Following the release of their fourth album, the band split in 1994, following which Vipond began a career in television. Five years later, the band held a reunion gig, and this led on to a new album, Walking Back Home, with the band now working on a part-time basis. The band released another album, Homesick, in 2001. Despite the death of Graeme Kelling from pancreatic cancer in 2004, the band continued to record music, and 2006 saw Deacon Blue returning to the studio to record three new tracks for a Singles album – including the single "Bigger than Dynamite".
Deacon Blue returned after a period of absence to release The Hipsters (2012), their first studio album since Homesick in 2001.[4] The band released a further two albums, A New House, in September 2014 and Believers in September 2016. A concert recording of their return to the Barrowlands, Glasgow, was released on 31 March 2017. The band's ninth studio album City of Love was released on 6 March 2020. In February 2021, they released their tenth studio album entitled Riding on the Tide of Love to commercial success in the UK.
As of 2020, Deacon Blue's total album sales stood at seven million,[5] with twelve UK top 40 singles, along with two number one albums in the UK.[5]
Ross, a former school teacher originally from Dundee, was the group's frontman, penning the majority of Deacon Blue's songs. He married vocalist Lorraine McIntosh in 1990.[7] In 1986, the band contributed a track ("Take the Saints Away") to a compilation cassette entitled "Honey at the Core", featuring then up-and-coming Glasgow bands, including Wet Wet Wet, The Bluebells, Kevin McDermott (singer-songwriter), The Big Dish, and Hue and Cry.
1987–1991: Raintown and When The World Knows Your Name
The band's debut album, Raintown, produced by Jon Kelly was released in 1987.[7] It spawned the singles "Dignity", "Chocolate Girl" and "Loaded".[7] The city that the album's title refers to is Glasgow and the cover art of the album is a photograph (by the Scottish-Italian photographer Oscar Marzaroli) of the River Clyde's docks taken from Kelvingrove Park. It proved a commercial success and has to date sold around a million copies, peaking in the UK Albums Chart at no. 14 and remaining in the charts for a year and a half.[8] On 27 February 2006, Raintown was reissued as part of Columbia's Legacy Edition series. The reissue was expanded to two CDs, the first of which featured the original 11 track album. The second CD featured alternate cuts of all 11 album tracks, as well as the two original CD bonus tracks "Riches" and "Kings of the Western World". The new edition did not include the varied bonus cuts (remixes and b-sides) that were found on the singles from the album.
The second album, 1989's When the World Knows Your Name, was the band's most commercially successful, reaching No. 1 in the UK Albums Chart and generating five UK top 30 hits, including "Real Gone Kid", "Wages Day", and "Fergus Sings the Blues" (all five singles from the album were top 10 hits in Ireland).[7] The following year saw the band play in front of an estimated 250,000 fans at the free concert on Glasgow Green, "The Big Day", which was held to celebrate Glasgow being named that year's European City of Culture. The band also played Glastonbury and the Roskilde festivals that summer, as well as released Ooh Las Vegas, a double album of B-sides, extra tracks, film tracks, and sessions which reached No. 3 in the UK Albums Chart.
1991–1994: Continued success and split
Lead singer Ricky Ross performing live in Amsterdam in 1993
Jon Kelly returned to the producer's chair in 1991 for the album Fellow Hoodlums. The album was met with more critical approval[7] and peaked at No. 2 on the UK Albums Chart. Fellow Hoodlums was followed up by 1993's Whatever You Say, Say Nothing, a much more experimental album. The album was not as commercially successful as the previous two albums,[7] peaking at No. 4 on the UK Albums Chart. Changing from producer Jon Kelly to the team of Steve Osborne and Paul Oakenfold, this album presented a change in musical style for Deacon Blue. While the band's songwriting remained based in rock and blues, many of the tracks moved into alternative rock territory in their presentation.[citation needed]
The band embarked on another sold out UK tour in 1994, after recording new material for their greatest hitscompilation album, Our Town.[7] This saw the band return to No. 1 in the UK Albums Chart and was one of the year's top sellers, while "I Was Right and You Were Wrong" and a re-release of "Dignity" saw the band re-enter the Top 20 of the UK Singles Chart. The album contained the previous singles from the band, minus "Closing Time" and "Hang Your Head". The album also contained three new tracks. "I Was Right and You Were Wrong", the first single from this album, was an alternative rock track that continued and expanded the musical direction the band had taken with Whatever You Say, Say Nothing.[citation needed] "Bound to Love" and "Still in the Mood" were pop songs in the tradition of Deacon Blue's earlier albums. The vinyl LP version of the album contained a fourth new track, "Beautiful Stranger". "Dignity" was released, now for the third time, as the second single from the album.
With Vipond's decision to quit the group in favour of a career in television, Deacon Blue split up in 1994.[7]
Five years later, the band held a reunion gig in 1999, and this led on to a new album, Walking Back Home, with the band now working on a part-time basis. The Walking Back Home album combined eight songs that were brand new compositions, previously unreleased tracks, or released only with limited availability, with nine previously released Deacon Blue songs. This was followed by another album, Homesick, in 2001. Graeme Kelling died from pancreatic cancer in 2004, but the band continued and recorded three new tracks for a Singles album – including the track "Bigger than Dynamite" in 2006.
