Helen O’Hara - Dexys Midnight Runners & Tanita Tikaram

Helen O'Hara - Dexys Midnight Runners & Tanita Tikaram - in conversation with David Eastaugh https://www.helenohara-violin.com/biog She was a member and violinist of Dexys Midnight Runners from 1982 to 1987, including performing on songs such as "Come on Eileen", and in 2021 rejoined the band. She was offered a place with Rowland's new line-up of Dexys—the result of a session she and two other violinists from the university had carried out as part of Rowland's decision to revamp the band's sound and image. Rowland has said that he saw O'Hara standing at a bus stop with her violin case and stopped to meet her. The more prosaic truth is that of the three violinists at the session she was the only one with any rock and roll experience, and therefore the only one to be able to play a solo by feel. This she did well enough to be immediately drafted into Dexys. To fit in with Dexys' Celtic image, she took the stage last name of "O'Hara". Within months she was touring the UK, followed by the US, as "Come On Eileen" reached #1 in the charts in both countries