morality and fairness of alerting the public to what he thinks are clothes not worth the price, may well come from the Catholicism he grew up with, a regular altar boy. But in his teens, like so many others, he turns his back on his Catholic faith.

However it's clear the power of being brought up in an Irish Catholic family, pricks his conscience throughout his life's journey. Astonishingly for someone with his Irish cultural and religious background, he tries to persuade a girlfriend to abort the baby she's having with him. She refuses, feeling with her parents, totally let down by his refusal to do the decent thing, set up home, marry and embrace his paternal responsibilities. It's only after the birth that he realises his request for an abortion was wrong. Sadly he hardly sees his daughter much at all until late on his life.

The experience illustrated to me Kevin Rowland's selfishness and restlessness. It seems at one point that rather than music, he's going to give his working life to clothes. He's very knowledgeable about fashion, constantly dropping in names of clothes and fashion cuts. Not enough for me is devoted to the stage late on in his life when he describes having discovered his feminine side and cross dresses for a while, including for the artwork of one of his albums. He's then surprised somewhat at the album's poor sales. I'd like to know his views on the trans debate.

I read on and on, waiting to discover how Dexy's came about and their subsequent chart successes and thinking it should lift his tardy and largely unhappy life into a celebration of an achievement only so few reach - getting to No.1 in the charts twice .

He gets there in the end, through detailing the various line ups of the group and the prowess of the various musicians who come and go. There's a lot about what Dexy's should wear with the new romantics replacing the mod renaissance in fashion.
There's also debate about his hair style. It illustrates how image had become as important as the music by the 1980's though image has always been part and parcel of pop.

He describes how the success of Come On Eileen propels him and the group into great fame. For those who are puzzled how the likes of Savile and Glitter and others abused their positions and how some of the world's greatest pop and rock stars have related their stories of fans throwing more than their spent underwear at them, Kevin Rowland quite matter of factly states how he directed a colleague in the crowd to take his signals of the fans he wanted to sleep with, and bring them to him after the concert. This take your pick of who to sleep with tonight might be shocking to some but old hat to those who've read countless other autobiographies of continual consensual sex between stars and fans.

Despite the success of the song and the album, I got the impression from the book that he was still unfulfilled, not as happy as a chart topping star should be.

There is an interesting encounter between him and Shane MacGowan, who accused Rowland of being unauthentic by claiming he used a fiddle riff on Come On Eileen from Thomas Moore's song Endearing Young Charms.

There's a wonderful tale of supporting David Bowie on his Serious Moonlight tour, and foolishly offending him. I won't say what happened but it reveals Bowie in a somewhat different light to his legendary likeable myth.

In fact , Kevin Rowland is somewhat dominated by sex from early on in the book. There's a graphic, and rather erotic to some, description of him and another pupil in class in school, and it sets the reader asking is he bisexual or gay. Later on in his life when he describes the colour pink he's decorated part of his flat in Brighton, could be coded language or just part of his natural flair for flamboyance.

He's pretty straight talking about sex. There's regret in parts of his life when he's not out on the town or in a relationship. I won't spoil it by telling you if he did marry after that early relationship with the woman who gave birth to his daughter. But elsewhere there's excess including the night he enjoyed a threesome in Bournemouth!

That other mainstay of many a pop star's life - drugs and in this case cocaine - is rampant. He struggles with his addiction and explains how difficult a habit it is to kick. Habit and addiction is something that plagues Kevin Rowland from his childhood when he begins smoking cigarettes and he relates how he often thieved to continue the habit.

His description of sex while on cocaine is interesting but nothing to compare with his memory of being on ecstasy in a club and how it stripped away the barrier of inhibition.

I wasn't really looking for an explanation of his low life living, vandalism and aimlessness in much of the early part of his life. Ok, it's clear there's a constant battle to win his father's affection but is that abnormal? But there it is in the final chapters, as he reveals the results of a psychiatrist proving his inner self and an explanation for his troubled being.

There's a profound sense of amazement and sadness that having sold so many records around the world, Kevin Rowland ought to be living comfortably, with more than a million in the bank, homes in more than one country and enjoying life's luxuries. But there's none of that. It's fascinating yet shocking to discover how he didn't reap such dividends from his efforts and successes and it's a reminder of an industry where you've really got to be on the ball and have people close to you that can be trusted one hundred per cent.

This is a very interesting life story but one which destroys the good feel of one of the modern era's most catchy sing along and memorable pop songs of our time. If you want your feel good relationship with Come On Eileen ruined, read it. Or, just live in bliss ignorance and continue enjoying the Too-Rye-Ay sound.