The band performed at Manchester United's Old Trafford stadium, as the pre-match entertainment for the Rugby leagueSuper League Grand Final on 14 October 2006, and continued on to a full UK tour in November. They were also due to open Stirling's New Year party in 2006, but this was cancelled at the last minute due to extreme weather. A further tour followed in November 2007 and the band then provided support for Simple Minds in 2008. They also appeared at Stirling's Hogmanay in 2008.
Deacon Blue appeared at The Homecoming Live Final Fling Show, at Glasgow's SECC on 28 November 2009, and headlined Glasgow's Hogmanay on 31 December 2009. The band performed several gigs, including Glastonbury, and the Liverpool Echo Arena on 29 July 2011. Ross, who had released a solo album before the formation of Deacon Blue, released two solo albums during the time between Deacon Blue's breakup in 1994 and reformation in 1999. Due to Deacon Blue's part-time status after reformation, Ross released additional solo albums in 2002 and 2005 and has written for and with other recording artists. In 2009, Ross and McIntosh recorded an album together under the name 'McIntosh Ross'.
2012–2013: New record label and The Hipsters
Deacon Blue last released a studio album in 2001, which was Homesick and in 2006, they released a compilation album, Singles. In 2012, it was announced Deacon Blue had new management, Paul Loasby and Tom O'Rourke, and had signed a recording contract and would release a new album that year.
To promote the upcoming release of their new album, the group released a single, "The Hipsters". The single was released in the United Kingdom on 23 September 2012. The album The Hipsters was released on 24 September 2012 and was produced by Paul Savage. A 25th anniversary tour, starting in October 2012, followed. The band performed with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra at the Grand Hall in Glasgow to promote the release of the album.[9]
All of the band's studio albums were reissued as deluxe editions by Edsel Records in October 2012, as well as a new compilation entitled The Rest.
2013–2018: A New House and Believers
Deacon Blue arranged dates in 2014 for a comeback tour. It was announced in April 2014 that their seventh studio album, A New House, would be released on 8 September that year. Deacon Blue also performed at the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games closing ceremony on 3 August 2014, performing their hit, "Dignity".
A new studio album, Believers, was released on 30 September 2016. Three promo singles, the title track, "This Is A Love Song" and "Gone" have been released. A tour was undertaken to promote the album, culminating in a return to the Glasgow Barrowlands on 4 December 2016, which was recorded for a live album as well as video.[10] This was released on 31 March 2017 on vinyl, CD, DVD, Blu-Ray as well as digital download of both audio and video versions. A special screening event was held, the day before, at the Glasgow Film Theatre.
Between February and March 2018, Deacon Blue embarked on a tour of Spain, marking the first time that the band has played a series of live shows in Spain. The band described the shows as "an incredible experience for us all", and later confirmed that Deacon Blue will be returning to Spain in 2019 for another series of live shows, stating that "Spain has a very special place in our hearts".[11]
2018–2021: City of Love
Backing vocalist and percussionist, Lorraine McIntosh, at the SSE Hydro, 2018
The band released their ninth studio album entitled City of Love on 6 March 2020, to critical acclaim. The album received positive reviews and achieved commercial success. The album charted at number one in their native Scotland,[12] number four in the United Kingdom[13] and peaked at number fifty in Spain.[14]
2021–present: Riding on the Tide of Love
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the band recorded and released their tenth studio album entitled Riding on the Tide of Love which was released in February 2021. The album failed to reach the same level of commercial success in the United Kingdom that the band experienced with their previous album, City of Love, with the album debuting at number 23 on the charts, spending only one week before dropping out of the UK Top 100 album charts.[15] In their native Scotland, the album performed better, debuting at number two and spending additional weeks within the Scottish Top 40 albums charts.[16]
To promote the release of the album, the band announced the Riding on the Tide of Love tour which is scheduled to begin in June 2021 in Brighton and concludes on 19 December 2021 at the SSE Hydro in Glasgow.[17] In September 2023, they released the compilation album All The Old 45s – The Very Best of Deacon Blue via Cooking Vinyl. It debuted at number two on the official Scottish Albums Charts on 8 September, behind only Back To The Water Below by Royal Blood. It would go onto spend eight weeks within the Top 100 of the Scottish Albums Charts.[18] In the United Kingdom, it was a moderate success, debuting at number forty-two on the official UK Albums Charts, spending one week within the Top 100.[19] The band embarked on a tour of the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, beginning in September 2023, to promote the release of All the Old 45s.[20]
In 2020, Deacon Blue's 1987 single "Dignity" was voted as Scotland's greatest song after a public vote voted through the radio programme Ewen Cameron in the Morning.[22]
Related Research Articles
Douglas Vipond is a Scottish broadcaster and drummer.
Raintown is the debut album by Scottish pop rock band Deacon Blue. The album, written largely by lead singer Ricky Ross, was released in the United Kingdom on 26 May 1987. It proved a commercial success and has to date sold around a million copies, peaking in the UK Albums Chart at no. 14 and remaining in the charts for a year and a half.
