THEY made some of the most original music of the early 1980s, including number one smash Come On Eileen - and, with their "punk gypsy" look, boasted an equally memorable image.

Swapping their dungarees for 40s-style flannels, Dexy's Midnight Runners showcase a new image and sound in a brace of dates in the south this month.

Led by master of reinvention Kevin Rowland, you can see the band at Portsmouth Guildhall on Tuesday, October 21 and The Anvil, Basingstoke, on Sunday, October 26.

With a line-up featuring both new and old members, Dexy's will be playing their best-known hits, including Come On Eileen and Geno, as well as new songs and classic album tracks.

"We intend to bring a theatrical edge to the whole show," says Rowland, 50.

"We will be playing the hits because we don't want to trample on people's memories. The big hits will be done as faithfully as

possible but we will be doing at least a couple of new songs and we will be putting a new perspective on the whole thing.

"A lot of the album tracks will be re-appraised to make them relevant to us and, I believe, the audience now."

Dexy's burst on to the post-punk scene in 1979 with a genre-defying approach which set them apart from the two-tone and New Romantic bands of the time.

With a sound that incorporated everything from jazz to Northern Soul, they managed to reach the top of the charts on both sides of the Atlantic.

Their current UK tour comes in support of a Best Of album and a new band biography, Let's Make This Precious.

For tickets for the Portsmouth gig, call 023 9282 4355. For Basingstoke, contact 01256 844244.