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

Four minutes into Dexys Midnight Runners’ coruscating debut album Searching For The Young Soul Rebels, Kevin Rowland admits in ‘Tell Me When My Light Turns Green’, ‘Seen quite a bit in my twenty--three years…’. Listing indignities he’s suffered, the emotion is almost tangible. It continues to be a staple of Dexys’ sets today.

Forty-five years on, Bless Me Father is, at turns, harrowing, humorous, self-berating, and forgiving. Rowland’s discovered inner peace in recent years, and is a significantly calmer, happier individual, even if wry, self-effacing humour frequently permeates his songs. This narrative gives fascinating background to the issues, sometimes horrific and even abusive, that shaped him.

Rowland admits that his behaviours and attitudes could be, often deliberately, hurtful and exploitative. His avoidance of incarceration despite a catalogue of youthful criminal offences surprises him. His hard-working father, a constant critic of the author, foresaw his second youngest child’s future as, ‘…married with a kid when you’re 17’, but Rowland’s musical epiphany drove his late-teen desire to crash cultural barriers via inventive, often-belligerent music.

If Bless Me Father analyses Kevin’s adversarial paternal relationship, happily repaired before his father’s death, the title also references his life-long turbulent relationship with Catholicism, chiefly the dichotomy between his strong faith, and carnal hedonistic desires, including cocaine addiction. “Peace of mind comes first” he writes in summary, “Without that, life isn’t worth living”.

For a man obsessed with clothes and fashion, he wears the hairshirt remarkably well.
(Written for, and published in©️RNR magazine issue 2/14 November 2025)

[Sean Sadler · Rating 2 out of 5]

Shorter Review for the Time Poor
Rowland’s Autobiography is a grave disappointment
It is overlong,not well written and worst of all his career in the seminal band Dexy’s Midnight Runner’s is barely mentioned until page 180 of its 370 odd pages
It is inexplicable how those that commissioned the Book allow KR to ramble on at length about his childhood and adolescence ( the all too familiar story of parental alienation,School fights ,unwanted jobs……..,he goes on at interminable length )
KR is in my view a highly talented songwriter and musician but so little is apparent as to how he came to be so in this book unfortunately .

[Jose · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Leyendo pasa una hora
¡y se la has quitado a la droga!"

(Viva Leer, Los Empresarios)

Leído del tirón en un ALSA Madrid-Pamplona, admito que de primeras me cabreó muchísimo (por las turras inanes de un Kevin que no cejaba de mirar a la infancia intentando hacer ¿auto-terapia? ¿un análisis de de dónde viene el pop de masas? ¿un blog con carácter retrospectivo?) y encima, el muy hijo de puta, me negaba hasta pasadas las ciento y pico páginas leer sobre lo que yo quería leer: de dónde surgen los Dexys, qué broncas hubo tras aquellas desbandadas que dieron lugar a las famosas reformaciones de la banda (las así llamadas mark1, mark2 etc etc, algo sin igual en el pop británico con la salvedad de Mark E Smith reformando 7 veces The Fall en una misma semana) y qué hubo tras ese impulso de ser un pionero de cosas que llevan los modernos de hoy día sin saber que se hizo hace medio siglo (uñitas pintadas, mullets, bigotitos de Cantinflas, camisetas estilo imperio transparentes o de rejilla, pantalones baggy, etc). Lo último, ya para el final, Kevin lo expande en un desideratum de confesionalidad extrema tan digno de vergüenza ajena como de admiración: pasa del elegir groupies cada noche para hacer tríos (lolazo lo del sandwich humano no sexual sino de calorcete de fricción intercuerpos siendo él el jamoncito york) a admitir que le gustaba ver a su chavala haciendo pis y follando con otros, no sin obviar una salida del armario a medias.

De los Dexys mola que habla de su empecine en sacar las mezclas que conocemos, aquellas en las que los vientos de Geno o There There My Dear convierten a semejantes obras maestras en apisonadoras sin igual, y alguna que otra reflexión de perogrullo que no por obvia se menta tanto (como el poder de la tv antaño y lo mucho de tótem cultural y de hito vital que tenía el Top Of The Pops y salir cantando en él). Un par de choradillas de que si Jack Antonoff le dijo que es su máxima inspiración para componer, varias disculpas con los Specials y los Pogues por haber sido una persona muy cercana a Morrissey en lo que entendemos no complicarse la vida uno cuando le ponen un micro en la boca y ya. Bueno, y su reconciliación con Kevin Archer con la historia aquella que hacía el pavo de los Charlatans con lo de escuchas comentadas en twitter por los autores del disco.

