Deacon Blue are a Scottish pop rock band formed in Glasgow during 1985. The line-up of the band consists of vocalists Ricky Ross and Lorraine McIntosh, keyboard player James Prime and drummer Dougie Vipond. The band released their debut album, Raintown, on 1 May 1987 in the United Kingdom and in the United States in February 1988. Their second album, When the World Knows Your Name (1989), topped the UK Albums Chart for two weeks, and included "Real Gone Kid" which became their first top ten single in the UK Singles Chart and reached number one in Spain.
Prefab Sprout are an English pop band from Witton Gilbert, County Durham who rose to fame during the 1980s. Formed in 1978 by brothers Paddy and Martin McAloon and joined by vocalist, guitarist and keyboard player Wendy Smith in 1982, they released their debut album Swoon to critical acclaim in 1984. Their subsequent albums, including 1985's Steve McQueen and 1990's Jordan: The Comeback, have been described by Paul Lester of The Guardian as "some of the most beautiful and intelligent records of their era". Frontman Paddy McAloon is regarded as one of the great songwriters of his time and the band have been credited with producing some of the "most beloved" pop music of the 1980s and 1990s.
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 1 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.
Protest Songs is the fourth studio album by English pop band Prefab Sprout. Recorded quickly and self-produced, the album features a minimal production style at odds with most of the band's work. Originally planned to be released in December 1985 as a quickfire follow-up to the band's critically acclaimed second album Steve McQueen, it was put on hold for commercial reasons and the band moved on to record 1988's From Langley Park to Memphis. The album was finally released by Kitchenware Records and CBS on 19 June 1989. Despite the band undertaking no promotional activities, the album peaked at number 18 on the UK Albums Chart.
Lorraine McIntosh is a Scottish singer, vocalist with Scottish band Deacon Blue, and actress.
From Langley Park to Memphis is the third studio album by English pop band Prefab Sprout. It was released by Kitchenware Records on 14 March 1988. It peaked at number five on the UK Albums Chart, the highest position for any studio album released by the band. Recorded in Newcastle, London and Los Angeles, it has a more polished and commercial sound than their earlier releases, and features several guest stars including Stevie Wonder and Pete Townshend. The album's simpler songs, big productions and straight-forward cover photo reflect frontman Paddy McAloon's wish for it to be a more universal work than their more cerebral earlier albums.
Swoon is the debut studio album by the English pop band Prefab Sprout, released in March 1984 by Kitchenware Records. Written over a period of seven years, the record was produced with David Brewis on a low budget. The group mostly chose to avoid recording the material they had played live over the years, preferring to make a more intricate record of mostly recent material.
Richard Alexander "Ricky" Ross is a Scottish singer-songwriter and broadcaster who is the current 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.
Whatever You Say, Say Nothing is the fourth studio album by Scottish rock band Deacon Blue, released in 1993. 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.
Ooh Las Vegas is a compilation album by the Scottish rock band Deacon Blue. It contains B-sides, unreleased tracks, and songs written for William McIlvanney's television play Dreaming.
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.
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.
Singles is a singles compilation by the Scottish rock band Deacon Blue. It contains three new tracks, "Bigger than Dynamite", "Haunted", and "The One About Loneliness", that were recorded by the band in March 2006.
"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.
"When Will You " is a single released by the Scottish group Deacon Blue in 1987 and in 1988. The song features prominent backing vocals from members of R&B group Londonbeat. It was the very first song to be played on Radio Luxembourg after it went satellite at 3AM on 30 December 1991. The video for the song was directed by John Scarlett-Davis and produced by Nick Verden for Radar Films.
"Queen of the New Year" is the fifth and final single from the album When the World Knows Your Name by the Scottish pop rock band Deacon Blue.
Let's Change the World with Music is the ninth studio album by the English pop group Prefab Sprout. It was released on 7 September 2009 by Kitchenware Records. It was the band's first album of new material since 2001's The Gunman and Other Stories and marked a return to Sony Music, Kitchenware's parent label. The album reached No. 39 in the UK Albums Chart at the end of the week of its release. Although no singles were technically released, "Let There Be Music" was sent to radio stations, and "Sweet Gospel Music" was due to be a one-track digital release to highlight the album, but received no airplay and therefore was pulled.
