Whatever You Say, Say Nothing represented a shift in musical direction for Deacon Blue, as producer Jon Kelly was replaced by the duo of Steve Osborne and legendary trance DJ Paul Oakenfold. He was always really helpful to young musicians and was a big influence with the way he would write songs playing the piano,” he said following Marra’s death in 2012. a b c d e f g h i Colin Larkin, ed. (1997). The Virgin Encyclopedia of Popular Music (Conciseed.). Virgin Books. p.352/3. ISBN 1-85227-745-9. And so, on Believers, he embarks on “the journey we all take into the dark”, the point in all our lives where, “whatever you’ve been told, whatever the evidence is you’ve been presented with, you just don’t know what the answer is.”

Glasgow, the city Deacon Blue formed in, has remained an important part of the band’s identity. Familiar skylines and landmarks feature in much of their album artwork, illustrating the clear sense of nostalgia they feel towards their musical catalyst. The band signed their record deal under the Finnieston Crane, pictured on the cover of ‘Raintown’ and this is echoed in the artwork for, ‘When The World Knows Your Name’ which has a cityscape of Finnieston, taken from the vantage point of nearby Royal Terrace. Ross filled his lyrics with imagery too. ‘Wages Day’ was the anthem inspired by a man lighting a cigar outside a Finnieston newsagent. In ‘Fergus Sings the Blues’ the lyric "...this is my country, these are my reasons..." couldn’t be more poignant, with the Scottish independence referendum approaching this September. It has a real venom to it, which at that time it was coming up to the 1992 General Election,” he recalled. The Brits were still on board – just about – sending it to No.4. Hang Your Head was the best performing single, reaching a respectable No.21.

Notes

As Mat Snow succinctly summed it up in his Q magazine review, she “adroitly feminises the band’s texture and so saves us on more than one occasion from being flattened by an excess of overwrought macho breast-beating.” The band performed at Manchester United's Old Trafford stadium, as the pre-match entertainment for the Rugby league Super 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. Everyone was going on about unemployment at the time, but there were also a lot of people unhappy with the work they were in.” And while the songs sometimes become submerged in the mix, you have to admire Ross’ chutzpah, though if the album was a calculated attempt to break America, that attempt failed miserably (it didn’t even chart over there). Recorded By [Assistance] – Brian Soucy, David Brown (16), Gavin McComb, Karen Down, Matt Budd, Paul Mortimer, Simon Gogerly, Steven Bray*

Ross remains the fulcrum, but McIntosh is integral to When The World Knows Your Name, impelling Deacon Blue into the big time. 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. 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] Members [ edit ] Current members [ edit ] 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'. It’s actually about waiting to be discovered,” said Ross, “spurred on by the unrequited love of an old girlfriend.”The predominantly gloomy tenor of the songs is brilliantly captured by Oscar Marzaroli’s iconic cover image of a rainy day in Glasgow’s West End.

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 [ edit ]Deacon Blue". Facebook.com. Archived from the original on 26 February 2022 . Retrieved 5 August 2018. 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] Career [ edit ] 1985–1987: Formation and early years [ edit ] Additional recording was done with American producer David Kahne, these sessions did not go well. With the band finding the producer too hands on and disliking the sound and direction the recordings were taking. Most ot the recordings were abandoned with only Silhouette surviving. Most of When The World Knows Your Name was recorded with Warne Livesey at the helm. Livesey started playing music in London amidst the punk and new wave revolution of the late seventies. Originally a bass player in many bands and on the session scene he soon realised that his main passion was for recording. Although self taught he soon established himself as an up and coming engineer, working with producers such as David Lord, Rhett Davis and Robin Miller. Through his work with the Specials he broke into production by recording projects for their ground breaking two tone record label and other indies such as some bizzare.

Ross seems to have traded his inner Boss for his inner Bono, especially on the histrionic Bethlehem’s Gate and All Over The World. Lorraine McIntosh is an accomplished actress, having appeared in Scottish TV soap River City between 2002 and 2010, playing Alice Henderson. She has also had parts in Ken Loach’s My Name Is Joe and Lone Scherfig’s Wilburn Wants To Kill Himself. Another single lifted from Raintown, like Dignity it only reached the Top 40 at the second time of asking, cresting at No.34. A New House, according to Ross, is “about our country, Scotland, a physical sense of a place that I’m sometimes overwhelmed with”.

As Mat Snow succinctly summed it up in his Q magazine review, she “adroitly feminises the band’s texture and so saves us on more than one occasion from being flattened by an excess of overwrought macho breast-beating”. riding on the tide of love | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company". www.officialcharts.com.