Pero luego llega la parte de la farlopa de Rowland y qué forma de remontar y qué miedo. Cabe decir que aunque aquí Kevin diga que la portada aquella del My Beauty en la que salía travestido era su forma de abrazar su parte femenina y blablabla, todo el mundo sabe que de aquellas él era una especie de Mazinger Z o de mecha de Evangelion en el que ese centro de mando -que debían ocupar y pilotar pilotos o chavales depresivos- que era su cabeza, en su caso, estaba ocupado por kilogramos de cocaína y turulos del tamaño de Teruel. De verdad que es escalofriante, desde ese momento que admite que su forma de consumir le abocaba a quedarse quieto en un sofá con las pupilas de un lémur a cuando habla de su hija yéndose a vivir con él en pleno momento de tocar fondo. Una historia capaz de alejar de la droga a Arturo Valls. Bueno, tanto no.

Y maravillosa gestión del patrimonio logrado con Come On Eileen de nuevo gracias a la cocaína: propiedades ejecutadas, deudas con la hacienda británica impresionantes e impagos de créditos para la droguita le llevaron a ser de los primeros genios de la new wave en tener un administrador concursal años antes de la invención de esta figura.

Genio. Un gigante sin igual.

[Joe O'Donnell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Oh, Kevin. The overwhelming reaction you might experience after reading Kevin Rowland’s tormented, self-lacerating autobiography would be to want to give the Dexys singer a hug and tell him that “everything’s going to be alright, Kev”. There can be few memoirs where the author is so unsparing of themselves, where the narrative is so replete with paranoia, shame, and self-sabotage.

I can imagine that some obsessional Dexys fans might be nonplussed – not to say slightly disappointed – by this book. It is nearly two-thirds of the way through “Bless Me Father” before Dexys Midnight Runners are mentioned, and this isn’t the kind of rock-star biography that is preoccupied with the deep cuts of a band’s discography out of some notion of fan service (instead, Rowland dismisses huge parts of Dexys’ recorded output as sub-standard or horribly compromised).

“Bless Me Father” is more focused on the Irish Emigrant experience (Rowland’s family left County Mayo for Wolverhampton when he was four) and on the Dexys frontman’s wildly misspent youth. It is those latter tales from Rowland’s unruly upbringing in the England of the 1950s & 60s that are the most gripping sections of “Bless Me Father”, with his juvenile years seemingly a maelstrom of fighting, fingering, tripping, thieving, getting arrested, and – more oddly – hairdressing.

This is a deeply confessional book (it is hardly a coincidence that it is titled “Bless Me Father”), to the extent that it could almost be read as an extended therapy session. Rowland’s turbulent relationship with his own father is the central struggle of the narrative.

Kevin Rowland spends an inordinate amount of “Bless Me Father” apologising profusely to bandmates, business associates, and family members for every infraction or slight – no matter how grave or minor – from the dim-and-distant past. Most sadly, he seems to take little pleasure in his undoubted triumphs, being entirely dismissive of achievements that his fans would see as some of the finest records of the last half-century. Wracked by insecurities, rather than take his autobiography as an opportunity to allow himself an entirely justified lap-of-honour, Rowland appears to have a compulsion to torture himself about the supposed compromises he made throughout his career.

The latter sections of “Bless Me Father” detail Kevin Rowland’s post-fame financial bankruptcy and, harrowingly, how his life was torn to pieces and utterly degraded by his cocaine addiction, before he found recovery and a modicum of inner peace. This is at times quite a tough read (especially if, like me, you’re a Dexys fan) and is far less a typically self-aggrandising rock memoir than it is a plea for forgiveness. As we might say in the west of Ireland: “take it easy on itself, Kevin”.

[Nigeyb · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bless Me Father: A life story is essential reading/listening for any Dexys' fans, or anyone up for a raw, unapologetic, candid and unflinching story of an extraordinary life.

Bless Me Father: A life story is an incredibly honest and forthright memoir. Kevin Rowland really is a mass of insecurities and the king of self sabotage. This is often quite painful to read. Massive success and deep despair, neither helped Kevin with his many demons. This rollercoaster of a life including criminality, serious addiction and bankruptcy, alongside his maverick musical genius.

Many of his issues stem from his childhood. His father was harsh, violent and critical, and Kevin desperately sought his approval

Bless Me Father: A life story is an extraordinary book though and, despite thinking I'm a reasonably knowledgeable fan, it's full of new insights. Most are about what was going on in Kevin's head so probably new to the vast majority of readers.

If any of that sounds interesting just read it, or listen to Kevin narrate it as I did. I was gripped and raced through it.

