"Geno" is a song by Dexys Midnight Runners

Dexys Midnight Runners

Dexys Midnight Runners are a British pop group with soul influences, who achieved their major success in the early to mid 1980s. They are best known for their songs "Come On Eileen" and "Geno", both of which went No. 1 on the UK Singles Chart....

 which reached #1 on the UK singles chart for two weeks in May 1980. Written by Kevin 'Al' Archer and Kevin Rowland

Kevin Rowland

Kevin Rowland is an English singer-songwriter and former frontman for the pop band Dexys Midnight Runners, which had several hits in the early 1980s, the most notable being "Geno" and "Come On Eileen".-Career:...

, it was band's second single and their first number one. A tribute to soul singer Geno Washington

Geno Washington

Geno Washington is an American R&B singer who released five albums with The Ram Jam Band between 1966 and 1969, and eight solo albums beginning in 1976.-Early to late 1960s:...

, and performed in approximately the style of Geno Washington's Ram Jam Band

Geno Washington & The Ram Jam Band

Geno Washington & the Ram Jam Band were an English based soul band, active from 1965 to 1968.-Career:The Ram Jam Band were formed around 1964 and evolved out of a group called Les Blues who were formed to rival an English group with a Black American singer called Milton And The Continentals...

, the song's classic soul stylings were at variance with the popular new wave

New Wave music

New Wave is a subgenre of :rock music that emerged in the mid to late 1970s alongside punk rock. The term at first generally was synonymous with punk rock before being considered a genre in its own right that incorporated aspects of electronic and experimental music, mod subculture, disco and 1960s...

 and post punk sounds of the time. The chorus lyrics "You were Michael the lover, the fighter that won" refer to "Michael (the Lover)

Michael (the Lover)

"Michael "Sometimes written "Michael the Lover" or simply "Michael" . is a soul song originally performed by American Chicago soul group the C.O.D.'s....

", a Geno Washington hit song.

The single's B-side was a cover of Johnny Johnson and the Bandwagon

Johnny Johnson and the Bandwagon

Johnny Johnson and the Bandwagon were a U.S. vocal soul group, prominent in the late 1960s and early 1970s.-Career:Originally known simply as The Bandwagon, they were formed in 1967 and featured Artie Fullilove, Billy Bradley, Terry Lewis and lead singer Johnny Johnson Johnny Johnson and the...

's 1968 US hit "Breakin' Down the Walls of Heartache", a song popular on the Northern Soul

Northern soul

Northern soul is a music and dance movement that emerged from the British mod scene, initially in northern England in the late 1960s. Northern soul mainly consists of a particular style of black American soul music based on the heavy beat and fast tempo of the mid-1960s Tamla Motown sound...

 scene Dexys were heavily influenced by.

The song was the first of two UK number one hit singles achieved by Dexys Midnight Runners. The second, two years later, was "Come On Eileen

Come on Eileen

"Come On Eileen" was a single released by Dexys Midnight Runners in 1982. The song was written by Kevin Rowland, "Big" Jim Paterson, and Billy Adams; it was produced by Clive Langer and Alan Winstanley. It also appeared on the album Too-Rye-Ay...

".

The song featured in the first series of 2008 BBC Drama Ashes to Ashes

Ashes to Ashes (TV series)

Ashes to Ashes is a British science fiction and police procedural drama television series, serving as the sequel to Life on Mars.The series began airing on BBC One in February 2008. A second series began broadcasting in April 2009...

, and was included in the subsequent soundtrack album.