Raintown (album)

Raintown
Studio album by
Deacon Blue
Released26 May 1987 (UK)[1]
February 1988 (US)
RecordedAir Studios, London
December 1986 - February 1987
GenrePop, rock
Length41:48 (Standard)
47:06 (UK CD version)
LabelColumbia
ProducerJon Kelly
Deacon Blue chronology
Raintown
(1987) 		Riches
(1988)
Singles from Raintown
  1. "Dignity"
    Released: March 1987
  2. "Loaded"
    Released: June 1987
  3. "When Will You (Make My Telephone Ring)"
    Released: August 1987
  4. "Chocolate Girl"
    Released: July 1988
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
Record Mirror[3]

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.[4]

The album, widely praised as Deacon Blue's finest work, has the overtones of a concept album relating to the struggles of urban life in the inner city. The city being unmistakably Glasgow, referenced by the roots of the band and by the images by photographer Oscar Marzaroli on the cover of the album: the view of a rainy day over Glasgow's West End (with the Finnieston Crane featuring prominently). The rear cover shows a long-exposure shot of the M8 motorway carving through Glasgow city centre (taken from Charing Cross), with the Mitchell Library and Elmbank Gardens on either side.

  1. ^ "New Albums" (PDF). Music Week. 23 May 1987. p. 36. Retrieved 10 November 2022.
  2. ^ Raintown at AllMusic
  3. ^ O'Toole, Lesley (30 May 1987). "Albums". Record Mirror. p. 15. ISSN 0144-5804.
  4. ^ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 145. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.