5/5

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kevin Rowland is a fascinating character, his contribution to UK music in the 80s was immense and yet at the same time, he had the ability to recreate Dexys at a bewildering pace, each iteration of the band offering a unique expression of his musical genius. Then he seemingly disappeared. ‘Bless Me Father’ focuses on his troubled childhood in Wolverhampton and London. I was shocked at how little support he received from his family. With an extensive juvenile criminal record and not much in the way of a formal education, it’s extraordinary that he rose to pop stardom so rapidly. Kevin’s honest appraisal of his life acknowledges that he was often his own worst enemy - alienating bandmates, treating women badly and suffering from imposter syndrome as a result of his lack of self esteem. There’s no sense of a ghost writer here and Kevin isn’t afraid to confront his own demons, making this an often uncomfortable read. I would have liked more about the stories behind the songs - in his heyday, it felt as if he had a golden touch, but surely there was more to this than musical intuition and an unerring sense of style. Nevertheless, this was an intriguing read that felt like it was part of Kevin’s ongoing journey to self acceptance and peace of mind.

[Hugh Carr · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very raw memoir from the lead singer with Dexys Midnight Runners, who should have been the best band of the 1980s (some would say they were)
I was at a talk a few years back with a Dexys musician from 1980/2 & he described Kevin as a sociopath, & after reading this book, it was a pretty accurate description (eg. on the tour with The Specials, Kevin didn't want his band members to talk to the other bands on the tour bus, because Dexys were 'their own gang'(or something like that) .

Most of the book covers the period from youth up to 1983, and his relationship problems with his Dad, who was always putting him down, He doesn't come across as a particularly likeable kid- he thieved from many, even people who were nice to him, and was arrested quite a few times. There's a fair bit that could have been edited out, eg.there's some detail I could have done without re. his drug addiction & the side effects & relationship issues , his financial difficulties. The book seems to be his way of apologising to a lot of people he wronged in the past.
Having said all that, it's a good read & I enjoyed it, I'd recommend it for all his fans. Thankfully he came through it all

[Alex Small · Rating 4 out of 5]

A warts-and-all, very candid autobiography in which Kevin Rowland documents his life's journey through early behavioral issues, family relationship tensions, his relentless determination to succeed in the music industry and subsequent descent into extreme addiction. The author certainly wears his heart fully on his sleeve and never shies away from sharing very personal, sometimes embarrassing moments of his childhood and later adult life.

This book will doubtless be enjoyed by all Dexy's fans but equally those who enjoy reading about the often complex and never straight forward lives of those who have found fame.

[Mark Glover · Rating 4 out of 5]

How 'Come on Eilleen', surely one of the most joyous anthems of the last 100 years came from the pen of Kevin Rowland, a man with a penchant to overthink and self-sabotage himself to an almost masochistic level, is the miracle at the heart of this memoir. Unlike other biographies, which seem little more than a lap of honour for once famous pop stars, Rowland's is truly a gift to self-doubters and troubled teens. Rowland is unceasingly doubting, second-guessing, and destructive. He is also brutally honest and raw. And it is these aspects that make this a compelling and worthy read.

[Paul Reid · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very honest and blunt telling of a very personal story, not sure I really benefited from hearing the contents of a previous ‘wank-bank’ imagining but that’s how in your face this book is!

There’s sliding door moments of success, failure and everything in between, I certainly do not agree with most of Kevin’s political views but music unites people like nothing else.

His name is Kevin and he’s from Wolverhampton, standing tall now Kev 👍🏻

[Steve Angelkov · Rating 4 out of 5]

Warts and all doesn't quite cover it.

Kevin Rowland's memoir, Bless Me Father, is a blazingly honest account of his turbulent life as the frontman of Dexys Midnight Runners.

Rowland's raw candor about his difficult childhood, controlling behavior, severe cocaine addiction, and mental health struggles is a revelation.

Great read.

[Charles McCurley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent and very honest book, normally find most autobiographies about singers start quite boring, this book was just as interesting reading about his life before he became famous as it was reading about the bands and Kevin’s personal ups and downs.

[Stan Barker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Only pitfall of being a nighttime reader is that if you find a jolly good page turner, you can kiss goodbye any chance of a decent sleep. Wracked with Irish Catholic guilt, Rowland kept me up with his confessions for all the right reasons. Fantastic stuff.

[Paul · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some autobiographies feel a bit sanitised. Kevin is not afraid of over-sharing.

[Neil Johnston · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very honest biography

[🌶 peppersocks 🧦 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reflections and lessons learned/the content of this book made me feel…

…jolted by the honesty in many parts, but the musical artist and love for things can’t be denied…

[Olle · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading Kevins lifestory. Brutally honest and for me (as being an Early Dexys fan) interesting to read about the music, the process, all the obstacles.

[Kevin · Rating 5 out of 5]

The most honest soul baring story, interesting, shocking but thoroughly entertaining heartfelt account of a fascinating man.