Short Biography
Deacon Blue are a Scottish musical institution, who take their name from a Steely Dan song.
The band released their debut album Raintown in 1987 to rapturous reviews. 1989 follow-up When The World Knows Your Name contained possibly the band's biggest hit Real Gone Kid.
The band continued to tour extensively and released two more albums Fellow Hoodlums and Whatever You Say, Say Nothing before splitting up in 1994, when lead singer Ricky Ross embarked on a solo career, releasing his debut solo album What You Are in 1996.
The band refor...
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Short Biography
Deacon Blue are a Scottish musical institution, who take their name from a Steely Dan song.
The band released their debut album Raintown in 1987 to rapturous reviews. 1989 follow-up When The World Knows Your Name contained possibly the band's biggest hit Real Gone Kid.
The band continued to tour extensively and released two more albums Fellow Hoodlums and Whatever You Say, Say Nothing before splitting up in 1994, when lead singer Ricky Ross embarked on a solo career, releasing his debut solo album What You Are in 1996.
The band reformed in 1999 however, originally to play a charity concert, but they have gone on to release Walking Back Home in 1999 and Homesick in 2001, while Ross has released two solo follow-ups, New Recording and This Is The Life.
In-depth Biography
Taking their name from a Steely Dan song, Deacon Blue are one of the best unknown bands in Scotland. Formed in 1985, Deacon Blue performed their first concert as the opening act for the Waterboys' premier show in England. With the vocals of singer/songwriter Ricky Ross backed by jazz and soul-inspired melodies, the group recorded several British hits in the late '80s. Their success, however, failed to carry over to American audiences. Frustrated by their inability to secure international popularity, the group disbanded in the summer of 1994. Although he launched a solo career, Ross had no greater success than he had as frontman for Deacon Blue. In May 1999, the group re-formed for a series of concerts in Great Britain and Europe. As of November 1999, the group featured Ross and other original bandmembers bassist Ewen Vernal, guitarist Graeme Kelling, keyboardist James Prime, and drummer Dougie Vipond, along with second vocalist Lorraine McIntosh (who had become Ross' wife after joining the band). Their first new album in five years, the ballads collection Walking Back Home, was released that year, and the full-length studio album Homesick followed in spring 2001. Guitarist Kelling died of pancreatic cancer in June 2004; Deacon Blue nevertheless vowed to carry on and continued to make intermittent festival appearances through the end of the decade. ~ Craig Harris, Rovi
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