Helen O'Hara

Helen O'Hara (born Helen Bevington, 5 November 1956) is a British musician, formerly a member and violinist of the band Dexys Midnight Runners between 1982 and 1987, including performing on songs such as "Come on Eileen" from the Too-Rye-Ay album.

O'Hara began her music career in her home town of Bristol joining Gunner Kade, a band led by Ken Pustelnik, drummer from The Groundhogs. She then joined a band called Wisper, which combined their solo career with backing various artists. Wisper evolved into Uncle Po (1976–78), which won the BBC's Quiz Kid band competition in 1977 and subsequently released a single on the BEEB label entitled "Use My Friends" (so rare that a copy sold in 2006 on eBay for over £80). Uncle Po consisted of Rob Williams on guitar, Gavin King on vocals, Lyndon Parry on bass and vocals, Andy Willis on sax. flute, and vocals, O'Hara (as Helen "Spike" Bevington) on violin and keyboards, and Steve "Basher" Bennett and Jimmer Hill on drums.

O'Hara left Uncle Po in late 1977 to study music at Birmingham School of Music (now UCE Birmingham Conservatoire), graduating in 1982 with an offer to join the Bilbao Symphony. However, after she recorded some demos with The Blue Ox Babes, a band founded by ex-Dexys founder Kevin 'Al' Archer, Archer recommended her to his former partner Kevin Rowland, who was also experimenting with adding strings. 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. She also began a personal relationship with Rowland. With the singles "Jackie Wilson Said (I'm in Heaven When You Smile)" (a Van Morrison cover) and "Let's Get This Straight (From The Start)" maintaining their popularity, the group continued to tour through 1983 with a nucleus of Rowland, O'Hara and Billy Adams, augmented by other musicians.

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