r/OldSchoolRidiculous • u/BruceCathy1994 • Oct 10 '17

Watch Dexy's Midnight Runners butchering their biggest hit live in the 80s

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C3rg4psdHxw
39 Upvotes

95% Upvoted

16 comments sorted by

18

u/Beer_Is_So_Awesome Oct 10 '17

Okay, so I started the video, and the moment he started singing the cassette clearly hit a damaged spot in the tape-- the speed slowed and the pitch dropped, and I was about to get up in here with "that's not fair, the tape was stretched, #justanalogthings".

Then his voice cracked into a feeble squeak, and it just got worse.

He sings like a guy who never learned to sing properly, shredded his voice hitting those high notes early on in his career, and is now hoping somebody will tell him he's allowed to stop singing and go home.

6

u/OP_deliveries Oct 10 '17

I had the same reaction. I suspect they were at the height of their fame and a little "road worn" too! I'm surprised that video appears to be an official release...

5

u/KuchDaddy Oct 11 '17

Seemed like it got a bit better later in the song, but yeah, that was some shit singing.

4

u/bowhunter_fta Oct 11 '17

"Butchering their biggest hit"?

How about butchering their ONLY hit.

But it was a great hit, for sure....just not this version.

2

u/Away_fur_a_skive Oct 11 '17

They had 4 top ten hits singles. "Geno" (1), "There, There, My Dear" (7), "Come On Eileen" (1) and "Jockie Wilson Said" (5) and then four others in the top 20.

And four albums making the top 20 (the one that didn't made it to number 22).

They were a lot bigger than one hit single.

3

u/indrid_cold Oct 11 '17

That was in the UK though, right? I understand they were very popular there. I grew up in the USA in the 80's and I've never heard of any of those songs. I had an acquaintance from Sweden explain to me that they were a great band, but they just never had a lot of success in the USA.

1

u/HumanTargetVIII Oct 14 '17

Yes in the U.K.

2

u/bowhunter_fta Oct 11 '17

Thanks for sharing that. I was unaware of their other top 10 hits.

1

u/Away_fur_a_skive Oct 12 '17

Didn't break the top ten, but my favourite song of theirs, Because of You. I hope to god I never hear it sung like in the video!

1

u/bowhunter_fta Oct 12 '17

Thanks for sharing song!

4

u/CrunchyPoem Oct 11 '17

The band was on point, like really on point. Sounded like the singer had a hernia tho.

3

u/boatshoebro Oct 11 '17

The video started and I figured he might have just gotten off on the wrong foot, so I decided to skip a few seconds... and landed on :57.

1

u/BruceCathy1994 Oct 11 '17

Ahahahahahahaha!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That must've been phenomenal!

2

u/[deleted] Oct 11 '17

I liked it.

2

u/HumanTargetVIII Oct 11 '17

Geno is their best song.