Deacon Blue

For the Steely Dan song, see Deacon Blues.

Deacon Blue
Deacon Blue performing live at the SSE Hydro, 2018
Deacon Blue performing live at the SSE Hydro, 2018
Background information
OriginGlasgow, Scotland
Genres
Years active1985–1994, 1999–present
Labels
Members
Past members
Websitedeaconblue.com

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[2] and reached number one in Spain.[3] Deacon Blue followed up their success with their third album Fellow Hoodlums (1991) and the release of their fourth album, Whatever You Say, Say Nothing (1993).

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]

  1. ^ Strong, Martin C. (2002). The Great Scots Musicography : The Complete Guide to Scotland's Music Makers. Mercat. p. 214. ISBN 978-1-8418-3041-4.
  2. ^ "DEACON BLUE – full Official Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 16 October 2016.
  3. ^ Salaverri, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN 84-8048-639-2.
  4. ^ "Deacon Blue". Rickyross.com. Retrieved 9 May 2012.
  5. ^ a b "About | Deacon Blue". 8 July 2015.