Kevin Rowland of Dexys Midnight Runners has hit out at Reform UK for using their song ‘Come On Eileen’ at a recent conference – saying that they are “disgusted” by the move and “passionately against Nigel Farage’s politics”.
The right-wing political party played the song when leader Farage walked onto the stage at the NEC in Birmingham last week (Friday September 4). Soon after, the band took to their social media channels to hit out at the classic ‘80s Number One being used without their permission.
They shared an image of a billboard in the UK, which showed Farage along with the message: “He blames migrants so you don’t blame billionaires”.
In the caption, frontman Kevin Rowland then made his stance even more clear, writing: “I, Kevin Rowland (the son of Irish immigrants) and the main songwriter of ‘Come On Eileen,’ am disgusted to learn that Nigel Farage has used our Dexys Midnight Runners’ song to make his entrance for his party conference speech.”
“Myself, and all of Dexys are passionately against Farage’s politics,” he added.
Rowland and the rest of Dexys have been open about their political stance. In 2022, they joined forces with Primal Scream to drop the song ‘Enough Is Enough’ in solidarity with railway workers and call out how it is “very wrong” that “millionaires get ever richer while workers are told to accept poverty”.
“As we say in the song, the media sets out to confuse people with lies and divide us with side issues like Brexit and culture wars,” Rowland shared at the time. “While all we are really getting is endless austerity and cuts. We are saying enough is enough.”
Earlier this year, Rowland also teamed up with The Jam’s Paul Weller, Madness‘ Suggs, Sex Pistols‘ Glen Matlock and Roxy Music‘s Andy McKay to form a supergroup at a one-off London gig that raised money for Gaza.
The musicians came together for a one-night-only show at London’s Scala, and the event was organised by Artists for Gaza as a way to again raise funds for the Health Workers 4 Palestine’s Gaza Medics Solidarity Fund. That initiative aids in the rebuilding of maternity wards in Gaza, as well as funding mobile clinics and paying stipends to Gazan medics.
🚨🇬🇧 NEW: “Come On Eileen” songwriter Kevin Rowland says he is “disgusted” that Nigel Farage used the song as his party conference entrance music
Rowland says he and all Dexys are “passionately against Farage’s politics” pic.twitter.com/gNpOY9b3yM
— Politics Global (@PolitlcsGlobal) September 5, 2026
Last Friday, Dexys Midnight Runners released their latest album ‘Love’, which they first announced back in May with the wistful single ‘My Life In England Pt. 1’ and details of a new tour.
They kicked off the live shows last Friday in Glasgow, and are set to hit the road again for the European leg of the tour next month. Dates begin with a night in Stockholm on October 4, and see the band play in Germany, France and more before heading back to the UK.
Dates include two stops at London’s Hackney Empire, and you can check out dates below and find tickets here.
Dexys Midnight Runners’ 2026 tour dates are:
OCTOBER
4 – Stockholm, SE – Göta Lejon
6 – Gothenburg, SE – Pustervik
7 – Malmö, SE – Slagthuset Teater
10 – Berlin, DE – Passionskirche
11 – Paris, FR – Élysée Montmartre
20 – Glasgow, UK – Royal Concert Hall
21 – Newcastle, UK – City Hall
23 – Wolverhampton, UK – The Halls, University of Wolverhampton
25 – Manchester, UK – Opera House
27 – London, UK – Hackney Empire
28 – London, UK – Hackney Empire
30 – Cambridge, UK – Corn Exchange
NOVEMBER
1 – Brighton, UK – Dome
4 – Dublin, IE – Olympia
5 – Belfast, UK – Ulster Hall
6 – Galway, IE – Black Box Theatre
8 – Bristol, UK – Beacon
Back in 2023, NME spoke to Rowland for our Does Rock ‘N’ Roll Kill Braincells?! series, and the interview, saw him open up about once calling David Bowie “full of shit” and a “bad copy of Bryan Ferry”.
“Bowie had been at the back of the stage and heard it,” Rowland told us. “We were supposed to do two nights, but they didn’t want us back for the second.
“Apparently Bowie was really upset about it,” he added. “Many years later when I got into recovery from cocaine addiction, I wrote him a letter apologising, to make amends, and said if he ever wanted to talk about it, please contact me. I know he got the letter, but I didn’t hear back. But that’s OK.”