James Prime is a Scottish musician best known as the keyboard player for rock band Deacon Blue. Prime also lectures at the University of the West of Scotland. Known as a Hammond/piano player, his talents have been sought after by John Martyn, Johnny Hallyday, Phil Cunningham, Eddi Reader and Little Richard..
Lorraine McIntosh is a Scottish singer and actress. She is one of the vocalists of the pop/rock band Deacon Blue.
Richard Alexander Ross is a Scottish musician who is the lead singer of the rock band Deacon Blue. Alongside his discography with Deacon Blue, Ross has released a number of solo albums: his first, So Long Ago, was released in 1984.
When the World Knows Your Name is the second album by the Scottish rock band Deacon Blue. It was released in 1989 and attained the number 1 chart position in the UK Albums Chart.
Fellow Hoodlums is the third studio album by the Scottish rock band Deacon Blue, released in 1991. It includes four singles: "Your Swaying Arms", the Top 10 hit "Twist and Shout", "Closing Time" and "Cover from the Sky".
Whatever You Say, Say Nothing is the fourth studio album by Scottish rock band Deacon Blue, released in March 1993 by Columbia Records. It was the group's final original album before their initial dissolution in mid-1994.
Riches is a limited edition compilation album that was temporarily included with the Raintown album by the Scottish rock band Deacon Blue, starting in February 1988. Only 20,000 copies were made.
Our Town – The Greatest Hits is the first greatest hits compilation album by the Scottish rock band Deacon Blue. The album reached the top spot of the UK Albums Chart in May 1994 for two weeks, and has been certified Platinum. It was also their second and final number one album to date. It is also notable for being the 500th number one album since the charts inception in 1956.
Riches & More is a compilation album for the Scottish rock band Deacon Blue. It combines the Riches with the Four Bacharach & David Songs EP. However, this compilation does not include the piano version of the song "Raintown", which was the fifth track on the initial release of Riches.
Walking Back Home is an album by Scottish pop rock band Deacon Blue released in 1999. It was their first album since reforming that year after disbanding in 1994. A part studio/part compilation album, it contains nine of their earlier songs coupled with eight brand-new or previously unreleased songs.
Homesick is a studio album by Scottish rock band Deacon Blue. Released in May 2001, it was the band's fifth studio album. It includes the single "Everytime You Sleep", which reached No. 64 in the UK Singles Chart. Homesick was Deacon Blue's final album to feature guitarist Graeme Kelling, who died in 2004.
The Very Best of Deacon Blue is a greatest hits compilation for the Scottish rock band Deacon Blue. It is composed of singles and album tracks from the band's previous albums, plus two B-sides, "Indigo Sky" from the "Hang Your Head" single, and "When You Were a Boy You Were a Beautiful Boy" from the "Everytime You Sleep" single.
"Dignity" is a song by Deacon Blue, which was the band's first official release. It is one of their most popular songs and it is usually played as the final song at concerts. It received the most public votes for the 1980s songs in the Scotland's Greatest Album contest run by STV in 2011, and was featured on the 12 track compilation. It was also sung at the closing ceremony at the 2014 Commonwealth Games held in Glasgow.
"Chocolate Girl" is the fourth song released as a single from the album Raintown by the Scottish group Deacon Blue. The single version differed from the album version of the song. It is a remix by the American mixer Michael Brauer, which adds a longer musical interlude in the middle of the song and gives greater emphasis to B.J. Cole's pedal steel guitar in parts of the song.
"I Was Right and You Were Wrong" is the first single from Scottish band Deacon Blue's first greatest hits album, Our Town - The Greatest Hits. Produced by Steve Osborne, the song reached number 32 on the UK Singles Chart.
The discography of Scottish band Deacon Blue consists of ten studio albums, two live albums, seven compilation albums, and one album that is both a studio and a compilation album. As of 2020, Deacon Blue's total album sales stood at seven million, with twelve UK top 40 singles, along with two number one albums in the UK. Their debut album, Raintown (1987) reached number fourteen in the United Kingdom, and received a Platinum certification. It reached number fifty-four on the Dutch Album Top 100, and spawned the successful singles "Dignity", "Chocolate Girl" and "Loaded". Their follow up album, When the World Knows Your Name (1989), was a major success for the band, peaking at number one in the United Kingdom, achieving a double platinum certification. It charted in other European countries, including Sweden and Germany, and in international markets including Australia and New Zealand. Its lead single, "Real Gone Kid", peaked within the Top 10 of the UK Singles Chart, and peaked at number one in Spain and number five in New Zealand.
A New House is the seventh studio album by Scottish rock band Deacon Blue, released on 8 September 2014. The album consists of 11 tracks.
Riding on the Tide of Love is the tenth studio album by Scottish band Deacon Blue released on 5 February 2021. The lead single from the album, the title track "Riding on the Tide of Love", was released on 27 November 2020.
References
↑ Strong, Martin C. (2002). The Great Scots Musicography: The Complete Guide to Scotland's Music Makers. Mercat. p.214. ISBN978-1-8418-3041-4.
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