"Dance Stance" is the first single by

Dexys Midnight Runners Dexys (known as Dexys Midnight Runners from 1978 to 2011) are an English pop rock band from Birmingham, with soul music, soul influences, who achieved major commercial success in the early to mid- 1980s. They are best known in the UK for their ...

. Written by frontman

Kevin Rowland Kevin Rowland (born 17 August 1953) is a British singer and musician best known as the frontman for the pop band Dexys Midnight Runners (currently called Dexys). The band had several hits in the early 1980s, the most notable being " Geno" and " ...

, the song was released in 1979 on the independent label Oddball Records. It reached No. 40 on the UK Singles Chart in early 1980. The song addresses

anti-Irish sentiment Anti-Irish sentiment, also Hibernophobia, is bigotry against the Irish people or individuals. It can include hatred, oppression, persecution, as well as simple discrimination. Generally, it could be bigotry against people from the island of Ire ...

that had become prevalent during the ongoing

troubles in Northern Ireland The Troubles () were an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland that lasted for about 30 years from the late 1960s to 1998. Also known internationally as the Northern Ireland conflict, it began in the late 1960s and is usually deemed ...

, with Rowland himself being of Irish parentage. It references a range of Irish playwrights and writers including

Oscar Wilde Oscar Fingal O'Fflahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 185430 November 1900) was an Irish author, poet, and playwright. After writing in different literary styles throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular and influential playwright ...

Brendan Behan Brendan Francis Aidan Behan (christened Francis Behan) ( ; ; 9 February 1923 – 20 March 1964) was an Irish poet, short story writer, novelist, playwright, and Irish Republican, an activist who wrote in both English and Irish. His widely ackno ...

Seán O'Casey Seán O'Casey ( ; born John Casey; 30 March 1880 – 18 September 1964) was an Irish dramatist and memoirist. A committed socialist, he was the first Irish playwright of note to write about the Dublin working classes. Early life O'Casey was ...

George Bernard Shaw George Bernard Shaw (26 July 1856 – 2 November 1950), known at his insistence as Bernard Shaw, was an Irish playwright, critic, polemicist and political activist. His influence on Western theatre, culture and politics extended from the 188 ...

Samuel Beckett Samuel Barclay Beckett (; 13 April 1906 – 22 December 1989) was an Irish writer of novels, plays, short stories, and poems. Writing in both English and French, his literary and theatrical work features bleak, impersonal, and Tragicomedy, tra ...

Eugene O'Neill Eugene Gladstone O'Neill (October 16, 1888 – November 27, 1953) was an American playwright. His poetically titled plays were among the first to introduce into the U.S. the drama techniques of Realism (theatre), realism, earlier associated with ...

Edna O’Brien Josephine Edna O'Brien (15 December 1930 – 27 July 2024) was an Irish novelist, memoirist, playwright, poet and short-story writer. O'Brien's works often revolve around the inner feelings of women and their problems relating to men and soc ...

and

Laurence Sterne Laurence Sterne (24 November 1713 – 18 March 1768) was an Anglo-Irish novelist and Anglican cleric. He is best known for his comic novels ''The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman'' (1759–1767) and ''A Sentimental Journey Thro ...

. The angry delivery of the lyrics reflect the punk sensibility of the time, although the style of the music is more the soul/Northern soul style from which the band's name is derived (the name is a reference to drug-fuelled dancing in the all-nighters which were a feature of the

Northern soul Northern soul is a music and dance movement that emerged in Northern England and the Midlands in the early 1970s. It developed from the British Mod (subculture), mod scene, based on a particular style of African American music, Black American ...

scene). "Dance Stance" was performed by Rowland (vocals, credited as 'Carlo Rolan'), Kevin "Al" Archer (vocals, guitar), "Big" Jim Paterson (trombone), Geoff "JB" Blythe (saxophone), Steve "Babyface" Spooner (alto saxophone), Pete Saunders (keyboard), Pete Williams (bass) and Bobby "Jnr" Ward (drums). A re-recorded version appeared on the band's debut album, ''

Searching for the Young Soul Rebels ''Searching for the Young Soul Rebels'' is the debut studio album by English band Dexys Midnight Runners, released on 11 July 1980, through Parlophone and EMI Records. Led by Kevin Rowland, the band formed in 1978 in Birmingham, England, and for ...

'', under the original working title "Burn It Down".

Personnel

*Kevin Rowland (as 'Carlo Rolan'): Vocals *Al Archer: Rhythm Guitar/Vocals * Pete Williams: Bass/Vocals *J.B.: Tenor Sax *Big Jim Paterson: Trombone *Steve Spooner: Alto Sax *Pete Saunders: Piano/Organ *Bobby Junior: Drums

References

1979 songs 1979 debut singles Dexys Midnight Runners songs Songs written by Kevin Rowland List songs {{1970s-pop-song-stub