Dexy's in Merthyr Tydfil

I've never really bought into the Kevin Rowland is a genius way of thinking but he was certainly one of the more interesting figures on the UK music scene of the late '70s/early '80s. This Dexy's Midnight Runners gig at Tiffanys Ballroom, Merthyr Tydfil, in the summer of 1980 featured alternative comedian Keith Allen as compere and warm-up artiste. Presumably he was there to de-earnest proceedings. In his autobiography, Grow Up, Allen bemoaned Rowland’s autocratic rule over the band and the consequent lack of fun to be had on the Intense Emotion Review tour. Happiness, it seems, wasn’t one of the emotions to be experienced intensely. Band members even had to sneak off in order to enjoy a jazz cigarette so as not to upset their leader who enforced a strict no drugs policy. 'Punk comedian' Allen found the whole deal a bit boring - there was, he claimed, little joy in Dexy's.