Join one of the great mavericks of British music for a raw and unvarnished account of his wild rock-n’roll life – from huge chart success to living on the dole, and back again.

“Music had kept me so busy and obsessed that it saved me from acting out in other ways, which surely would have landed me in jail. In that way, music saved me. Yet even with the help of music, I came very close to prison.” – Kevin Rowland

At home, the prayerful eight-year-old altar boy Kevin Rowland was planning to attend college to train to be a priest. Elsewhere, he was thieving, lying, swearing, fighting and rarely out of trouble. Joining us for live and exclusive In Conversation event, Kevin will take us through one of the most remarkable roller-coaster lives in music history.

We’ll hear about his visits to the juvenile courts in his troubled teenage years and the early days of the New Romantic scene in the late ’70s. An unwavering passion for music and highly tuned sense of fashion ignited an unstoppable drive within him, compelling him down a path that led to his huge chart successes with Dexys Midnight Runners in the 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. Then, after massive upheaval, Kevin found his way back – from shocking audiences with his pioneering embrace of gender fluidity with My Beauty, right through to Dexys’ triumphant appearance at Glastonbury in 2024.

Don’t miss this rare chance to hear the no holds barred story of one of one of the living legends of music history.

Tickets to this event are £15 off for subscribers to How To Plus.

Premium seats include a copy of Kevin’s new book, Bless Me Father (RRP £25).